Coordinates | 38°01′47″N84°29′41″N |
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{{infobox christian leader | type | Pope |
english name | Paul VI |
coat of arms | Coat of Arms of Pope Paul VI.svg |
birth name | Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini |
term start | 21 June 1963 |
term end | 6 August 1978 () |
predecessor | John XXIII |
successor | John Paul I |
ordination | 29 May 1920 |
ordinated by | Giacinto Gaggia |
consecration | 12 December 1954 |
consecrated by | Eugène Tisserant |
cardinal | 15 December 1958 |
birth date | September 26, 1897 |
birth place | Concesio, Italy |
dead | dead |
death date | August 06, 1978 |
death place | Castel Gandolfo, Italy |
other | Paul }} |
Montini served in the Vatican's State Department from 1922 to 1954. While in the State Department, Montini and Domenico Tardini were considered as the closest and most influential co-workers of Pope Pius XII, who named him in 1954 Archbishop of Milan, the largest Italian diocese, yet denying him the Cardinal designation that traditionally accompanies being Archbishop of Milan, a function which made him automatically Secretary of the Italian Bishops Conference. John XXIII elevated him to the College of Cardinals in 1958, and after the death of John XXIII, Montini was considered one of his most likely successors.
He took on the name Paul to indicate a renewed worldwide mission to spread the message of Christ. He re-opened the Second Vatican Council, which was automatically closed with the death of John XXIII, and gave it priority and direction. After the Council concluded its work, Paul VI took charge of the interpretation and implementation of its mandates, often walking a thin line between the conflicting expectations of various groups within the Roman Catholic Church. The magnitude and depth of the reforms affecting all areas of Church life during his pontificate exceeded similar reform policies of his predecessors and successors.
Paul VI was a Marian devotee, speaking repeatedly to Marian congresses and mariological meetings, visiting Marian shrines and issuing three Marian encyclicals. Following his famous predecessor Ambrose of Milan, he named Mary to be the Mother of the Church during the Vatican Council.
Paul VI sought dialogue with the world, with other Christians, other religions, and atheists, excluding nobody. He saw himself as a humble servant for a suffering humanity and demanded significant changes of the rich in America and Europe in favour of the poor in the Third World. His positions on birth control (see Humanae Vitae) and other issues were controversial in Western Europe and North America, but were applauded by people in Eastern and Southern Europe and Latin America.
His pontificate took place during sometimes revolutionary changes in the world, student revolts, the Vietnam War and other upheavals. Paul VI tried to understand it all but at the same time defend the ''Deposit of Faith'' as it was entrusted to him. Paul VI died on 6 August 1978, the Feast of the Transfiguration. The diocesan process for beatification of Paul VI began on 11 May 1993.
"It is true, my service to the Pope was not limited to the political or extra-ordinary affairs according to Vatican language. The goodness of Pope Pius XII opened to me the opportunity to look into the thoughts even into the soul of this great pontiff. I could quote many details how Pius XII, always using measured and moderate speech, was hiding, nay revealing a noble position of great strength and fearless courage."
As war broke out, Maglione, Tardini and Montini were the main figures in the Vatican's State Department, as despatches originated from or addressed to them during the war years. Montini was in charge of taking care of the "ordinary affairs" of the Secretariat of State, which took much of the mornings of every working day. In the afternoon he moved to the third floor into the Office of the Private Secretary of the Pontiff. Pius XII did have a personal secretary. As did several popes before him, he delegated the secretarial functions to the State Secretariat. During the war years, thousands of letters from all parts of the world arrived at the desk of the pope, most of them asking for understanding, prayer and help. Montini was tasked to formulate the replies in the name of Pius XII, expressing his empathy, and understanding and providing help, where possible. At the request of the pope, he created an information office for prisoners of war and refugees, which in the years of its existence from 1939 until 1947 received almost ten million (9.891.497) information requests and produced over eleven million (11.293.511) answers about missing persons. Montini was several times openly attacked by the Benito Mussolini government as a politician, and meddling in politics, but each time he found powerful defenses by the Vatican In 1944, Luigi Maglione died, and Pius XII appointed Tardini and Montini together as heads of the State Department. Montini's admiration was almost filial, when he described Pope Pius XII:
His richly cultivated mind, his unusual capacity for thought and study led him to avoid all distractions and every unnecessary relaxation. He wished to enter fully into the history of his own afflicted time: with a deep understanding, that he was himself a part of that history. He wished to participate fully in it, to share his sufferings in his own heart and soul.
