Activities of the Catholic Church in the International Arena: Position of Pope Benedict XVI

Author(s):  
Ivan Danyliuk

The article analyzes the diplomatic activity of the Catholic Church on the internationalarena in the views of Pope Benedict XVI. The article briefly describes the activities of the Catholic Church and the Holy See in the international arena. An analysis of the interconnection between the Catholic Church and the Holy See is made, which is conditioned by the factual merger of the legal order of these institutions. The mission of the Church in the international activities is analyzed. The main focus of the article is made on the views of Pope Benedict XVI on the international activities of the Catholic Church and the Holy See. The article considers the main ideas of the Pope regarding international activities of the Catholic Church and the Holy See, as well as the proposals of Benedict XVI to the international community. Benedict XVI’s critics of the United Nations structures were analyzed, as well as his proposals regarding United Nations reforms and the formation of «true world political authority». Also, the article considered issues that were actualized by Pope Benedict XVI on the international scene, namely: the protection of human rights and freedoms, the protection of religious freedom, responsibility for protection, the issue of peace and refugees. Keywords: Catholic Church, Holy See, Vatican, diplomacy, international relations

Author(s):  
John L. Allen

Roman Catholicism stands at a crossroads, a classic ''best of times, worst of times'' moment. On the one hand, the Catholic Church remains by far the largest branch of the worldwide Christian family, and is growing at a remarkable clip. Yet the Church has also been rocked by a series of scandals related to the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, and, even more devastating, the cover-up by the Church hierarchy. The decade-long crisis has taken a massive financial toll, but the blow to both the internal morale and the external moral standing of the Church has been even steeper. Today, the Church has enormous residual strength and exciting future prospects, but also faces steep internal and external challenges. The question of ''whither Catholicism'' is of vital public relevance, for believers and non-believers alike. In The Catholic Church: What Everyone Needs to Know, John L. Allen, Jr., one of the world's leading authorities on the Vatican, offers an authoritative and accessible guide to the past, present, and future of the Church. This updated edition includes a new chapter on the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the election of Pope Francis, and his extraordinary tenure thus far.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-176
Author(s):  
Mária Csatlós

With the available archival resources and through exploring the life, work and political actions of Endre Ágotha, the dean and parish priest of Nyárádselye I trace the unfolding and failing of the schismatic catholic peace movement legitimated in Marosvásárhely in the period 1950-1956. The state backed “Catholic Action” did not succeed in severing the Catholic Church in Romania from Rome by settling the “pending cases” between the church and the state and only a small portion of the clergy joined the movement, yet it has made significant moral damages by dividing the believers and the clergy. The Holy See condemned the movement and it’s key figure Endre Ágotha has brought upon himself the harshest punishment of the Catholic Church: excommunicates vitandus. He received absolution only on his deathbed.


Author(s):  
Martina Ambrosini

As those of other Western countries, Italian media often employ the term “clash of civilisation” [conflitto di civiltà] to refer to the relationship between “Islam” and the “West”. The Muslim world is simplistically described, and perceived, as a monolithic reality. Its representation by media ranges from that of an irrational to that of an intolerant religion. The expression “clash of civilization” was especially used in September 2006, after the Pope’s lectio magistralis at Regensburg University caused vigorous protests to take place in the Muslim world. Benedict XVI seemed to present the Christian God as the only rational divinity, and Islam as an irrational religion. After international Muslim communities asked for an official apology, the Pope held a meeting with the ambassadors from Islamic States to the Holy See, and the representatives of the Italian Muslim communities, to explain his words. This paper analyzes the way in which this event was presented by the Italian media – including right-wing, mainstream and Catholic media - with the aim of understanding the official reaction of the Vatican (as reported by the Osservatore Romano), the Italian Catholic Church (as reported by Avvenire), and the Italian public opinion


BMJ ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 337 (dec17 2) ◽  
pp. a2768-a2768 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. C Payne ◽  
R. E Payne ◽  
D. M Farewell

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Mavelli

AbstractTaking the cue from the controversial speech of Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg in 2006, this paper explores the connection between the apparently divergent positions taken by the Catholic Church and the European secular establishment on the question of European identity and Islam. The argument is advanced that the proceduralism of the European secular establishment contributes to breed its nemesis, a conservative politicised church, but also converges with it in identifying Islam as 'the Other.' It is thus asked whether a critical valorisation of Europe's emotional attachments may not actually strengthen its capacity to embrace the 'difference' represented by Islam.


Author(s):  
Pierre Baudry

This papers analyses the speech by Benedict XVI at the University of Ratisbonne. I focus on a often overlooked aspect of this speech: the critic of Modernity and the general perspective for the future of religions. Benedict XVI develops an analysis of the place of the Church through the concepts of ‘faith’, ‘reason’, ‘violence’. The apologetic tone is clear: only the Catholic Church has maintened a “reasonable religion“ according to the Pope. But he defends an international perspective for the Church in a globalised world and sketch a manifesto for Catholicism in a multicultural civilisation.


