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News Bytes for Your Parish Bulletin
The Trick to Finding True Life
Benedict XVI told youth how to live a joyful life, saying that even sacrifice is attractive if there is a reason for it. The Pope shared his advice during a question-and-answer session at an event marking the 25th World Youth Day. Asked by a youth about eternal life and making "something beautiful" of one's life, the Holy Father offered a suggestion. The trick to finding this "true life," he said, lies in following the commandment of love. Love, he continued, is God's fundamental will for all of us.
Benedict the Political Thinker
While more known as a theologian, Benedict XVI is a profound political thinker, and his social thought merits more attention that it has so far received, says a professor at the Clarion University of Pennsylvania. In his book "The Social and Political Thought of Benedict XVI," political science professor Thomas R. Rourke looks at the anthropological foundation of the Pope's thought. He tells how the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger saw that the Bible and Christian thought enriched the original Greek concept of person. This leads to a spirituality of communion which, Rourke says, is at the root of Benedict XVI's understanding of social doctrine.
News Bytes for Your Parish Bulletin
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- New Chinese Bishop Approved by Church and State
Who's Afraid of Science?
A widespread idea holds that the Church shows itself to be one step behind the achievements of science by the way it exercises its magisterium, says a Vatican aide. In an address delivered at a Mass for Catholic health-care professionals in Connecticut, Bishop Jean Laffitte, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family, observed that many people think the Church reacts in a defensive way whenever it confronts scientific issues. In his talk, the bishop explained why this perception, in part, need not be the case.