At the request of the pope, together with Pascalina Lehnert Ferdinando Baldelli and Otto Faller he created the Pontificia Commissione di Assistenza, which aided large number of Romans and refugees from everywhere with shelter, food and other material assistance. In Rome alone this organization distributed almost two million portions of free food in the year 1944. The Vatican and the Papal Residence Castel Gandolfo were opened to refugees. Some 15.000 persons lived in Castel Gandolfo alone, supported by the Pontificia Commissione di Assistenza, At the request of Pius XII, Montini was also involved in the re-establishment of Church Asylm, providing protection to hundreds of Allied soldiers, who had escaped from Axis prison camps, Jews, anti-Fascists, Socialists, Communists, and after the liberation of Rome, German soldiers, partisans and other displaced persons. After the war and later as Pope, Montini turned the Pontificia Commissione di Assistenza, into the major Catholic Italian charity, ''Caritas Italiana''
His public speeches were noticed not only in Milan but also in Rome and elsewhere. Some considered him a liberal, when he asked lay people to love not only Catholics but also schismatics, Protestants, Anglicans, the indifferent, Muslims, pagans, atheists. Contrary to Church teachings from Pope Leo XIII (and later John Paul II and Benedict XVI) which regarded Anglican Clergy as unequal in light of their lack of apostolic succession, Archbishop Montini simply ignored this aspect altogether during a visit of Anglican clergy in Milan in 1957 and a subsequent exchange of letters with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher.
He did not receive the traditional red hat of a cardinal during the remaining four years of Pius XII's life, which has occasioned comment. To be sure, Montini was not alone. Because there was no consistory after the severe illness of Pope Pius XII in 1954, several archbishops who could expect the honor (because of tradition and the importance of their archdiocese) did not get the red hat during Pius' reign. In addition to Montini, these included John Francis O'Hara of Philadelphia, Richard Cushing of Boston, Franz König of Vienna, William Godfrey of Westminster, Antonio María Barbieri of Montevideo, Alfonso Castaldo of Naples and Paul Marie André Richaud of Bordeaux. Pope Pius XII revealed at the 1953 consistory that two churchmen, known to be Montini and Tardini, whom he did not name, were at the top of his list but turned it down. When Tardini, in the name of both of them, thanked him for not appointing him, Pius XII replied with a smile: "'Monsignore mio, you thank me, for not letting me do what I wanted to do'. I replied, 'yes Holy Father, I thank you for everything you have done for me, but even more, what you have not done for me'. The Pope smiled." Montini and Angelo Roncalli were considered friends, but when John XXIII announced a new Ecumenical Council, Cardinal Montini reacted with disbelief: "This old boy does not know, what a hornets nest he is stirring up." He was appointed to the Central Preparatory Commission in 1961. During the Council, his friend Pope John XXIII asked him to live in the Vatican. He was a member of the Commission for Extraordinary Affairs but did not engage himself much into the floor debates on various issues. His main advisor was Monsignore Giovanni Colombo, whom he later appointed to be his successor in Milan The Commission was greatly overshadowed by the insistence of John XXIII, to have the Council complete all its work in one single session before Christmas 1962, to the 400th anniversary of the Council of Trent, an insistence which may have also been influenced by the Pope's recent knowledge that he had cancer.
