In Havana, The Revolution Continues – After Cuban Church's "Prince," Pope Picks A Pastor

For the last four years, this has arguably been the global church's most important pending appointment... and over that time, the stakes have only increased.

After the long wait – and a geopolitical shift that revolutionized the context – it's finally come to pass: at Roman Noon this Tuesday, the Pope named Juan García Rodríguez, the 68 year-old archbishop of Camagüey in central Cuba, as archbishop of Havana and de facto chief of the island's church, retiring Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino after a landmark reign of almost 35 years.

In an unusual shot for its time, the archbishop-elect – then the president of the Cuban bishops – is seen above at the right hand of President Raul Castro during the 2010 dedication of the new national seminary outside Havana, which marked the island's first opening of a religious building since the 1959 Revolution that swept Communism into power. And with today's nod, García – a native son of the diocese he's led until today – now fully trades the intimate, earthy confines of "cow country" for the religious and political gauntlet of the capital in an ongoing moment of massive transition, one whose outcome is far from settled.

On one side, the incoming archbishop becomes the church's principal voice in Cuba and its lead representative to the Communist government, a role which saw Ortega secure major incremental concessions for the church's freedom from the officially atheist state, but likewise made him a magnet for scorn among the influential exile community, which accused the cardinal of turning a blind eye to the regime's human-rights violations in exchange for the increased openings for Catholic life and activity in the open.

As if navigating that tightrope wasn't enough, the 2.8 million-member Havana church is said to be in need of better cohesion in light of both the diversity of its presbyterate and a sense of listlessness at the helm given Ortega's priority on working the political stage both at home and abroad, a legacy whose capstone came in the cardinal's role as a linchpin intermediary in securing the watershed 2014 agreement between Cuba and the US which marked the most significant breakthrough between the estranged countries since the 1959 Revolution. Already a figure close to the now-Pope – whose game-changing "mission statement" given during the pre-Conclave General Congregations of the cardinals was released by Ortega days after Francis' election – the Cuban's victory lap saw another triumphant moment on Palm Sunday when, minutes after President Obama became the first US head of state to visit the island since the 1920s, the cardinal was the First Family's tour-guide as they visited Havana Cathedral (right).

While Ortega's critics have seen fit to deride him for his realpolitik strategy and the "prince"-like style he took up as the capital's archbishop, one meaningful backstory nonetheless bears recalling: like many other young Cuban priests and religious who chose not to flee the island during what's been called "the worst repression" of the faith in the Revolution's wake, the future cardinal was imprisoned in a government "re-education camp" with the intent to break the remnant's commitment to the church and their ministry. As a ranking op mused about the experience, "the generation that stayed went to hell and back [to] keep the faith alive" in their homeland.

Amid the multi-tiered scene, following the Pope's mobilization of his diplomatic A-team to facilitate the pact – which brought the restoration of full bilateral relations and a major easing of half-century old financial and travel restrictions for Americans – the choice of Ortega's successor only became a more charged matter for Francis and his team, especially as one of its key players (the Sostituto of the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Angelo Becciu) was himself Nuncio to Havana from 2009-11.

Indeed, at the US deal's inception, the delicacy surrounding the negotiations was so intense that when Becciu's successor on the island, Italian Archbishop Bruno Musaro, aimed to publicly accuse the Cuban government of "human and civil degradation" during a 2014 Mass while on vacation at home, he was quickly whisked out of the post. Yet even as the initial thaw has now been expanded to include regular US flights and cruises to Cuba and an ever-increasing flood of American investment has been allowed to pour onto its shores, last week's Communist Party Congress set the stage for more long-term tumult as Fidel Castro alluded to facing death in a rare public appearance, while the gathering's choice of hard-line figures for its top leadership posts signals little political change should President Raul Castro fulfill his pledge to leave office in 2018. (Whoever succeeds Raul as head of state, last week saw the president's reelection to the party's top post for the next five years.)

Against the challenging backdrop, meanwhile, the most striking thing about Francis' appointee is García's concerted lack of political involvement. Said by those who know him to be "very humble," "low-key" and "bearing the smell" of his flock, a 2013 primer on the Cuban bishops with an eye to Ortega's succession noted that – at least, at the time – the now-chosen prelate hadn't figured much in conversations for Havana, but pointedly perceived the eventual choice as "very much a bishop in the style of Pope Francis: known for his missionary spirit and as a man of prayer with the ability to remain calm in the midst of any storm."

Along these lines, Whispers' Havana Desk relayed that García's name began credibly circulating for the post shortly after Ortega's 50th anniversary as a priest in summer 2014, an event which was notably attended (left) by the Pope's principal North American adviser, Cardinal Seán O'Malley OFM Cap. of Boston, himself a figure with a long history of involvement in Cuban affairs. From the flip-side, meanwhile, with members of his own family living in the exiles' prime base of South Florida – where he was recently spotted on visits – García is no stranger to his opposite end of the 93 Mile strait, either.

On another significant front, having been president of the island's dozen-member bench from 2007-10, García led the Cuban delegation to the decennial plenary of the Latin American bishops at Aparecida in 2007, whose closing message – rooted in a call for the church to engage an ongoing "continental mission" – was drafted by then-Cardinal Bergoglio of Buenos Aires in a document that remains a very clear and specific manifesto of Francis' vision of the church. In his own diocese, meanwhile, the Havana pick is said to have an exemplary, unpretentious closeness with his priests in Camaguey, where he pastored several parishes before his appointment as the lone auxiliary in 1997. He was named to succeed his mentor, Archbishop Adolfo Rodríguez Herrera, five years later.

Asked about the role of bishops in the new evangelization as the lone Cuban present at the 2012 Synod on the topic, García defined his task as "going into the homes of the people.

"When I go out [to the people]," he said, "the priests follow, the deacons follow... the nuns follow, the laity follow, and often, they even get ahead of me."

"A mother doesn't rest," García replied when asked about the church's optimal style of outreach. "She wants to feed, she wants to teach. She always hopes her child says 'yes,' that he might learn, and she has patience and creativity" to accomplish that end.

