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(Vatican Radio) An ecumenical re-dedication service took place in Jerusalem's Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre on Wednesday as restoration work on the chapel containing Jesus burial place was unveiled. Representatives of all the local Christian Churches gathered alongside special guests including Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the Orthodox world. 

Pope Francis was represented by the Vatican’s representative to Israel and Palestine, Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto.

Philippa Hitchen is in Jerusalem and sends this report…

Listen:

A visit to the Holy Land is often described as discovering the fifth Gospel, a place where every stone and every street name brings to life the events of the Old and New Testaments. The city of Jerusalem is at the heart of that experience, where Christians can follow in the footsteps of Jesus throughout the events of Holy week and Easter, walking the way of the cross to the place of his crucifixion, burial and Resurrection.

For years though, the Edicule, or tiny chapel inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre housing Jesus' tomb has been badly in need of repair, damaged by the crowds of pilgrims, by the pollution and by the high humidity levels

Last year an intensive restoration programme began with a budget estimated at 3.5 million dollars. The 3 main Christian groups in charge of maintaining the holy sites, Greek Orthodox, Armenians and the Franciscan Custody financed the works, together with funding from the Greek government, the Palestinian Authority and from the Jordanian royal family.

The Vatican also contributed a million dollars to the project and to the restoration of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem. That money will be much needed since today's unveiling marks only the first stage of a much larger project to lift the floor, reset the pipes and shore up the foundations of the shrine.

For a site that was often in the news in past years for brawls that broke out between priests or monks arguing over who was in charge of which parts of the shrine, today's rededication is a good news story of successful ecumenical cooperation. 

During the next phase of work, though, further archaeological excavations may also be carried out. Given the significance of this site, which Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew visited together almost 3 years ago, who knows what kind of discoveries the archaeologists may bring to light. That spirit of cooperation and shared Christian witness was highlighted by speakers at today’s liturgy but it will continue to be much needed over the coming years.

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Vatican City, Mar 22, 2017 / 10:57 am (CNA).- A cute moment was captured on camera Wednesday, as a 3-year-old girl “stole” Pope Francis’ zucchetto – or skull cap – at the papal general audience.

Little Estella lives in Georgia. She was in Rome with her godfather, Mountain Butorac. Waiting in St. Peter’s Square at the general audience, she was invited by a member of the papal security team to go greet the Pope as he came by.

Pope Francis offered the young girl a kiss on the cheek, and she reached up and grabbed his zucchetto. A moment later, she returned the hat to a laughing pontiff.

Took my Goddaughter to meet the pope. She stole his hat! pic.twitter.com/SdSorop3uN

— Mountain Butorac (@MountainButorac) March 22, 2017 Meanwhile, Butorac captured the incident on his phone camera, and posted it to Twitter, where it quickly received more than 8,000 likes.

“It’s exciting!” Butorac told BuzzFeed News. “I’m sure every godparent would love for their godchild to meet the Holy Father. Mine just did and it was not only a special holy moment, but hilarious too!”

 

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London, England, Mar 22, 2017 / 01:30 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Church and government leaders offered prayers in the aftermath of an attack in London on Wednesday afternoon.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the incident in Westminster this afternoon,” read a post on Twitter from the news page of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

Details surrounding the March 22 attack in Westminster remained unclear some four hours after an attacker in a car apparently plowed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge. The assailant then reportedly crashed the car and attempted to enter the Parliament building with a knife before being shot by armed police.   

According to the Guardian, four people were killed, including one police officer and one man believed to be the assailant. About 20 others were reported injured, some severely.

Nearby government buildings were placed on lockdown while authorities worked to ensure the safety of the area. Scotland Yard said the attack is being treated “as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise.”

March 22 marks the one-year anniversary of the Brussels airport bombings that left more than 30 dead and 300 injured. Those bombings were declared the deadliest act of terrorism in Belgium's history.

While details surrounding the London attack remain uncertain, religious and national leaders offered condolences and prayers.

“Please join me in praying for the people of #London, especially those killed and injured today. St. George and St. Paul, pray for us,” said Bishop James Conley of Lincoln on Twitter.

“Terrible scene in London,” said U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan in a post on Twitter. “Praying for the victims of this apparent act of terror. We stand with our friends in Parliament and Great Britain.”

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also released a statement offering prayers.

“On behalf of the United States, I express my condolences to the victims and their families,” he said. “The American people send their thoughts and prayers to the people of the United Kingdom. We condemn these horrific acts of violence, and whether they were carried out by troubled individuals or by terrorists, the victims know no difference.”

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IMAGE: CNS

By Dennis Sadowski

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- These days when Pope Francis talks about integral human development and his vision of a church that goes to the margins of the world, he undoubtedly thanks a predecessor of 50 years ago for the inspiration.

Blessed Paul VI addressed "the progressive development of peoples" as "an object of deep interest and concern to the church" in his encyclical "Populorum Progressio" ("The Progress of Peoples") that emerged in the years following the Second Vatican Council.

Pope Francis has used language similar to that in the encyclical in his admonitions of the world economy and his vision for a more merciful world.

Released March 26, 1967 -- perhaps purposefully on Easter -- Blessed Paul's encyclical rooted the Catholic Church in solidarity with the world's poorest nations. He called for the elimination of economic disparity and reminded people to recognize the common threads that unite humanity in a world with finite resources.