Pius XII asked Archbishop Montini to Rome October 1957, where he gave the main presentation to the Second World Congress of Lay Apostolate. Previously as Pro-Secretary, he had worked hard to unify a worldwide organization of lay people of 58 nations, representing 42 national organizations. He presented to them to Pius XII in Rome in 1951. The second meeting in 1957 gave Montini an opportunity to express the lay apostolate in modern terms: "Apostolate means love. We will love all, but especially those, who need help.... We will love our time, our technology, our art, our sports, our world."
dipstyle | His Holiness |
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offstyle | Your Holiness |
relstyle | Holy Father |
deathstyle | Servant of God }} |
Paul knew what was coming. He wrote in his journal: "The position is unique. It brings great solitude. 'I was solitary before, but now my solitude becomes complete and awesome.'" But he was not afraid of this new solitude which was expected of him. He recognized that it would be futile to seek much outside help, or to confide everything to others. He saw himself as alone, with God. The communication with him must be full and incommensurable.
Paul did away with much of the regal splendor of the papacy. He was the last pope to date to be crowned; his successor Pope John Paul I replaced the Papal Coronation (which Paul had already substantially modified, but which he left mandatory in his 1975 apostolic constitution ''Romano Pontifici Eligendo'') with a Papal Inauguration. Paul VI donated his own Papal Tiara, a gift from his former Archdiocese of Milan, to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. (where is it on permanent display in the Crypt) as a gift to American Catholics. In 1968, with the motu proprio ''Pontificalis Domus'', he discontinued most of the ceremonial functions of the old Roman nobility at the papal court, save for the Prince Assistants to the Papal Throne. He also abolished the Palatine Guard and the Noble Guard, leaving the Swiss Guard as the sole military order of the Vatican.
Paul VI decided to continue Vatican II (canon law dictates that a council is suspended at the death of a pope), and brought it to completion in 1965. Faced with conflicting interpretations and controversies, he directed the implementation of its reform goals, which included the largest revision to the Church's Liturgy ever—and the first major revision since the Council of Trent, held 400 years prior to Vatican II—until his death in 1978.
He reminded the council fathers that only a few years earlier Pope Pius XII had issued the encyclical Mystici Corporis about the mystical body of Christ. He asked them not to repeat or create new dogmatic definitions but to explain in simple words how the Church sees itself. He thanked the representatives of other Christian communities for their attendance and asked for their forgiveness if the Catholic Church is guilty for the separation. He also reminded the Council Fathers that many bishops from the east could not attend because the governments in the East did not permit their journeys. The Council discussed the texts on the Church, ecumenicism and liturgy. He told the assembled fathers that he intended to visit the Holy Land, where no other pope had been since Peter.
Between the third and fourth sessions the Pope announced reforms in the areas of Roman Curia, revision of Canon Law, regulations for mixed marriages involving several faiths, and birth control issues. He opened the final session of the council, concelebrating with bishops from countries where the Church was persecuted. Several texts proposed for his approval had to be changed. But all texts were finally agreed upon. The Council was concluded on 8 December 1965, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
During the Pope's first visit to the United States in October 1965, as the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War escalated under President Johnson, Paul VI pleaded for peace before the UN:
{{bquote|Our very brief visit has given Us a great honour; that of proclaiming to the whole world, from the Headquarters of the United Nations, Peace! We shall never forget this extraordinary hour. Nor can We bring it to a more fitting conclusion than by expressing the wish that this central seat of human relationships for the civil peace of the world may ever be conscious and worthy of this high privilege.}}
Pope Paul VI sent one of 73 Apollo 11 Goodwill Messages to NASA for the historic first lunar landing. The message still rests on the lunar surface today. It has Psalms 8 and the Pope has written, "To the Glory of the name of God who gives such power to men, we ardently pray for this wonderful beginning."
; Mense Maio The encyclical Mense Maio (from 29 April 1965) focused on the Virgin Mary, to whom traditionally the month of May is dedicated as the Mother of God. Paul VI writes that Mary is rightly to be regarded as the way by which people are led to Christ. Therefore, the person who encounters Mary cannot help but encounter Christ.
;Ecclesiam Suam ''Ecclesiam Suam'' was given at St. Peter's, Rome, on the Feast of the Transfiguration, 6 August 1964, the second year of his Pontificate. It is considered an important document, identifying the Catholic Church with the Body of Christ. A later Council document ''Lumen Gentium'' stated that the Church subsists in the Body of Christ, raising questions as to the difference between "is" and "subsists in". Paul VI appealed to "all people of good will" and discussed necessary dialogues within the Church and between the Churches and with atheism.