Boiled down, it doesn't get more Francis than that. And while time will tell for certain whether the Pope's choice of a pastor from his ever-cherished "peripheries" was geared more toward achieving the church's internal conversion – or, indeed, to maintain Ortega's wide berth as the church's Negotiator-in-Chief with the Castros – odds are it's a bit of both. In any case, it's already been said that the choice of his successor has come as a "surprise" even to Ortega, himself.

The first indication of the new state of things is likely to come once the government broaches its rumored intent to "regularize" the fraught status of the island's church – a process which will involve high-wire talks over the return of parish and institutional property seized by the Communists after the fall of Batista – to say nothing of the ostensible, long-frame road toward a concordat: the treaty between the Holy See and Cuba which would establish the rights and conduct of the island's Catholic life in international law.

On the broad scene, with the retirement of the Cuban titan months before his 80th birthday, one last long-reigning cardinal holds the helm of his diocese as his ninth decade quickly approaches: Karl Lehmann of Mainz, long the godfather of German Catholicism's progressive wing, who ages out of his Conclave vote on 16 May.

The most prominent figure by far to express an openness to the resignation of John Paul II as the now-canonized Pope struggled through his final months – a move for which Lehmann was excoriated by conservatives (among other things which wouldn't happen today) – the cardinal chaired the German bench for an extraordinary 21 years as the conference's elected head from 1987 to 2008. Since 2014, the post has been held by Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich – a member of Francis' all-important "Gang of 9," whose ascent has seen him become no less a lightning rod.

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Whatever Francis Wants, Francis Gets – Pope Clinches US-Cuba Pact

Not many people get to celebrate their birthday with a diplomatic romp... but as he turns 78 this Wednesday, the Pope can now claim precisely that.

Announced this morning by President Obama in a televised White House address, the US' "reset" paving the way toward full bilateral relations with Cuba and enhanced economic ties has largely been credited to the influence of Francis and concerted back-channel work on the part of the Holy See's geopolitical apparatus.

As Obama put it, at their March meeting in the Vatican, "His Holiness Pope Francis issued a personal appeal to me" to enter into talks with President Raul Castro to negotiate the release of Alan Gross, the American humanitarian worker imprisoned on the island for five years, while the pontiff urged Castro to pursue the reeturn of three Cubans jailed in the US with the White House. After initial discussions indicated a mutual openness toward resolutions, a November meeting of both sides at the Vatican sealed the agreement that saw Gross returned to the US this morning (along with a long-jailed US intelligence operative) and the Cubans likewise freed to the island.

"In particular," Obama said in closing his speech, "I want to thank His Holiness Pope Francis, whose moral example shows us the importance of pursuing the world as it should be, rather than simply settling for the world as it is."

Shortly thereafter, in a rare evening statement, the Vatican Secretariat of State said that Francis "wishes to express his warm congratulations for the historic decision taken by the Governments of the United States of America and Cuba to establish diplomatic relations, with the aim of overcoming, in the interest of the citizens of both countries, the difficulties which have marked their recent history." The Holy See promised to continue "its support for initiatives which both nations will undertake to strengthen their bilateral relations and promote the wellbeing of their respective citizens."

In sum, as Papa Bergoglio's June Holy Land peace summit scored global headlines yet failed to achieve discernible progress, today's development after a half-century standoff represents the signal diplomatic triumph of Francis' 21-month pontificate. Behind the scenes, meanwhile, even if the initial push came from the Pope, the breakthrough represents a no less sizable victory for Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State who Francis chose for the role with a mandate to restore the Vatican's traditional standing as a geopolitical powerhouse in its ability to serve as both a peerless "listening post" and trusted mediator in international disputes.

In this case, the experience of Rome's key players provided an even more critical advantage: in his prior posting as Nuncio to Venezuela, Parolin had a rare insight into Cuba as the Vatican's mission-chief to what's become Havana's most significant Western ally, while his top deputy, the Sostituto Archbishop Angelo Becciu, had been Nuncio to the island itself for two years before returning to Rome as the Curia's "chief of staff" in 2011.

On another major front, the Vatican's role in securing the deal has likely been the reason for the holdup on Francis' intensely-awaited appointment of the next archbishop of Havana, which ops in Rome and Latin America have expected to take place sometime this fall following August's celebrations for the 50th priestly anniversary of Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, who at 78 is three years past the canonical retirement age.

While the Cuban church has been granted an enhanced space with which to work over Ortega's two-decade tenure at the helm – a reality sizably aided by two papal visits (in 1998 and 2012) – the new inroads have come at the expense of unrelenting criticism and suspicion toward the cardinal by the influential exile community, which has assailed Ortega as an accommodationist to the island's Communist regime in exchange for the church's increased freedoms.

The US deal's announcement notably comes 48 hours after the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, met with Parolin for the second time at the Vatican.

As Francis' SegStat was ostensibly briefed in confidence on the accord's release by his Stateside visitor, the Holy See's readout of the conversation revealed that Kerry sought the Vatican's aid on finding "adequate humanitarian solutions" for the treatment of terrorism-related prisoners at the US' detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, which the Obama administration has long aimed to close.

Back to the White House, yesterday likewise saw an appearance in the Oval Office from the USCCB President, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, for his first meeting with both Obama and Vice President Joe Biden (all above). No statement on the sit-down was given from either side.

Though today's policy reboot will widen the US' permissions for citizens to travel to Cuba and enable Cuban-Americans to increase their ability to send fiscal aid to their families and friends on the island, it's important to emphasize that the Federally-approved Stateside Catholic entity to help fund the Cuban church – the Boston-based Friends of Caritas Cubana – was already limit-free before the shift and is able to continue its work without change.

* * *

While the USCCB's international policy chief, Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces, issued a statement welcoming the Cuba accord as "past due" and urging even "more engagement" across the 93-mile strait, on this day, the national church's lead word comes from a different Mothership... the one "so close to the United States."

Amid no shortage of blaring speculation on the Pope's so-called "possibilities" for the red hat at next February's Consistory – even as, by the Faith and law alike, the Roman Pontiff freely acts however he deems fit – it's admittedly been rather amusing that mention of the archbishop of Miami has been conspicuous by its absence. Then again, when it comes to the bearer of the most self-aware motto of any American bishop, commentators of whatever stripe would simply have too hard a time fitting Tom Wenski into any kind of secular political dynamic.

