Good afternoon. I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.
As you may know, Pope Benedict XVI will be making a three-day visit to Turkey tomorrow, November 28, through December 1.
I wish to share with you the following prayer and invite you to say this prayer daily during the Holy Father’s pilgrimage for peace:
NOVEMBER 28 – DECEMBER 1, 2006
Heavenly Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name, we humbly ask that you sustain, inspire, and protect your servant, Pope Benedict XVI, as he goes on pilgrimage to Turkey – a land to which St. Paul brought the Gospel of your Son; a land where once the Mother of your Son, the Seat of Wisdom, dwelt; a land where faith in your Son’s true divinity was definitively professed. Bless our Holy Father, who comes as a messenger of truth and love to all people of faith and good will dwelling in this land so rich in history. In the power of the Holy Spirit, may this visit of the Holy Father bring about deeper ties of understanding, cooperation, and peace among Roman Catholics, the Orthodox, and those who profess Islam. May the prayers and events of these historic days greatly contribute both to greater accord among those who worship you, the living and true God, and also to peace in our world so often torn apart by war and sectarian violence.
We also ask, O Heavenly Father, that you watch over and protect Pope Benedict and entrust him to the loving care of Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Fatima, a title cherished both by Catholics and Muslims. Through her prayers and maternal love, may Pope Benedict be kept safe from all harm as he prays, bears witness to the Gospel, and invites all peoples to a dialogue of faith, reason, and love. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Prayer composed by Bishop William E. Lori, Supreme Chaplain, Knights of Columbus
I also wish to share with you a joint statement that I have issued with Metropolitan Methodios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston:
BOSTON – Metropolitan Methodios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston and Seán Cardinal O’Malley of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston have issued the present joint statement of fraternal understanding and prayer for the upcoming three-day visit of Pope Benedict XVI with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul, Turkey on November 28 – December 1, 2006. As global tensions run high, the local Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic hierarchs pray for the safety and fruitful ecumenical dialogue of their respective Church world leaders.
Pope Benedict will visit the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the invitation of the Ecumenical Patriarch, the spiritual leader of more than 270 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, for the occasion of the feast day of Saint Andrew the Apostle, the older brother of Saint Peter. Saint Andrew traveled across Asia Minor and is the founder of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the former name for present-day Istanbul. Both prelates are noted throughout the world for their extraordinary efforts to create bridges of truth and love across religious, ethnic, environmental, and political divides.
Metropolitan Methodios and Seán Cardinal O’Malley are hopeful that the meeting between Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Benedict, the two “Bridge Builders” and “Peacemakers” of Apostolic Christendom, will influence ties between their respective churches and have a profound impact on religious freedom and on the recognition of minority rights.
Until my weekly post on Friday……
God Bless,
Cardinal Seán