;Mysterium Fidei On 3 September 1965, Paul VI issued ''Mysterium Fidei'', on the mystery of the faith. He opposed relativistic notions which would have given the eucharist a symbolic character only. The Church, according to Paul VI, has no reason to give up the deposit of faith in such a vital matter.
;Sacerdotalis Caelibatus ''Sacerdotalis Caelibatus'' (Latin for "Of the celibate priesthood"), promulgated on 24 June 1967, defends the Catholic Church's tradition of priestly celibacy in the West. This encyclical was written in the wake of Vatican II, when the Catholic Church was questioning and revising many long-held practices. Priestly celibacy is considered a discipline rather than dogma, and some had expected that it might be relaxed. In response to these questions, the Pope reaffirms the discipline as a long-held practice with special importance in the Catholic Church. The encyclical Sacerdotalis Caelibatus from 24 June 1967, confirms the traditional Church teaching, that celibacy is an ideal state and continues to be mandatory for Roman Catholic priests. Celibacy symbolizes the reality of the kingdom of God amid modern society. The priestly celibacy is closely linked to the sacramental priesthood. However, during his pontificate Paul VI was considered generous in permitting bishops to grant laicization of priests who wanted to leave the sacerdotal state, a position which was drastically reversed by John Paul II in 1980 and cemented in the 1983 Canon Law that only the pope can in exceptional circumstances grant laicization. ;Populorum Progressio
''Populorum progressio'', released on 26 March 1967, dealt with the topic of "the development of peoples" and that the economy of the world should serve mankind and not just the few. It touches on a variety of traditional principles of Catholic social teaching: the right to a just wage; the right to security of employment; the right to fair and reasonable working conditions; the right to join a union and strike as a last resort; and the universal destination of resources and goods.
In addition, Populorum Progressio opines that real peace in the world is conditional on justice. He repeats his demands expressed in Bombay in 1964 for a large scale World Development Organization, as a matter of international justice and peace. He rejected notions to instigate revolution and force in changing economic conditions.
;Humanae Vitae Of his eight encyclicals, Pope Paul VI is best known for his encyclical ''Humanae Vitae'' (''Of Human Life'', subtitled ''On the Regulation of Birth''), published on 25 July 1968. In this encyclical he reaffirmed the Catholic Church's traditional view of marriage and marital relations and a continued condemnation of artificial birth control. There were two Papal committees and numerous independent experts looking into the latest advancement of science and medicine on the question of artificial birth control,. which were noted by the Pope in his encyclical The expressed views of Paul VI reflected the teachings of his predecessors, especially Pius XI, Pius XII and John XXIII and never changed, as he repeatedly stated them in the first few years of his Pontificate
To the Pope as to all his predecessors, marital relations are much more than a union of two people. They constitute a union of the loving couple with a loving God, in which the two persons create a new person materially, while God completes the creation by adding the soul. For this reason, Paul VI teaches in the first sentence of Humanae Vitae that the transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. This divine partnership, according to Paul VI, does not allow for arbitrary human decisions, which may limit divine providence. The Pope does not paint an overly romantic picture of marriage: marital relations are a source of great joy, but also of difficulties and hardships. The reason for this, according to Paul VI, is that married love takes its origin from God, who "is love". From this basic dignity, he defines his position:
The reaction to the encyclical's continued prohibitions of artificial birth control was very mixed. In Italy, Spain, Portugal and Poland, the encyclical was welcomed. In Latin America, much support developed for the Pope and his encyclical. As World Bank President Robert McNamara declared at the 1968 Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group that countries permitting birth control practices would get preferential access to resources, doctors in La Paz, Bolivia called it insulting that money should be exchanged for the conscience of a Catholic nation. In Colombia, Cardinal archbishop Anibal Muñoz Duque declared, if American conditionality undermines Papal teachings, we prefer not to receive one cent. The Senate of Bolivia passed a resolution stating that ''Humanae Vitae'' could be discussed in its implications for individual consciences, but was of greatest significance because the papal document defended the rights of developing nations to determine their own population policies. The Jesuit Journal ''Sic'' dedicated one edition to the encyclical with supportive contributions.