Ever since the native son took his talents back to South Beach in 2010, the first-ever red hat for the American Southeast – lest anybody forgot, the site of the now-US' oldest Catholic settlement – has hung in the balance. Add in that, over the time since, the 64 year-old championed Bergoglio's manifesto at Aparecida long before it became fashionable and counts two of Francis' lead confidants as his own longtime allies – all in the context of leading what's now a 1.4 million-member church in a key continental outpost – and all around, whatever happens in early January, the church's lead voice in what'll soon be the third-largest state has become a force to be reckoned with well beyond these shores... and that's just how he likes it.

Having grown up in the context of the Cuban Revolution's seismic impact on South Florida, ministry among the exiles has been a fixture of Wenski's life from his days as a seminarian – so much so that the community's legendary "godfather," the late, saintly Bishop Agustín Roman, preached his first Mass. Later, as head of Miami's Catholic Charities, the young auxiliary coordinated 75-ton food drops onto the island while moonlighting as a fixer for fresh immigrants, zipping his Harley past the bench's crop of exiles in the process to become the US church's de facto spokesman for Cuban affairs.

Accordingly, as today's news hit Calle Ocho with the force of a bomb, a horde of TV trucks instead charged Miami Chancery, which gave the place the feel of what an on-site op termed "a war room." And fresh off being honored by the local Hispanic press, it was just another instance of the man in his moment.

In a prepared statement, Wenski echoed the call he gave from the chair of the archbishop of Havana during a 2012 Mass in the capital's cathedral, where he implied in his homily that the Cuban leadership was "doomed to die... in their sins because they have refused to recognize [Jesus] as the 'I am' of human history," while urging "a 'soft landing'" for the island's people, "a landing that is open to a future of hope."

Ready to ride as ever, here's Wenski's response today:

Both President Obama and Raul Castro expressed appreciation to the role of Pope Francis in making possible what seems to be a real game changer in the historically strained relationship between Cuba and the United States. Pope Francis did what popes are supposed to do: Build bridges and promote peace. He acted much like his namesake, Francis of Asissi, who during the fifth crusade, went to Egypt to meet with the Sultan al Kamil in the interest of peace.

The Church in Cuba has always opposed the embargo, arguing that it was a blunt instrument that hurt the innocent more than the guilty; and the U.S. Church has supported the Catholic Church in Cuba. We have consistently advocated that the U.S. should revise this policy, in the hope that engagement and dialog would prove more helpful in improving conditions in Cuba than a policy of confrontation and isolation.

In comments that Raul Castro made, he seemed to indicate that his government was open to engage in conversations with the U.S. on issues related to democracy and human rights. Progress in this area is normally the result, and not the precondition, of such talks - and so the prospect of such talks is a positive development. As president Obama said, to seek the collapse of Cuba is not sound policy. Cuba needs change. Today's announcement is a game changer as I said - but as Cuba transitions through such changes we all should encourage a soft landing - that is, change that is peaceful and offers real hope for the Cuban people on both sides of the Florida Straits.

True to form, with ferocious protests over the policy-shift having emerged from much of South Florida's exile leadership, late word from Miami says Wenski's slated an early Thursday meeting with the group.

All that said, however, the Quote of the Day – at least, on the ecclesial front – belongs regardless to Francis' marquee domestic appointee to date: in his own quickly-released statement, Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago observed that while "usually people receive gifts on their birthday," thanks to his involvement in the lead-up to the accord, as he turned 78, today's news instead made for a gift the Pope "has generously given to the world."

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Cae La Bomba – With Madrid and Valencia, Francis Plays "Spanish Roulette"

In what could be considered the most decisive dealing of major posts he's made over his 18-month pontificate, at Roman Noon this Thursday the Pope defied most projections in appointing Carlos Osoro Sierra (right), the 69 year-old archbishop of Valencia, to the all-important archbishopric of Madrid – both Spain's capital and, with 3.4 million Catholics, the country's largest diocese.

His name only surfaced for the post in recent days, the succession to the retiring Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, 78, had been long and widely thought to be destined for the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera. Instead, the 68 year-old theologian – known as El Ratzingerino (the "Little Ratzinger") for his close ties to Benedict XVI – has been dispatched to succeed Osoro in Valencia, Spain's second-largest local church, which likewise happens to be his hometown.

No new prefect of CDW was named alongside Cañizares' transfer. As the handovers of the Curia's top posts are traditionally arranged with no small amount of detail, it is exceedingly rare for a congregation's top office to be vacant for any reason other than the occupant's death.

Notably, the year of buzz over the cardinal's future at CDW was able to continue as Cañizares had been the lone head of a Roman congregation who Francis did not reconfirm in office following his election. As the Pope reaches the year-and-a-half mark since his election on 13 September, it bears recalling that several other dicastery chiefs remain in a similar limbo, among them the prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Wisconsin-born Cardinal Raymond Burke.

After almost years eight years at the helm of the office overseeing the global church's liturgical life, Cañizares' (above) swan-song came in a July letter which concluded a years-long consultation aimed at avoiding "abuses" in the Sign of Peace at Mass.

Having preached the Spanish episcopate's 2006 retreat and sharing his native language with the group, the relative surprise of today's double move serves to further underscore Francis' determination to be his own man where he's sufficiently appraised on a given situation. What's more, however, given Osoro's lengthy background in pastoral work and adult education before going on to lead three dioceses, the Madrid pick – an ecclesial moderate said to have an "unequaled capacity for work," and reportedly dubbed "The Pilgrim" by Francis thanks to his zest for the trenches of ecclesial life – was apparently deemed a more optimal fit for the role of this Pope's de facto "face" of Spanish Catholicism in the wake of Rouco's oft-combative two-decade tenure.

As archbishop of Madrid, Osoro is all but certain to become a cardinal at the next consistory, all the more as no Spanish elector was elevated by Papa Bergoglio at last February's intake. Despite having merely 350,000 fewer Catholics than Madrid, meanwhile, the five-century old Valencia seat only received its first red hat in 2007, when Osoro's predecessor Agustín García-Gasco was given the scarlet by B16; García retired 15 months later.

At the now Pope-emeritus' first consistory in 2006, Cañizares was elevated to the College as archbishop of Toledo – as Spain's eldest diocese, the country's primatial see – which has a Catholic population of just 650,000. While Toledo has routinely been the seat of a Spanish cardinal alongside Madrid and Barcelona, at least to date, his successor there, 70 year-old Braulio Rodriguez, has not been called to follow suit.

