HABEMUS PAPAM!
On Tuesday, April 19, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI was elected our 265 th pope. Formerly Joseph Ratzinger, he was born on April 16, 1927 in Marktl am Inn , Germany . He was ordained a priest on June 29, 1951. He is the first Germanic pope since monarchs imposed four men from that region in a row in the 11 th Century.
His father, a police officer, came from a traditional family of farmers from Lower Bavaria . He spent his adolescent years in Traunstein, and was called into the auxiliary anti-aircraft service in the last months of World War II. From 1946 to 1951, the year in which he was ordained a priest and began to teach, he studied philosophy and theology at the University of Munich and at the higher school in Freising. In 1953, he obtained a doctorate in theology with a thesis entitled: "The People and House of God in St. Augustine 's doctrine of the Church." Four years later, he qualified as a university teacher. He then taught dogma and fundamental theology at the higher school of philosophy and theology of Freising, then in Bonn , from 1959 to 1969, Munster from 1963 to 1966, Tubinga from 1966 to 1969. From 1969, he was a professor of dogmatic theology and of the history of dogma at the University of Regensburg and Vice President of the same University.
Already in 1962 he was well known when, at the age of 35, he became a consultor at Vatican Council II, of the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Joseph Frings. Among his numerous publications, a particular post belongs to the "Introduction to Christianity," a collection of university lessons on the profession of apostolic faith, published in 1968; "Dogma and Revelation," an anthology of essays, sermons and reflections dedicated to the pastoral ministry, published in 1973.
He has very deep roots in the conservative foothills of Bavaria, where he grew up and remains a favorite son. He and his older brother, George - former director of the renowned Regensburger Domspatzen Boys Choir - return annually to the peaceful halls of St. Michael's Seminary to stay in the elegant, but sparsely furnished bishop's apartment next to the church. An accomplished pianist who loves Mozart, Ratzinger enjoys playing the grand piano in the seminary's main hall, and walking through downtown Traunstein greeting people.
In March, 1977, Pope Paul VI elected him Archbishop of Munich and Freising and on May 28, 1977, he was consecrated, the first diocesan priest after 80 years to take over the pastoral ministry of this large Bavarian diocese. Paul VI elevated him to the College of Cardinals in the consistory of June 27, 1977.
On November 25, 1981, he was nominated by John Paul II Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; President of the Biblical Commission and of the Pontifical International Theological Commission. Relator of the 5th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (1980). President Delegate to the 6th Synodal Assembly (1983).
He was elected Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals on November 6, 1998. On November 20, 2002, the Holy Father approved his election, by the order of cardinal bishops, as Dean of the College of Cardinals. He was President of the Commission for the Preparation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and after 6 years of work (1986-92), he presented the New Catechism to the Holy Father. He received a Laurea Honoris Cause in Jurisprudence from the Libera Universita Maria Santissima Assunta, on November 10, 1999. He became an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on November 13, 2000.
Our new Holy Father speaks several languages, among them Italian and English, as well as his native language, German. He is an immovable enforcer of church orthodoxy who clings to church tradition. "Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church, is often labeled today as a fundamentalism," he said Monday. "Whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and 'swept along by every wind of teaching,' looks like the only attitude acceptable in today's standards. We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires," he warns.
We join the rest of the world in offering our prayers of celebration and thanksgiving for our new Holy Father. May the grace of the Holy Spirit be with him as he leads and guides our Church further along the path of the third millennium.
REMEMBERING OUR HOLY FATHER
AND PREPARING FOR THE CONCLAVE
We all are saddened by the loss of Pope John Paul II. He was a great man and a great leader. We will always be grateful for the many lives and hearts he touched in his 26-year reign. Pope John Paul II was an extraordinarily gifted scholar, but throughout his life he remained humble and loyal to his origins. We should all seek to model our thoughts and behaviors after this wonderful servant of God. We were deeply touched by his life, and we grieve his death with the rest of the world.
Beginning Monday, April 18, the 117 Cardinals of the Church who are eligible to vote in the election of a pope will meet in a Conclave. The word "Conclave" comes from the Latin words, cum clave, literally, "with a key" - reflecting the locking of the doors so that the Cardinals can meet in secret. Gathering in the Sistine Chapel, the Cardinals will invoke the Holy Spirit as they prepare to cast ballots for the new pope.
Voting may begin immediately. A candidate must receive two-thirds of the vote to be elected. If no one has received the required two-thirds majority, the ballots are set aside, and a new vote begun immediately, with two votes each morning and two each afternoon until a new pope is elected. At the end of each morning and afternoon session, the ballots from the two votes are burned together in a furnace near the Sistine Chapel, with a black smoke signal indicating an indecisive vote and a white signal indicating the election of a new pope. Although historically some conclaves have continued for years, none of the 10 that have taken place since 1846 have lasted more than four days.
