Pope Seeks to Heal Orthodox/Catholic Rift

ASSOCIATED PRESS, Sept. 5 — Unifying all Christians and healing the 1,000-year rift between Catholics and the Orthodox is “particularly urgent,” Pope Benedict XVI said in a message reported by Associated Press.

The Sept. 4 symposium, held in the town of Assisi, was organized by the Pontifical Antonianum University and the theology department of the University of Thessaloniki in Greece.

Benedict said it was “unfortunate” that the lack of full unity meant that Orthodox and Catholic priests couldn't jointly celebrate Mass.

He said, “Realizing full communion of Christians must be an objective for all those who profess faith in” one Church.

International Convention Commemorates Dei Verbum

AGI, Sept. 1 — More than 400 participants — including approximately 100 bishops — from 98 countries, met in Rome Sept. 14-18 at a national Bible convention called “The Sacred Scripture of Church Life,” Agenzia Giornalistica Italia reported.

The Holy See's press office stated that the meeting, which commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Constitution Dei Verbum, will be chaired by Cardinal Walter Kasper. Kasper himself, together with Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, a bible scholar, will be the main speakers.

Joseph Ratzinger also worked on the Constitution. One of the most important innovations of the II Vatican Council was to reaffirm the centrality of the Bible in the Church and the world. The document, approved just before the council's closure on Nov. 18, 1965, was vital in the affirmation. According to Cardinal Kasper, it was a text that “brought about an increasing awareness of the importance of the sacred Scriptures.”

Holy Father to Declare 5 New Saints

ASSOCIATED PRESS, Sept. 5 — Pope Benedict XVI will declare five people saints next month and another 17 candidates are to be beatified soon — an indication that the Vatican shows no sign of slowing the process under the new Pope, Associated Press reported.

Benedict himself will preside over his first saint-making ceremony, canonizing the five in St. Peter's Square on Oct. 23, Vatican Radio reported Sept. 5.

Among the five is Josef Bilczewski, the Polish archbishop of Lviv, Ukraine, who was greatly admired by Catholics, Orthodox and Jews alike during World War I, Vatican Radio said. The archbishop's life spanned the time during which Lviv was under Polish control, after which it reverted back to Ukraine.

Also being canonized is a priest from Lviv, Father Zygmunt Gorazdowski, who founded the Congregation for the Sisters of St. Joseph to care for the sick and poor. A Chilean Jesuit, Father Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga, and Italians Felice da Nicosia, a Franciscan lay brother who lived in the 1700s, and Father Gaetano Cantanoso, who founded a religious order, will also be canonized.

Vatican Radio ‘Owns’ Pope Benedict's Voice

SPERO NEWS, Sept. 5 — Pope Benedict XVI has entrusted Vatican Radio with the exercise and protection of the copyright and intellectual property rights to his voice, Spero News reported.

A note made public Sept 2. stated that, Vatican Radio, the radio station of the Holy See, has the duty to compile, store and administer the audio archive of the Holy Father, ensuring its sake-keeping and overseeing, exclusively and in all circumstances, its copyright and intellectual property rights.

The report stated that the agreement covers all audio recordings of Pope Benedict's voice dating back to the period prior to his elevation to the Chair of Peter, with the exception of those rights already legitimately acquired by third parties.