In another unusual aspect to the shuffle, with today's moves both Osoro and Cañizares have been tapped to lead their third archdiocese.

Beyond Madrid, another key opening in the Spanish-speaking world has been pending for some time and is likewise expected to be filled in short order: Havana, where Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino turns 78 in October. As Ortega has been assailed by hard-liners for employing a diplomatic approach over his two-decade tenure which has yielded limited freedoms for the church by Cuba's Communist regime, the appointment of his successor will be interpreted as setting Francis' intended course for the Catholic response to the island's fraught political situation.

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Castro's Gift to Church: In Cuba, a New Seminary

On this feast of St Charles Borromeo -- the patron of seminarians -- big news from the global formation beat: hailed as Cuba's first new religious building since the 1959 Revolution, yesterday saw the opening of a new National Seminary outside Havana, with one of the more unlikely casts of characters you'll ever find on this beat on hand.

Two attendees at the dedication provide one of many cases in point: President Raul Castro sat in the front row (foreground left below)... and the Supreme Knight of Columbus Carl Anderson -- once an aide in the Reagan White House -- not far behind.

Comprising the Knights' chief and several clerics from South Florida and Washington, the US delegation to the rites was led by Archbishop Tom Wenski of Miami (above center) -- long the Stateside bench's de facto lead spokesman on Cuban affairs, all the more since returning home earlier this year to lead the church in the exile community's preeminent outpost. The group will tour the island through the weekend.

Dedicated to Saints Ambrose and Charles -- the patrons of Milan -- the original Havana seminary was seized by the Communist authorities in 1966, and given insufficient quarters elsewhere. Able to house some 100 students, the new facility has its work cut out for it; often under duress, some three-quarters of Cuba's clergy left the island in the wake of Fidel Castro's rise to power, according to wire reports.

The development comes as church relations with the regime are "on a high" -- in the wake of a breakthrough 2008 visit by the Cardinal-Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, the local hierarchy led by Havana's Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino has made several inroads, most prominently securing the freedom of over 50 longtime political prisoners earlier this year (most of whom have reportedly been sent to Spain immediately upon their release).

At the same time, the 74 year-old cardinal -- whose delicate tightrope-walk with the state has earned him a degree of distrust among the community's more hard-line elements -- has called Castro's government to conscience on the deteriorating political and economic situation, calling in a widely-noted April intervention for "quick" changes.

In his remarks at yesterday's dedication, Ortega underscored that the seminary project "has been able to count on state support through its conclusion," thanking both current and former Presidents Castro for making good on their pledge to back the effort.

The opening comes amid a decade-long "novena" of preparation called by the Cuban bishops leading up to 2013's 400th anniversary of the appearance of the Caridad de Cobre (Our Lady of Charity), the island's patroness.

PHOTOS: Reuters(1,3); AP(2)

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"I Come to Cuba As a Pilgrim of Charity"

ADDRESS OF POPE BENEDICT XVI
ARRIVAL CEREMONY IN CUBA
ANTONIO MACEO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
SANTIAGO DE CUBA
26 MARCH 2012

Mr President,
Dear Cardinals and Brother Bishops,
Distinguished Authorities,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear People of Cuba,

Thank you, Mr President, for your welcome and your kind words, with which you also conveyed the sentiments of respect of the Cuban government and people for the Successor of Peter. I greet the civil authorities here present, as well as the members of the diplomatic corps. I cordially greet the President of the Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Dionisio Guillermo García Ibáñez of Santiago de Cuba; the Archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, and my other Brother Bishops of Cuba, and I assure them of my deep spiritual closeness. Finally, I greet with heartfelt affection all the faithful of the Catholic Church in Cuba, the beloved people of this beautiful island, and all Cubans wherever they may be. You are always present in my heart and prayers, especially in the days preceding the much anticipated moment of my visit to you, which the grace and goodness of God has made possible.

Standing here among you, I cannot but recall the historic visit to Cuba of my predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, who left an indelible mark on the soul of all Cubans. For many, whether believers or not, his example and his teachings are a luminous guide for their personal lives and their public activity in the service of the common good of the nation. His visit to this island was like a gentle breath of fresh air which gave new strength to the Church in Cuba, awakening in many a renewed awareness of the importance of faith and inspiring them to open their hearts to Christ, while at the same time kindling their hope and encouraging their desire to work fearlessly for a better future. One of the important fruits of that visit was the inauguration of a new phase in the relationship in Cuba between Church and State, in a new spirit of cooperation and trust, even if many areas remain in which greater progress can and ought to be made, especially as regards the indispensable public contribution that religion is called to make in the life of society.

I am pleased to share your joy as you celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the holy statue of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre. Since the beginning she has been very much present in the personal lives of Cubans as well as in the great events of the nation, especially since independence, for she is honoured by all as the true mother of the Cuban people. Devotion to the Virgen Mambisa has sustained the faith and inspired the defence and promotion of all that gives dignity to the human condition and its fundamental rights, and continues to do so today with ever greater strength, giving visible witness to the fruitfulness of the preaching of the Gospel in these lands, and to the profound Christian roots which shape the deepest identity of the Cuban soul. Following in the footsteps of countless pilgrims down the centuries, I too wish to go to El Cobre to kneel at the feet of the Mother of God, to thank her for her concern for all her Cuban children, and to ask her to guide the future of this beloved nation in the ways of justice, peace, freedom and reconciliation.

I come to Cuba as a pilgrim of charity, to confirm my brothers and sisters in the faith and strengthen them in the hope which is born of the presence of God’s love in our lives. I carry in my heart the just aspirations and legitimate desires of all Cubans, wherever they may be, their sufferings and their joys, their concerns and their noblest desires, those of the young and the elderly, of adolescents and children, of the sick and workers, of prisoners and their families, and of the poor and those in need.