Author(s):  
Ivan Danyliuk

In the article are considered the role of the Holy See and the Catholic Church in the de-isolation of Cuba in the international community and the promotion of the restoration of relations with the world community. The article analyzes the change in the international situation that has forced the Cuban government to dialogue with the Catholic Church, as well as the strengthening of the position of the Catholic Church on the Cuban island. The resumption of relations between Cuba and the Holy See was mutually beneficial and necessary for both sides. The Cuban government needed a new ally to get out of isolation. For the Vatican it was necessary to legalize the activities of the Catholic Church on the Cuban island. It is noted that three popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis played a part in the withdrawal from international isolation. The visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba attracted attention to Cuba and became a step that began the process of legalizing the Catholic Church on the island and de-isolating Cuba. Benedict XVI’s visit came at a time when the leadership changed, when Cuba was governed by Raul Castro, who conducted a series of reforms. And of course, Pope Francis played a key role in the process of restoring relations with the United States and the de-isolation of Cuba in the international arena. Cuba has undoubtedly benefited from the active interventions of Vatican diplomacy and the Holy See, which has been distinguished how in Cuba’s international statuses and so in Cuba’s economic, tourism and information areas. However, the Cuban breakthrough was also an achievement for the Holy See’s peacekeeping diplomacy on international arena. For a long time, Vatican diplomacy has once again received vocal recognition on the international stage. The Cuban breakthrough testified that even today in the XXI-st century, the «soft power» of the Vatican diplomacy See and the Pope of the Catholic Church are able to engage the conflicting parties in dialogue, to promote mutual understanding, tolerance, peaceful coexistence, international cooperation and security.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudy Trisno ◽  
Fermanto Lianto

<p>According to Pope Benedict XVI, the Catholic building church after the Second Vatican Council reduced the value of sacredness so that the sacredness of the expression of the form of a Catholic church is considered to fade. This statement from the Pope is exciting to be an issue for researchers to search for indicator values of the Catholic Church's sacredness before the Second Vatican Council. The Cathedral Church was founded before the Second Vatican Council. This study's method is a quantitative method by taking as many as 250 respondents who were grouped as users and observers as defining the population and purposive sampling to determine the impression of the sacredness felt by respondents through several indicator values. The conclusions obtained in this quantitative analysis are the sacred indicator values of the church received from; (1) Variables of the liturgy function; (2) Variables of form expression. The findings in this study are: (1) The Catholic Church founded before the Second Vatican Council is still imperfect; that is, this church is not following its ritual function. (2) The expression of the Catholic Church's form can be said to be sacred if the form's concept follows the function by considering indicator values of sacredness.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudy Trisno ◽  
Fermanto Lianto

<p>According to Pope Benedict XVI, the Catholic building church after the Second Vatican Council reduced the value of sacredness so that the sacredness of the expression of the form of a Catholic church is considered to fade. This statement from the Pope is exciting to be an issue for researchers to search for indicator values of the Catholic Church's sacredness before the Second Vatican Council. The Cathedral Church was founded before the Second Vatican Council. This study's method is a quantitative method by taking as many as 250 respondents who were grouped as users and observers as defining the population and purposive sampling to determine the impression of the sacredness felt by respondents through several indicator values. The conclusions obtained in this quantitative analysis are the sacred indicator values of the church received from; (1) Variables of the liturgy function; (2) Variables of form expression. The findings in this study are: (1) The Catholic Church founded before the Second Vatican Council is still imperfect; that is, this church is not following its ritual function. (2) The expression of the Catholic Church's form can be said to be sacred if the form's concept follows the function by considering indicator values of sacredness.</p>


Author(s):  
László Holló ◽  

Following the Treaty of Trianon, the situation of the Catholic Church operating on the territory of the Kingdom of Romania was regularized within a concordat agreement concluded in 1927 between the Romanian Government and the Holy See as interested parties. Since due to the compromises Section 9 of the Concordat, addressing the legal situation of the church, became meaningful ─ a development that parties opposing the Concordat exploited –, the contracting parties agreed on a detailed explanation under an accord drafted in the early 1930s. Our study presents the thriller-like antecedents and aftermath of the Accord, signed on 30 May 1932 between the contracting parties, relating to the interpretation of Section 9 of the Concordat concluded between the Holy See and the Romanian Government on 10 May 1927. The successive, short-lived Romanian governments could not give effect to the agreement due to the nationalist propaganda heavily present in the media. Abuses arising from the various interpretations eventually led to the appearance of the Accord in the form a decree-law on 2 May 1940. Keywords: concordat, accord, Holy See, Romanian Government, Roman Catholic Status of Transylvania


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