On Africa: Protagonist of a New Season of Hope

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 23, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in Paul VI Hall. The Pope reflected upon his apostolic journey to Benin.

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Dear brothers and sisters,

Still alive within me are the impressions made during my recent Apostolic Journey to Benin, which I desire to reflect upon today. Thanksgiving to the Lord flows spontaneously from my soul: in His providence, He willed that I return to Africa a second time as Successor of Peter -- on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the evangelization of Benin, and in order to sign and officially consign to the African ecclesial communities the Postsynodal Apostolic Exhortation Africae Munus. In this important document -- after having reflected on the analysis and proposals put forth in the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, held in the Vatican in October 2009 -- I wanted to offer several guidelines for pastoral activities in the great African continent. At the same time, I wanted to pay homage and pray at the tomb of a noble son of Benin and of Africa and a great man of the Church -- the unforgettable Cardinal Bernardin Gantin -- whose venerable memory is more alive than ever in his country, where he is looked upon as a Father of his homeland and of the entire continent.

ማኅበር ካፑቺን ኣብ ምድረ ደንከል ካብ ዚኣቱ
"125 ዓመት ገይሩ።

ብሰንበት 6.11.2011 ቀዳሞት ሰበኽቲ ወንጌል ደቂ ቅዱስ ፍራንቸስኮስ ካፑቺናውያንን ደናግል ደቂ ቅድስቲ ሓናን ኣብ ምድሪ ደንከል ካብ ዚኣትዉ መበል 125 ዓመት ኪዝክሩ በዓል ተገብረ። ኣስላምን ክርስቲያንን ኣብ ሓደ መኣዲ ኅውነትን ጸሎትን ኪሳተፉ መደብ ወጺኡ ነበረ። እንተኾነ፡ ዒድ ስለዝነበረ፡ ኵላቶም ኣኅዋትና ኣስላም ኣብቲ ጽንብል ክሳተፉ ኣይምኸኣሉን ነይሮም እሞ፤ ኣብ ዓሰብ ዚነብሩ ፈለስቲ ብሮቡዕ 9.11.2011 ንመራሕቲ ሃይማኖት፡ዓበይቲ ዓዲ፡ መራሕቲ መሳጊድ መሻይኽ፡ ደርደራት፡ ካብ ራሓይታ፡ ካብ ኣቦ፡ ካብ ኩሌማ፡ ካብ ደባይሲማ፡ ካብ ኢላለ፡ ካብ በርዓሶለ፡ ካብ ዒዲ፡ ጢዖ፡ በይሉል፡ ኣፋምቦ፡ ዓሰብ፥ ካብ ነፍስወከፍ ዓዲ 5 ሰባት ወከልቲ፡ ኣመሓዳሪ ዓሰቦይ፡ ኣመሓዳሪ ሸኻይቶ፡ ኣመሓዳሪ ብሌንሠላማ፡ ሓላፊ ሃይማኖታዊ ጕዳያት ኣቶ መሓመድ እሽማዒል፡ ሓላፊ ባይቶ ተቅባ ደ/ቀ/ባሕሪ ኣቶ ዓሊ ኑር፡ ቀዳሞት ተመሃሮን፡ ደናግል ቅድስቲ ሓናን ዝርከብዎም፡ ኣስታት 80 ዓበይቲ ወከልቲ ዞባ ብምዕዳም፡ ናይ ምሳሕ ግብጃ ገበሩሎም።

WASHINGTON, D.C., NOV. 23, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Approximately 100 million women worldwide use some version of "the Pill," or combined oral contraceptives. In the developed world, the use of some form of contraceptive is nearly universal, with surgical sterilization and oral contraception the most popular methods.[1] As the United States and other Western powers continue to spend billions of dollars on the "reproductive health" of women in the developing world, the numbers of users continue to rise.

Pope: Study the Eastern Catholic Churches

November Intention: That Whole Church Will Esteem This "Spiritual Treasure"

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 3, 2011 (Zenit)Benedict XVI is praying this month for an increase in knowledge of and esteem for the Eastern Catholic Churches.

The Apostleship of Prayer announced the intentions chosen by the Pope for this month. His general intention is "that the Eastern Catholic Churches and their venerable traditions may be known and esteemed as a spiritual treasure for the whole Church."  The Eastern Catholic Churches are in full communion with Rome. They originate in Eastern Europe, Asia or Africa and have their own liturgical and legal systems. The national or ethnic character of their regions of origin identifies these Churches. There are 22 Eastern Catholic Churches, and their members number worldwide between 16 million and 17 million.

The Pontiff's mission intention is focused on Africa: "That the African continent may find strength in Christ to pursue justice and reconciliation as set forth by the Second Synod of African Bishops."  Benedict XVI will be traveling to Benin in just over two weeks for a three-day apostolic trip.

Pope's Message for World Day of Migrants and Refugees

"A New Evangelization Also in the Vast and Complex Phenomenon of Human Mobility"

Proclaiming Jesus Christ the one Saviour of the world "constitutes the essential mission of the Church. It is a task and mission which the vast and profound changes of present-day society make all the more urgent" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14). Indeed, today we feel the urgent need to give a fresh impetus and new approaches to the work of evangelization in a world in which the breaking down of frontiers and the new processes of globalization are bringing individuals and peoples even closer. This is both because of the development of the means of social communication and because of the frequency and ease with which individuals and groups can move about today. In this new situation we must reawaken in each one of us the enthusiasm and courage that motivated the first Christian communities to be undaunted heralds of the Gospel’s newness, making St Paul’s words resonate in our hearts: "For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" (1 Cor 9:16).