Many parts of the world today are experiencing a time of particular economic difficulty, that not a few people regard as part of a profound spiritual and moral crisis which has left humanity devoid of values and defenceless before the ambition and selfishness of certain powers which take little account of the true good of individuals and families. We can no longer continue in the same cultural and moral direction which has caused the painful situation that many suffer. On the other hand, real progress calls for an ethics which focuses on the human person and takes account of the most profound human needs, especially man’s spiritual and religious dimension. In the hearts and minds of many, the way is thus opening to an ever greater certainty that the rebirth of society demands upright men and women of firm moral convictions, with noble and strong values who will not be manipulated by dubious interests and who are respectful of the unchanging and transcendent nature of the human person.

Dear friends, I am convinced that Cuba, at this moment of particular importance in its history, is already looking to the future, and thus is striving to renew and broaden its horizons. Of great help in this enterprise will be the fine patrimony of spiritual and moral values which fashioned the nation’s true identity, and which stand out in the work and the life of many distinguished fathers of the country, like Blessed José Olallo y Valdés, the Servant of God Félix Varela, and the acclaimed José Martí. For her part, the Church too has diligently contributed to the cultivation of those values through her generous and selfless pastoral mission, and renews her commitment to work tirelessly the better to serve all Cubans.

I ask the Lord to bless abundantly this land and its children, in particular those who feel disadvantaged, the excluded and all those who suffer in body or spirit. At the same time, I pray that, through the intercession of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, he will grant to all a future of hope, solidarity and harmony. Thank you.

PHOTO: Getty

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"Cuba Needs Change": The Pope's Island Farewell

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI

REVOLUTION SQUARE
HAVANA
28 MARCH 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Blessed are you, Lord God…, and blessed is your holy and glorious name” (Dan 3:52). This hymn of blessing from the Book of Daniel resounds today in our liturgy, inviting us repeatedly to bless and thank God. We are a part of that great chorus which praises the Lord without ceasing. We join in this concert of thanksgiving, and we offer our joyful and confident voice, which seeks to consolidate the journey of faith in love and truth.

“Blessed be God” who gathers us in this historic square so that we may more profoundly enter into his life. I feel great joy in being here with you today to celebrate Holy Mass during this Jubilee Year devoted to Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre.

I greet with cordial affection Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, Archbishop of Havana, and I thank him for the kind words which he has addressed to me on your behalf. I extend warm greetings to the Cardinals and to my brother Bishops of Cuba and other countries who wished to take part in this solemn celebration. I also greet the priests, seminarians, men and women religious, and all the lay faithful gathered here, as well as the civil authorities who join us.

In today’s first reading, the three young men persecuted by the Babylonian king preferred to face death by fire rather than betray their conscience and their faith. They experienced the strength to “give thanks, glorify and praise God” in the conviction that the Lord of the universe and of history would not abandon them to death and annihilation. Truly, God never abandons his children, he never forgets them. He is above us and is able to save us by his power. At the same time, he is near to his people, and through his Son Jesus Christ he has wished to make his dwelling place among us in.

“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (Jn 8:31). In this text from today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals himself as the Son of God the Father, the Saviour, the one who alone can show us the truth and give genuine freedom. His teaching provokes resistance and disquiet among his hearers, and he accuses them of seeking to kill him, alluding to the supreme sacrifice of the Cross, already imminent. Even so, he exhorts them to believe, to keep his word, so as to know the truth which redeems and dignifies.

The truth is a desire of the human person, the search for which always supposes the exercise of authentic freedom. Many, however, prefer shortcuts, trying to avoid this task. Some, like Pontius Pilate, ironically question the possibility of even knowing what truth is (cf. Jn 18:38), proclaiming that man is incapable of knowing it or denying that there exists a truth valid for all. This attitude, as in the case of scepticism and relativism, changes hearts, making them cold, wavering, distant from others and closed. They, like the Roman governor, wash their hands and let the water of history drain away without taking a stand.

On the other hand, there are those who wrongly interpret this search for the truth, leading them to irrationality and fanaticism; they close themselves up in “their truth”, and try to impose it on others. These are like the blind scribes who, upon seeing Jesus beaten and bloody, cry out furiously, “Crucify him!” (cf. Jn 19:6). Anyone who acts irrationally cannot become a disciple of Jesus. Faith and reason are necessary and complementary in the pursuit of truth. God created man with an innate vocation to the truth and he gave him reason for this purpose. Certainly, it is not irrationality but rather the yearning for truth which the Christian faith promotes. Each human being has to seek the truth and to choose it when he or she finds it, even at the risk of embracing sacrifices.

Furthermore, the truth which stands above humanity is an unavoidable condition for attaining freedom, since in it we discover the foundation of an ethics on which all can converge and which contains clear and precise indications concerning life and death, duties and rights, marriage, family and society, in short, regarding the inviolable dignity of the human person. This ethical patrimony can bring together different cultures, peoples and religions, authorities and citizens, citizens among themselves, and believers in Christ and non-believers.

Christianity, in highlighting those values which sustain ethics, does not impose, but rather proposes Christ’s invitation to know the truth which sets us free. The believer is called to offer that truth to his contemporaries, as did the Lord, even before the dark omen of rejection and the Cross. The personal encounter with the one who is Truth in person compels us to share this treasure with others, especially by our witness.

Dear friends, do not hesitate to follow Jesus Christ. In him we find the truth about God and about mankind. He helps us to overcome our selfishness, to rise above our ambitions and to conquer all that oppresses us. The one who does evil, who sins, becomes a slave of sin and will never attain freedom (cf. Jn 8:34). Only by renouncing hatred and our hard and blind hearts will we be free and a new life will well up in us.

Convinced that it is Christ who is the true measure of man, and knowing that in him we find the strength needed to face every trial, I wish to proclaim openly Jesus Christ as the way, the truth and the life. In him everyone will find complete freedom, the light to understand reality more deeply and to transform it by the renewing power of love.

The Church lives to make others sharers in the one thing she possesses, which is none other than Christ, our hope of glory (cf. Col 1:27). To carry out this duty, she must count on basic religious freedom, which consists in her being able to proclaim and to celebrate her faith also in public, bringing to others the message of love, reconciliation and peace which Jesus brought to the world. It must be said with joy that in Cuba steps have been taken to enable the Church to carry out her essential mission of expressing her faith openly and publicly. Nonetheless, this must continue forwards, and I wish to encourage the country’s Government authorities to strengthen what has already been achieved and advance along this path of genuine service to the true good of Cuban society as a whole.