"We are the heirs of earlier generations, and we reap benefits from the efforts of our contemporaries; we are under obligation to all men," Blessed Paul wrote in his only social encyclical. "Therefore, we cannot disregard the welfare of those who will come after us to increase the human family. The reality of human solidarity brings us not only benefits but also obligations."

Such a call has repeatedly echoed throughout Pope Francis' four-year pontificate. A reading of his apostolic exhortation "The Joy of the Gospel" ("Evangelii Gaudium") and his encyclical on the environment and human development, "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," he reminds the human family of the social responsibilities to care for one another. In line with Blessed Paul, he has repeatedly recalled the social injuries caused by an "economic system that has the god of money at its center," as he said in a message to the U.S. Regional World Meeting of Popular Movements in Modesto, California, in February.

While 50 years have passed and the political discussion has shifted to new issues, the message of "Populorum Progressio" has been resurrected in a 21st-century pope and remains as important today as it was in 1967, social policy experts told Catholic News Service as the encyclical's golden anniversary approached.

"'Populorum Progressio' and the whole idea of integral human development is really the cornerstone of everything since (then) in the church," said Dana Dillon, assistant professor of theology at Providence College.

The message, if not the specific words, has resonated through the pontificates of St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, but it is Pope Francis who has renewed the call for true human development in a world still experiencing economic inequality and vast pockets of extreme poverty, said Leonard Calabrese, retired executive director of the Commission on Catholic Community Action in the Cleveland Diocese.

"It's not only about economic development. It's also about distributive justice and a concern for fairness for how development and the benefits of development are spread through the society," Calabrese said, comparing the similar calls from both popes.

Jesuit Father Drew Christiansen, distinguished professor of ethics and global development at Georgetown University, called Pope Francis a "Paul VI pope" because of his reliance on the Holy Spirit in calling the world to mercy and justice.

The timing of the encyclical's release -- less than 16 months after Vatican II concluded -- fed eager laypeople and clergy to go into the world to share the good news through action. Not only did Blessed Paul announce the formation of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace then, but the document inspired the introduction in 1969 of what today is the U.S. bishops' Catholic Campaign for Human Development and gave birth to social action offices in many dioceses.

"It had carriers all over the world who were sympathetic to the mood of the council and the themes of the church's involvement in the world of the council. It energized the church and many people in the development field," Father Christiansen said.

Massimo Faggioli, professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University, suggested it was time for the church to take a deeper look at "Populorum Progressio" at this point in the church's history. "It is relevant because it is a time to rediscover what was the most radical Catholic social teaching of these last 50 years," he told CNS.

The document raised the profile of the church's concern for people in the global south at a time when European colonialism was declining, giving people across Africa, Asia and Latin America greater hope that the church was with them, Faggioli explained.

In the global north, however, the encyclical was panned. Vermont Royster, editor of The Wall Street Journal at the time, called it "warmed-over Marxism" because it challenged capitalism's inherent rush to achieve profit at the expense of human life. Others were critical of Blessed Paul VI's assessment that economic trade must benefit both the developed countries and those emerging from the colonialism that had dominated the world for centuries, feeling it was too judgmental of existing corporate practices.

Samuel Gregg, director of research at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty in Grand Rapids, Michigan, writing for Crisis Magazine March 3, questioned why Blessed Paul addressed such questions specifically. He questioned the prudential judgments offered by Blessed Paul about such matters because "there's often no single right answer for Catholics."

Still, he credited Blessed Paul for his emphasis on core church teaching on integral human development.

"Paul VI reminded us that while human development has a material dimension, it cannot be reduced to material growth," Gregg wrote in an email to CNS. "We fully develop when we freely choose the goods that are distinctly human and act accordingly. If Catholics lose sight of this truth when we talk about topics ranging from justice to the decisions of political and business leaders to the environment, then we will have nothing distinctive to say about human development."

While the particulars of trade deals may have shifted over the last half-century, the overall issue of the importance of building relationships among people in developed and undeveloped nations remains, said John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University.

Blessed Paul envisioned that economic development could lead to long-lasting peace, Carr said. "Development and justice is more a matter of being more than having more. Being more a worker, being a husband, mother, a citizen," he said.

Carr points particularly to paragraph 47 of the encyclical as a vital passage that raises questions that resonate today as they did in 1967. In the passage, Blessed Paul explained that simply ending hunger and reducing poverty was not enough. He called on people to build a human community across borders, cultures and economic classes.

Blessed Paul continues: "On the part of the rich man, it calls for great generosity, willing sacrifice and diligent effort. Each man must examine his conscience, which sounds a new call in our present times. Is he prepared to support, at his own expense, projects and undertakings designed to help the needy? Is he prepared to pay higher taxes so that public authorities may expand their efforts in the work of development? Is he prepared to pay more for imported goods, so that the foreign producer may make a fairer profit? Is he prepared to emigrate from his homeland if necessary and if he is young, in order to help the emerging nations?"

Carr said the same questions deserve consideration today.

"Candidly," he told CNS, "the contrast between the dominant message in Washington and the call of the church could not be more stark."

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Follow Sadowski on Twitter: @Dennis Sadowski.

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