Media Tries to Sum Up Deus Caritas Est

NEWS.GOOGLE.COM, Jan. 26 — Papal encyclicals always get an odd reception in the mainstream press, as secular newspapers try to sum up sophisticated theological ideas. Here are some headlines that newspapers used for Pope Benedict’s first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love).

Deutsche Welle, Germany: “Benedict’s Ode to Love”;

Sydney Morning Herald: “Persuasion Rather Than Stern Reminders in Papal Reflections on Love”;

Chicago Tribune: “Poetic Explorations of Love Set Foundation for New Papacy”;

Pakistan Christian Post: “Pope Benedict Puts Body and Soul Into Declaration on Love”;

Science Daily: “Pope Benedict XVI Talks About Love”;

Globe and Mail, Canada: “An Unexpected Letter of Love From the Pope to His Church”;

Tri-Valley Herald, Calif: “Benedict Expounds on Love, Sex and God”;

Irish Examiner: “Sexual Love Needs to Be ‘Purified’”;

Catholic World News: “Understanding the Pope’s ‘Surprising’ Encyclical”;

The Australian: “Pope Gets Back to Basics”;

Detroit Free Press: “Sex Without Love Decieves”;

Detroit News: “All You Need Is Love in Pope’s New Encyclical,” and our personal favorite:

Agenzia Giornalistica Italia, Italy: “Encyclical Will Be Sold in Supermarkets and Highway Restaurants.”

Holy Father Appeals to the Media: Defend Marriage

AGI, Jan.24 — Pope Benedict appealed to the media for them to preserve marriage and families: “the need to support and defend marriage and family life is foremost, since they are the basic foundations of all cultures and societies,” the Italian news service reported.

In his Jan. 24 message, the Pope highlighted three aspects, outlined by Pope John Paul II, “crucial for the common well-being: formation, participation and dialogue. Teaching how to make a responsible use of the media helps people make a good and appropriate use of it, because the strong impact of electronic media can easily generate a new vocabulary and images in society, hence they are not to be underestimated.”

The message, delivered for the 40th World Day of Social Communication, the Holy Father asked that, “cooperating with parents,” the media and show business “support the hard but rewarding task of educating children, presenting righteous models of life and human love.”

“When the opposite occurs, we all feel terribly let down,” he said. “Doesn’t our heart suffer when we see youths deceived by degrading or false expressions of love, which undermine family interests and ridicule the dignity bestowed by God upon all human beings?”

Pope Benedict Names New Vatican Envoy to Israel

JERUSALEM POST, Jan. 21 — Pope Benedict XVI has named a diplomat now serving in the Philippines to be the Holy See’s envoy to Israel and Cyprus.

The Vatican said Jan. 21 that Archbishop Antonio Franco would serve as nuncio in Jerusalem, replacing Archbishop Pietro Sambi who in December was named papal nuncio to the United States.

Franco, 68, had been the nuncio in the Philippines since 1999. Benedict has been following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, in trying to improve Jewish-Catholic relations.

Benedict had recently expressed pain and worry over outbreaks of anti-Semitism in the world and called on Jews and Christians to wage a united battle against hate. His remarks came as he greeted Rome Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni and his delegation in an audience at the Vatican.