The right to freedom of religion, both in its private and in its public dimension, manifests the unity of the human person, who is at once a citizen and a believer. It also legitimizes the fact that believers have a contribution to make to the building up of society. Strengthening religious freedom consolidates social bonds, nourishes the hope of a better world, creates favourable conditions for peace and harmonious development, while at the same time establishing solid foundations for securing the rights of future generations.

When the Church upholds this human right, she is not claiming any special privileges for herself. She wishes only to be faithful to the command of her divine founder, conscious that, where Christ is present, mankind becomes more human and founds its consistency. This is why the Church seeks to give witness by her preaching and teaching, both in catechesis and in schools and universities. It is greatly to be hoped that the moment will soon arrive when, here too, the Church can bring to the arenas of knowledge the benefits of the mission which the Lord entrusted to her and which she can never neglect.

A shining example of this commitment was the outstanding priest Félix Varela, educator and teacher, an illustrious son of this city of Havana, who has taken his place in Cuban history as the first one who taught his people how to think. Father Varela offers us a path to a true social transformation: to form virtuous men and women in order to forge a worthy and free nation, for this transformation depends on man’s spiritual life, in as much as “there is no authentic fatherland without virtue” (Letters to Elpidio, Letter 6, Madrid 1836, 220). Cuba and the world need change, but this will occur only if each one is in a position to seek the truth and chooses the way of love, sowing reconciliation and fraternity.

Invoking the maternal protection of Mary Most Holy, let us ask that each time we participate in the Eucharist we will also become witnesses to that charity which responds to evil with good (cf. Rom 12:51), offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to the one who lovingly gave himself up for our sake. Let us walk in the light of Christ who alone can destroy the darkness of error. And let us beg him that, with the courage and strength of the saints, we may be able, without fear or rancour but freely, generously and consistently, to respond to God. Amen.

PHOTOS: Getty

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The Hurricane King: In Miami, The "Reign of Tom" Begins

And so, as they like saying down in Florida, “Gentlemen, start your engines....”

Today, what’ll quickly become one of the more one of the more action-heavy ministries among the Stateside bench begins in the nation’s southernmost see with an unprecedented moment: the installation of a native son as archbishop.

Usually colorful, sometimes controversial, always hard-charging and outspoken (like the hurricane he was born in), Thomas Wenski’s triumphant return to Miami was already shaping up to be quite the moment. Yet while the degree of the change set to rock to the Southeast’s largest local church will be on full display at this afternoon's rites in St Mary's Cathedral, a quiet foretaste came late Sunday night, when a delegation of Haitians from the prodigal prelate’s first pastorate spontaneously converged on the Archbishop’s Residence, both to say “welcome home”... and ask for tough-to-get tickets to the afternoon Mass. (Which they got.)

To use his predecessor’s line, the significance of the moment isn’t just “very simple,” but especially rich. Now home to 1.3 million Catholics, the appointment of the 59 year-old polyglot comes as yet another matrix-shift reflecting the new reality of the Stateside church, its demographic center drastically shifted south and west over the last three decades, reiterating along the way the new message that, as the nation’s leading ecclesial outposts go, anyone unable to engage the fold's burgeoning Hispanic bloc need not apply.

What’s more, though, in the nation’s seventh-largest metropolitan area -- now a key center of commerce and culture, long a hub for migrants and, given its location, geopolitics -- the homecoming delivers a caliber of public leadership that, if ever experienced there, hasn’t been seen in South Florida since the era of Coleman Carroll, the Pittsburgh-born founder of the Miami church, who died in 1977 (and whose pectoral cross Wenski will wear at today's Mass).

In his prime, Carroll -- sent to Miami as first bishop in 1958, then elevated with his see to metropolitan rank just a decade later -- advised JFK on Cuba and rolled out the welcome mat to the first masses of exiles who fled the island following Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. Yet while his two successors diligently tended to the needs of the emergent diaspora, they took less of a public role on matters pertaining to the situation on the island. Now, however, a very different story begins: the Miami post belongs to the prelate who, in essence, has long held the US bench’s de facto Cuba portfolio, and a delegation of half-dozen Cuban bishops will be on hand for the installation.

The shift comes at a particularly sensitive time on the island, with the head of the Cuban church -- Havana’s Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino -- immersed in the hierarchy’s most extensive engagement yet with the country’s Communist government.

In an April interview with his diocesan magazine, Palabra Nueva, the usually-diplomatic cardinal said that a "very difficult situation" existed on the island -- "the most difficult we have lived in this 21st century" -- and that the lack of "the necessary changes" to "economic and social difficulties... produces impatience and unease in the people."

After citing the half-century embargo as a lead cause of the "somber" atmosphere, the leader of the Cuban church said he "believe[d] that a Cuban-US dialogue would be the first necessary step toward ending the critical cycle in which we find ourselves."

At a Havana briefing nine months earlier, another prelate remarked that "I believe that the church (both in Cuba and the US) wants to be the protagonist of a better approach... it's important we not lose the opportunity this time."

Some hours from now, the figure behind that statement formally takes the reins of the exile community's preeminent Stateside outpost.

Closer to home, the sound of Wenski’s Harley is just the symbol of an amplified public profile for the archbishopric, one that’s already been heard revving up.

Not content to wait until today, the past month’s already seen the appointee featured twice on the Miami Herald’s op-ed pages: first with a slightly edited version of the 20 April remarks at his appointment press conference, then with a mid-May call urging Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to sign a controversial anti-abortion bill precluding taxpayer funding of abortions in state health plans, and mandating that a woman be given the option to see an ultrasound before undergoing the procedure. (Though passed by the Florida house last month, the bill has yet to be sent to the governor, an independent candidate for the US Senate.)

As contrasts go, shortly after his 1994 arrival, Archbishop John Clement Favalora saw fit to start a weekly radio show on a church outlet, using it as his “media time.”

For Wenski, however, “media time” is all the time, and open to anyone who’ll listen... especially when he’s stuck in traffic.

The personality trait has scored its fruit: in Orlando, the bishop invariably became sought-out copy, with an uncanny ability to get seemingly any message out, whether he was delivering discourses in Creole following January’s Haitian earthquake, holding a unique Mass of Reparation over Notre Dame’s conferral of an honorary degree on President Obama, or -- as he did at his parting press conference in Orlando -- comparing the criminality of illegal immigration to getting a parking ticket.