Pope Paul was concerned but not surprised by the negative reaction in Western Europe and the United States. He fully anticipated this reaction to be a temporary one: "Don't be afraid", he reportedly told Edouard Gagnon on the eve of the encyclical, "in twenty years time they'll call me a prophet." His biography on the Vatican's website notes of his reaffirmations of priestly celibacy and the traditional teaching on contraception that "[t]he controversies over these two pronouncements tended to overshadow the last years of his pontificate". Pope John Paul II later reaffirmed and expanded upon ''Humanae Vitae'' with the encyclical ''Evangelium Vitae'', and, Pope Benedict XVI issued in 2005 a short version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which also repeat the teachings of the Church on this matter.
This was a significant step towards restoring communion between Rome and Constantinople. It produced the Catholic-Orthodox Joint declaration of 1965, which was read out on 7 December 1965, simultaneously at a public meeting of the Second Vatican Council in Rome and at a special ceremony in Istanbul. The declaration did not end the schism, but showed a desire for greater reconciliation between the two churches. In May 1973, the Coptic Patriarch Shenouda III of Alexandria visited the Vatican, where he met three times with Pope Paul VI. A common declaration and a joint Creed issued after the visit demonstrated that there are virtually no more [more citation needed] theological discrepancies between the Coptic and Roman Catholic Churches.
The Lutherans were the first Protestant Church offering a dialogue to the Catholic Church in September 1964 in Reykjavik, Iceland. It resulted in joint study groups of several issues. The dialogue with the Methodist Church began October 1965, after its representatives officially applauded remarkable changes, friendship and cooperation of the past five years. The Reformed Churches entered four years later into a dialogue with the Catholic Church. The President of the Lutheran World Federation and member of the central committee of the World Council of Churches Fredrik A. Schiotz stated during the 450th anniversary of the Reformation, that earlier commemorations were viewed almost as a triumph. Reformation should be celebrated as a thanksgiving to God, his truth and his renewed life. He welcomed the announcement of Pope Paul VI to celebrate the 1900 anniversary of the death of the Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul, and promised the participation and cooperation in the festivities.
Paul VI supported the new-found harmony and cooperation with Protestants on so many levels. When Cardinal Augustin Bea went to see him for permission for a joint Catholic-Protestant translation of the Bible with Protestant Bible societies, the Pope walked towards him and exclaimed, "as far as the cooperation with Bible societies is concerned, I am totally in favour." He issued a formal approval on Pentecost 1967, the feast on which the Holy Spirit descended on the Christians, overcoming all linguistic difficulties, according to Christian tradition.
Up to and including the current Pope Benedict XVI, all of Pope Paul's successors were created cardinals by him. His immediate successor, Albino Luciani, who took the name John Paul I, was created a cardinal in the consistory of 5 March 1973. Karol Wojtyła was created a cardinal in the consistory of 26 June 1967. Joseph Ratzinger was created a cardinal in the small four-appointment consistory of 27 June 1977, which included also Bernardin Gantin from Benin, Africa. This became the last of Paul VI's consistories before his death in August 1978.
With the six consistories, Paul VI continued the internationalization policies started by Pius XII in 1946 and continued by John XXIII. In his 1976 consistory, five of twenty cardinals originated from Africa, one of them a son of a tribal chief with fifty wives. Several prominent Latin Americans like Eduardo Francisco Pironio of Argentina; Eugênio de Araújo Sales and Aloisio Lorscheider from Brazil were also elevated by him. There were voices within the Church at the time, that the European period of the Church was coming to a close, a view shared by Britain's Cardinal Basil Hume. At the same time, the members of the College of Cardinals lost some of their previous influences, after Paul VI decreed, that not only cardinals but also bishops too may participate in committees of the Roman Curia. The age limit of eighty years imposed by the Pope, a numerical increase of Cardinals by almost 100%, and a reform of the regal vestments of the "Princes of the Church" further contributed to a service oriented perception of Cardinals under his pontificate. The increased number of Cardinals from the Third World and the papal emphasis on related issues was welcomed by many in Western Europe nevertheless.
