Vatican City, May 18, 2012 / 04:45 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI says he is praying that a renewal of female religious life in the United States will “recapture a sense of the sublime dignity and beauty of the consecrated life.”

“I wish to reaffirm my deep gratitude for the example of fidelity and self-sacrifice given by many consecrated women in your country, and to join them in praying that this moment of discernment will bear abundant spiritual fruit for the revitalization and strengthening of their communities in fidelity to Christ and the Church, as well as to their founding charisms,” the Pope said on May 18.

He made his comments to a delegation of U.S. bishops from the Eastern Catholic churches that is currently in Rome on a May 15-19 “ad limina” pilgrimage.

Last month the Vatican called for a reform of the Maryland-based Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), after concluding there was a “crisis” of belief throughout its ranks. It also appointed Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle to lead the renewal efforts.
 
During his May 18 address, Pope Benedict asked the bishops to promote and pray for new religious vocations, since there is an “urgent need in our own time for credible and attractive witnesses to the redemptive and transformative power of the Gospel.”

He also called for a “strengthening of the existing channels for communication and cooperation” between dioceses and the individual religious communities within their territory.

The Vatican’s decision to reform the LCWR followed a four-year audit of the group by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Among its key findings, the assessment documented serious theological and doctrinal errors in presentations at the conference’s annual assemblies in recent years.

Several speakers depicted a vision of religious life that is incompatible with the Catholic faith, the assessment said, with some attempting to justify dissent from Church teaching and showing “scant regard for the role of the Magisterium.”
 
Pope Benedict’s audience with the leaders of the Eastern Catholic churches marks the conclusion of several months of “ad limina” visits by U.S. bishops.

The Pope said he hoped that the forthcoming Year of Faith, which begins in October, will “awaken a desire on the part of the entire Catholic community in America to re-appropriate with joy and gratitude the priceless treasure of our faith.”
 
“With the progressive weakening of traditional Christian values, and the threat of a season in which our fidelity to the Gospel may cost us dearly,” he warned, “the truth of Christ needs not only to be understood, articulated and defended, but to be proposed joyfully and confidently as the key to authentic human fulfillment and to the welfare of society as a whole.”

Madrid, Spain, May 18, 2012 / 04:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Priests in Spain voiced support for a local bishop after a city council adopted a motion banning him from official city events over his remarks criticizing dangerous behaviors within the gay community. 

On May 15 the Alaca city council passed the motion, which also called for Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Pla to be moved to another diocese.

“In response to these very grave acts, we express our adherence to the Catholic doctrine taught by our father and pastor, Bishop Reig, as well as our support for him and his apostolic ministry, and we invite all to pray for religious freedom, for our Bishop and for those who persecute the Catholic Church,” the  priests said in a statement Tuesday.

The motion to transfer the bishop was presented by the group Union, Progress and Democracy and was backed by other left-leaning organizations as well as the Spanish Socialist Party. The ruling People’s Party, however, has opposed the motion.

Bishop Reig Pla has faced intense criticism after remarks given in a Good Friday sermon in which he condemned sexual practices he believes to be harmful.

As part of a larger cultural critique of sexual behavior in modern society, he lamented how some with same-sex attraction “corrupt and prostitute themselves or go to gay night clubs” in order to “validate” their struggle.

“I assure you what they encounter is pure hell,” he said on April 6.

In response to the bishop, Socialist Party spokesman Javier Rodriguez said his comments have put him as well as the diocese “on the homophobic map.”

Bishop Reig Pla, however, has gained the support of the Spanish bishops' conference, whose secretary general, Auxiliary Bishop Juan Antonio Martinez Camino of Madrid, called the controversy caused by his sermon “unjust.”

The International Federation of Associations of Catholic Doctors has also voiced support for Bishop Reig Pla as well as more than 20 locals struggling with same-sex attraction who personally wrote the bishop to thank him for his remarks. 

By birth Pope John was a Tuscan, the son of Constantius. He was an archdeacon for several years before being elected Pope upon the death of Pope St. Hormisdas in 523. He was also a good friend and confidant of the philosopher Boethius.In 525 Pope John was sent to Constantinople by King Theodoric of the Ostrogoths to reverse an edict sent out by Emperor Justin against the Arians two years earlier, which required Arians to give back churches which they had taken from orthodox Catholics. Throdoric was himself an Arian, and a strong defender of Arianism (a heresy which arose in the 4th century and denied the divinity of Christ).Even though Theodoric wanted a reversal of Justin’s policy, Pope John did not comply with his wishes. Refusing to support heresy, he only counseled the Emperor Justin to be more gentle in his overzealous dealings with the Arians.The success that Pope John achieved was contrary to the wishes of Theodoric. He was received as the Successor of Peter and all the bishops of the East, with the exception of one, affirmed their communion with him and his precedence as Bishop of Rome, notable by the fact that it was he who presided over the Easter liturgy in Constantinople on April 19, 526. Even the Emperor Justin prostrated himself at the Pope’s feet.However, on his return to Rome, Theodoric, who had just murdered John’s good friend Boethius, and was furious with the outcome of the mission and had the Pope imprisoned in Ravenna, where he died of starvation and ill treatment.His body was taken to Rome where he now lies buried in the basilica of St. Peter.

9And the Lord said to Paul in the night, by a vision: Do not fear, but speak; and hold not thy peace, 10Because I am with thee: and no man shall set upon thee, to hurt thee; for I have much people in this city. 11And he stayed there a year and six months, teaching among them the word of God. 12But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, 13Saying: This man persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. 14And when Paul was beginning to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews: If it were some matter of injustice, or an heinous deed, O Jews, I should with reason bear with you. 15But if they be questions of word and names, and of your law, look you to it: I will not be judge of such things. 16And he drove them from the judgment seat. 17And all laying hold on Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, beat him before the judgment seat; and Gallio cared for none of those things. 18But Paul, when he had stayed yet many days, taking his leave of the brethren, sailed thence into Syria (and with him Priscilla and Aquila), having shorn his head in Cenchrae: for he had a vow.