Elected to oversee the US bishops’ migration efforts as a young auxiliary, on the key issue Wenski’s expected to become the Eastern parallel to the Pacific coast’s new ecclesial superpower, Coadjutor-Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, who’ll step into the USCCB’s migration chair come November. A veteran of migrant ministry who tutored his would-be predecessor on immigration law, the Miami designee’s repeatedly returned to the topic since his appointment, citing throughout his sound-byte summation of Catholic social teaching that -- whether it’s the unborn, the poor, the migrant, the elderly -- “no man is a problem.”

That said, no preview of the tenure at hand would be complete without mention of Haiti -- the heart of the archbishop’s Miami ministry for some 20 years. At the April press conference announcing the appointment, jubilant shouting in Creole could be heard at the back of the chancery courtyard. And though reports remained unclear into the 11th hour, as many as eight Haitian bishops -- the country’s entire episcopate -- are expected for today’s installation to pay tribute.

Four months after the magnitude 7.2 quake devastated the island already considered the poorest country in the West -- and the Floridian memorably beat his own path into Port-au-Prince, returning again after Easter -- Miami’s become the hub for coordinating the ongoing relief efforts. Able to tick off the rebuilding’s progress town by town, such is Wenski’s Haitian cred that, in the quake’s aftermath, some of his critics wishfully latched onto speculation which floated his name as a possible successor to Archbishop Joseph-Serge Miot of Port-au-Prince, who was killed in the disaster.

As not many prelates can lead the rebuilding of a foreign country, even that talk was an unwitting compliment.

Come the weekend, though, the fourth archbishop’s first Sunday Mass will be a raucous homecoming not at his cathedral, but in the heart of Little Haiti, at the mission parish he founded.

Several weeks before his transfer was announced, the story goes that a bouquet of flowers arrived at Wenski’s Orlando office, the card reading “Welcome home, Archbishop.”

At the time -- at least, officially -- the message was less fact than wish.

Today, the reality begins… buckle up.

* * *

A global profile might well await, but Job One facing the native son is no foreign mission, but a sizable rescue operation at home.

Publicly, the archbishop’s taken to saying that “South Florida has its challenges, but what else is new?” Behind the scenes, though, the financial “free fall” experienced by the Miami church amid the economic downturn has been credibly compared to the staggering state of the archdiocese of Detroit at the arrival of Archbishop Allen Vigneron, when the Motor City church was hemorrhaging to the tune of $40,000 a day and ended up having to lay off nearly a third of its central staff.

For his part, Favalora eased the burden by closing 13 parishes -- a tenth of the archdiocese’s outposts -- last August. Still, the “world of hurt” situation augurs the prospect of an administrative overhaul, and a seeming inevitability of tough calls in the short to mid-term future.

At the same time, Wenski returns well-equipped as temporalities go. Aided by his public profile and a keen cultivation of donors, the archbishop's twin major efforts in Orlando -- a $150 million capital campaign and the extensive restoration of St James' Cathedral -- were both proceeding apace as his homecoming was announced.

As the latter goes, while idle chatter over the Orlando succession has already reached fever-pitch levels along the I-4 corridor, it's worth noting that as -- at least, among other things -- the archbishop has indicated among friends his wish to preside over the cathedral's November rededication, smart money wouldn't expect an appointment to Disneyworld until after the mother-church's reopening. (Speaking of the 400,000-member Central Florida church, Wenski's tenure more than doubled its number of men in priestly formation, from 11 in 2003 to 27 at the start of the last academic year.)

While the “perfect storm” of the financial crunch, the parish closings and the clergy sex-abuse crisis have taken a toll on morale in the Miami church, another controversy of Favalora’s twilight reemerged over the weekend as Alberto Cutié -- the South Florida priest whose media ministry made him, arguably, among the best-known clerics in the Western hemisphere before his stunning defection from his ministry and the faith to marry last year -- was ordained a priest in the Episcopal church.

Photographed in vestments alongside his pregnant wife, the reemergence of the figure once known in Hispanic circles as “Father Oprah” on the area’s TV and newspapers, with the Herald noting that Cutié had gone on-record criticizing Anglicanorum coetibus -- Pope Benedict’s historic November outreach to disaffected Anglicans -- but kept a photo of the pontiff in his Bible, and in his prayers.

As one Miami cleric put it, that the Saturday rites got the attention they did served to show “the current standing of the archbishop in this town” -- that is, the lack thereof.

“But don’t worry,” he added. “That’ll change -- quick.”

His work cut out for him, the support from the locals is running high -- as Wenski prepares to receive the pallium from Pope Benedict four weeks from today in Rome (alongside, as of this writing, two other American archbishops), word is that the Miami pilgrimage isn't just sold out, but unused hotel rooms reserved for other US groups were needed to accommodate the nearly 300-member Florida delegation.

* * *

Lastly, the wider picture can’t go unnoted.

Given the explosive growth and vitality of the region -- and, indeed, B16’s desire to highlight these on the map -- it’s more likely than not that, within the next decade, the red hat of a cardinal will make an unprecedented arrival in the Old South. And with no less than six of the US’ 12 voting cardinals reaching the age of 80 -- and, ergo, losing their conclave rights -- over the next two years, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that the Southeast could even see two: one for Miami, and another for the juggernaut church of Atlanta, now home to roughly a million Catholics, a building and vocation boom and outsize crops of adults entering the church each Easter.

Either way, today’s installation completes a unique transformation in the reign of Benedict XVI as -- from the Appalachians to the Gulf, the Atlantic to the Mississippi -- the Southeast becomes the first region of the Stateside church to have all its metropolitans named under the watchful eye of the reigning pontiff.

Amid the historic backdrop of the vast area’s Catholic boom, the sea change at the top is significant in itself. What makes it all the more so, however, is the caliber of the churchmen the pontiff has put into place to guide the six archdioceses: each of them known as voices who're strong, yet not abrasive; administratively seasoned, but pastorally gifted; well-trained leaders in their own right, but “conference men” (that is, key figures among the body of bishops), to boot.

Five years in, that might serve as nutshell depiction of Benedict's picks across the board. Yet given the church's current coming of age in the last segment of the country where the faithful have arrived en masse, the stakes in the Southeast are considerably higher... and, again, the pinnacle of its ascent remains squarely ahead.