As much as two hours can elapse from the first signs of white smoke over St. Peter's Square and the new pope's appearance on the central balcony of the Basilica. During that time, the new pope changes into the traditional white papal vestments and then returns to the Sistine Chapel where each of the electors offers a sign of homage and obedience. After the new pope has received individual greetings from each of the cardinal electors, the senior cardinal deacon will appear on the central balcony of St. Peter's with the long-anticipated message, "Habemus papam!" ["We have a Pope!]
Soon thereafter, the new pope appears and imparts his "Urbi et Orbi" [To the City and to the World] blessing.
For more information regarding this time of transition within the Church, visit the Vatican website at http://www.vatican.va/phome_en.htm or the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website at http://www.usccb.org .
REMEMBERING POPE JOHN PAUL II
This past Friday, April 8, we joined the World Community, both Christian and non-Christian alike, celebrating the life and mourning the death of our beloved Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, the protector of the poor and defender of the faith. A priest, an evangelist and a poet. His legend and legacy will remain with us forever.
Karol Jozef Wojtyla was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowince , Poland . He experienced an overabundance of pain, tragedy and loneliness in his childhood and throughout his life. His mother died when Karol was only eight. His older brother, who shared his passion for theatre and soccer, died of scarlet fever when Karol was 12. After graduating from secondary school in 1938, he and his father moved to Krakow, where he enrolled at Jagiellonian University to study literature and philosophy.
Wojtyla turned to the Polish Church by joining a secret, underground seminary in 1944. He was ordained in 1946 in Krakow, and spent much of the next few years studying - he earned two masters degrees and a doctorate - before taking up priestly duties as an assistant pastor in Krakow in 1949.
In 1968, Cardinal Wojtyla made an extremely unusual personal gesture by visiting the synagogue in the Jewish District of Krakow. For him, the visit was a gesture made in reference to the wave of anti-Semitism in 1968. For us, it was a rehearsal for his historic visit to the Roman synagogue in 1986. Indeed, Wojtyla became the first pope to visit a synagogue and the first to visit the memorial at Auschwitz to victims of the Holocaust. In ending the Catholic-Jewish estrangement, he called Jews "our elder brothers."
On October 16, 1978, after the one-month reign of Pope John Paul I, the cardinals of the Church stunned the world by electing the first non-Italian to the papacy in over 400 years. Karol Wojyla, the cardinal archbishop of Krakow, took the name John Paul II and began his ministry as universal Pastor of the Church.
Not only is he the most traveled pope in history, having made over 102 apostolic visits to 129 countries in the past 25 years; he spoke eight languages (learning Spanish after he became pope). He was also a proponent for innovation, using the media and technology to his advantage. In the course of his pontificate, he canonized 476 individuals and beautified another 1,330, including Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
In the course of his service to the Church, Pope John Paul II promulgated 14 Encyclicals, along with numerous letters, messages and speeches. In 1985, he charted a new direction for the tradition of celebrating the Way of the Cross on Good Friday at the Coliseum. Each year he invited renowned authors or religious leaders to prepare the meditations for each station.
Not content with tending merely to Catholic affairs, John Paul has made the world's business his business - especially human rights and the needs of the poor. His support for the Solidarity movement in Poland was a key to the downfall of communism in Poland . During his visits to the United States , he warned about the dangers of materialism, selfishness and secularism, and suggested lowering the standard of living and sharing the wealth with the Third World . He believed that only prayer and faith could make a person happy and he demonstrated this by example. Indeed, he was so often in prayer, that it was said he made his decisions "on his knees."
The third longest serving pope in history, the length of John Paul II's pontificate was exceeded only by Pius IX in the 19 th century and the Apostle Peter himself. John Paul II was not a pope who cared about public opinion polls; he said what he thought was right and wrong from conviction. He was an admirable man of integrity and prayer.
After bearing witness to Christ in his papacy and throughout his own suffering in the later days of his life, Pope John Paul II laid down the burden of his office on April 2, 2005. May God count him among the flock of the blessed in the eternal kingdom!Welcome to the new Sacred Heart Parish Web site. This site is being developed to bring you the latest information available about our Parish. Some of the items to be included will be the Weekly Bulletin in Adobe Acrobat form (.pdf), a Calendar of Events, links to various Parish Ministries and Organizations, links to other Catholic organizations, and general information about our Faith.
Please feel free to browse the site. If you have any comments or questions, there is an e-mail link at the bottom of each page. This is by no means the "final" product. As with all Web sites this one will continue to grow and become more informative as time goes on.
We invite each of the Parish Ministries and Organizations to use this site as another tool to communicate with your membership. We will be happy to give you your own page.
Sacred Heart Parish Council
| Contact Us | Site Map | ©2005
Sacred Heart Church
E-Mail
Comments or Questions