Pope appeals for victims of flooding around world

    Pope Benedict XVI offered prayers for victims of recent flooding in Central America, Southeast Asia and other parts of the world and urged people to be generous in helping those suffering the effects of natural disasters.
    In St. Peter’s Square after days of rain in Rome, Pope Benedict made his appeal at the end of his weekly general audience Nov. 9.
    The pope said various parts of the world recently had been struck by storms, flooding and landslides that left many people dead, missing or homeless.
    “Once again I want to show my closeness to all those suffering from these natural disasters, while I ask for prayers for the victims and their families and for solidarity, so that institutions and people of good will work together with a generous spirit to assist the thousands of persons tried by these calamities,” he said.
    In his main audience talk, the pope continued his series of reflections on praying with the Psalms.
    Looking at Psalm 119, “an impressive, solemn celebration of the Torah, the law of the Lord,” the pope said the psalmist recognizes that God’s law “gives joy and life.”
    For the psalmist, the gift of God’s word and his law are all he needs for life; his entire life is dedicated to studying and living them, he said.
    “Dear brothers and sisters, these verses have great importance for us today as well, especially for priests, who are called to live only for the Lord and his word, without other forms of security, having him as their only good and source of life,” he said.
    “In this light one understands the free choice of celibacy for the kingdom of heaven, whose beauty and strength needs to be rediscovered,” he said.
    At the same time, all Christians are called to place God’s word and divine law at the center of their lives and, no matter their state of life, to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, Pope Benedict said.
    The pope’s new apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, met with the U.S. bishops Nov. 14 at the beginning of their annual three-day meeting in Baltimore.
    Archbishop Vigano said he was pleased to be with the bishops for the first time and also expressed personal greetings from the pope.
    He told the bishops the pope puts great hope in this country for the future of the universal church. The nuncio praised the United States for being filled with vitality and always looking for a better tomorrow.
    The nuncio, who is Italian, served most recently as secretary-general of the commission governing Vatican City. Archbishop Vigano was named to fill the position left vacant with the July 27 death of Archbishop Pietro Sambi, who had been the apostolic nuncio to the United States since 2006.
    Archbishop Vigano said the funeral of Archbishop Sambi, his friend of 40 years, was the beginning of his spiritual journey to the U.S. post.
       – VATICAN CITY (CNS)