For the record, while Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta was appointed in November 2004 -- just three months prior to the death of Pope John Paul II -- he can be “grandfathered” into the Benedict group, given Joseph Ratzinger’s warm esteem for the former bench chief (and, by that point, his unchallenged hand on the Congregation for Bishops).

That said, the Miami installation isn’t the only signal event on this week’s South-church calendar: this Corpus Christi weekend will see another edition of the region's standout ecclesial gathering -- Atlanta's annual Eucharistic Congress at the Georgia World Congress Center, this year's turnout expected to build on last year's record crowd of 30,000-plus.

PHOTOS: Archdiocese of Miami(1); Ana Rodridgez-Soto/The Florida Catholic(2); Loggiarazzi(3)

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"The World Needs Reconciliation" – En Cuba, Un Instrumento De Paz

The Volo Papale set to touched down in Cuba just before 4pm local/Eastern time, here's the on-demand fullvid of the Pope's arrival ceremony at Havana's José Martí Airport....


Following the civic ceremony with speeches by Francis and President Raúl Castro, no further engagements are scheduled for today. Sunday's slate, however, is packed, beginning with a 9am Mass in the capital's Revolution Square (yet again in the shadow of Che), followed by private meetings with the leadership of the Communist government, Vespers in Havana Cathedral and an engagement with young people.

Breaking his normal practice, at tomorrow's liturgy the Pope will distribute Communion, but only to five Cuban children making their first Eucharist.

SVILUPPO – 4.45 Havana/ET: And here, the Vatican's English translation of Francis' arrival speech, which included greetings to Fidel Castro – who he will meet with over the trip – as well as a pointed, unscripted four words (in brackets) at which the Pope gazed squarely toward the Comrade's brother, the sitting president:

Mr President, Distinguished Authorities, Brother Bishops, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I thank you, Mr President, for your greeting and your kind words of welcome in the name of the government and the entire Cuban people. I also greet the authorities and the members of the diplomatic corps present at this ceremony.

My gratitude also goes to Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, Archbishop of Havana, the Most Reverend Dionisio Guillermo García Ibáñez, Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba and President of the Episcopal Conference, the other bishops and all the Cuban people, for their warm welcome.

I thank, too, all those who worked to prepare for this Pastoral Visit. Mr President, I would ask you to convey my sentiments of particular respect and consideration to your brother Fidel. I would like my greeting to embrace especially all those who, for various reasons, I will not be able to meet, and to Cubans throughout the world.

This year of 2015 marks the eightieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Cuba and the Holy See. Providence today enables me to come to this beloved nation, following the indelible path opened by the unforgettable apostolic journeys which my two predecessors, Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI, made to this island. I know that the memory of those visits awakens gratitude and affection in the people and leaders of Cuba. Today we renew those bonds of cooperation and friendship, so that the Church can continue to support and encourage the Cuban people in its hopes and concerns, with the freedom, the means and the space needed to bring the proclamation of the Kingdom to the existential peripheries of society.

This Apostolic Journey also coincides with the first centenary of Pope Benedict XV’s declaration of our Lady of Charity of El Cobre as Patroness of Cuba. It was the veterans of the War of Independence who, moved by sentiments of faith and patriotism, wanted the Virgen mambisa to be the patroness of Cuba as a free and sovereign nation. Since that time she has accompanied the history of the Cuban people, sustaining the hope which preserves people’s dignity in the most difficult situations and championing the promotion of all that gives dignity to the human person. The growing devotion to the Virgin is a visible testimony of her presence in the soul of the Cuban people. In these days I will have occasion to go to El Cobre, as a son and pilgrim, to pray to our Mother for all her Cuban children and for this beloved nation, that it may travel the paths of justice, peace, liberty and reconciliation.

Geographically, Cuba is an archipelago, facing all directions, with an extraordinary value as a “key” between north and south, east and west. Its natural vocation is to be a point of encounter for all peoples to join in friendship, as José Martí dreamed, “regardless of the languages of isthmuses and the barriers of oceans” (La Conferencia Monetaria de las Repúblicas de América, in Obras escogidas II, La Habana, 1992, 505). Such was also the desire of Saint John Paul II, with his ardent appeal: “May Cuba, with all its magnificent potential, open itself to the world, and may the world open itself to Cuba” (Arrival Ceremony, 21 January 1998, 5).

For some months now, we have witnessed an event which fills us with hope: the process of normalizing relations between two peoples following years of estrangement. It is a sign of the victory of the culture of encounter and dialogue, “the system of universal growth” over “the forever-dead system of groups and dynasties” (José Martí, loc. cit.). I urge political leaders to persevere on this path and to develop all its potentialities as a proof of the high service which they are called to carry out on behalf of the peace and well-being of their peoples, of all America, and as an example of reconciliation for the entire world. [The world needs reconciliation amidst this third World War we are witnessing in stages.]

I place these days under the protection of our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Blessed Olallo Valdés and Blessed José López Pietreira, and Venerable Félix Varela, the great promoter of love between Cubans and all peoples, so that our bonds of peace, solidarity and mutual respect may ever increase.
Once again, thank you, Mr. President.

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Red Pope Gets His Choice

Score one for the prefect of Propaganda Fide. More importantly, score yet another one for Vox Clara.

In an announcement that should come as a surprise to no one, earlier today Benedict XVI named Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Agra as archbishop of Bombay. The new head of India's most prominent local church'll get to pay his thank-you visits next week, when the commission for English liturgical translations meets again at Culto Divino; Ozzie serves as VC's second vice-chair.

Elsewhere on the Roman beat on this Saturday, the Pope received Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, SJ, the retired archbishop of Milan, in yet another private audience.... Martini's been received more than any other non-curial cardinal, active or otherwise. Interesting, eh?

FYI, the superlative Italian journal 30 giorni just published Martini's reflections at the 50th anniversary of Pius XII's encyclical on the Sacred Heart, Haurietis aquas. Also "in" today were Cardinals Castrillion, Martino and Jaime Ortega y Alamino, the archbishop of Havana.

Yesterday, B16 had a sit-down with Cardinal Carlo Caffarra of Bologna.... But was the CEI on the docket? We'll see soon enough.

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