On 16 March 1978, his friend from FUCI student days Aldo Moro, a Christian Democratic politician, was kidnapped by the Red Brigades, which kept the pope in suspense for 55 days. On 20 April, Moro directly appealed to the Pope to intervene as Pope Pius XII had intervened in the case of Professor Giuliano Vassalli in the same situation The eighty-year old Pope wrote a letter to the Red Brigades:
Some in the Italian government accused the Pope for treating the Red Brigades too kindly. However, he continued looking for ways to pay ransom for Moro but to no avail. On 9 May, the bullet riddled body of Aldo Moro was found in a car in Rome.
Pope Paul VI left the Vatican to go to the Papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo on 14 July 1978, visiting on the way the tomb of Cardinal Giuseppe Pizzardo who had introduced him to the Vatican half a century earlier. Although sick, he agreed to see the new Italian President Sandro Pertini for over two hours. In the evening he watched a Western on TV, happy only when he saw "horses, the most beautiful animals that God had created." He had breathing problems and needed oxygen. The next day, Sunday, at the Feast of Transfiguration, he was tired, but wanted to say the Angelus. He was neither able nor permitted to do so and instead stayed in bed, his temperature rising.
From his bed he participated in Sunday Mass at 6pm. After communion, the Pope suffered a massive heart attack, after which he continued to live for three hours. On 6 August 1978 at 9:41pm, Pope Paul VI died at Castel Gandolfo. He is buried beneath the floor of Saint Peter's Basilica with other popes. In his will, he requested to be buried in the "true earth" and therefore, he does not have an ornate sarcophagus but an in-ground grave.
The pontificate of Paul VI continued the opening and internationalization of the Church started under Pius XII. He implementated the reforms of John XXIII and Vatican II. Yet, unlike these popes, Paul VI faced criticism throughout his papacy from both traditionalists and liberals for steering a middle course during Vatican II and during the implementation of its reforms thereafter. He expressed a desire for peace during the Vietnam War. This was not understood by all. Along with helping those in Third World countries, Pope Paul VI created labour unions and peasant federations in other countries. These public services assisted the poor and became evidence of his desire to complete the goals of the Second Vatican Council. On basic Church teachings, the pope was unwavering. On the tenth anniversary of Humanae Vitae, he reconfirmed this teaching. In his style and methodology, he was a disciple of Pius XII, whom he deeply revered. He suffered for the attacks on Pius XII for his alleged silences during the Holocaust. Pope Paul suffered in comparison with his predecssors. He was not credited with an encyclopedic memory, nor a gift for languages, nor a brilliant writing style of Pius XII, nor did he have the charisma and outpouring love, sense of humor and human warmth of John XXIII. He took on himself the unfinished reform work of these two popes, bringing them diligently with great humility and common sense and without much fanfare to conclusion.
The new theological freedoms, which he fostered – unlike his predecessors and successors, Paul VI refused to excommunicate – resulted in a pluralism of opinions and uncertainties among the faithful He admonished but did not punish those with other views. New demands were voiced, which were taboo at the Council, the reintegration of divorced Catholics, the sacramental character of the confession, and the role of women in the Church and its ministries. Conservatives complained, that "women wanted to be priests, priests wanted to get married, bishops became regional popes and theologians claimed absolute teaching authority. Protestants claimed equality, homosexuals and divorced called for full acceptance." Changes such as the reorientation of the liturgy, alterations to the ordinary of the Mass, alterations to the liturgical calendar in the motu proprio ''Mysterii Paschalis'', and the relocation of the tabernacle were controversial among some Catholics.
Being concerned with the modern world as a whole and not with a Roman Catholic sacristy perspective, Paul VI did renounce many traditional symbols of the papacy and the Catholic Church. Some of the changes Paul VI made to the Papal dress were reversed by Pope Benedict XVI in the early 21st century. Refusing to be the prisoner of a Vatican army of colourful military uniforms from centuries, he got rid of them. He became the first Pope to visit five continents. Paul VI systematically continued and completed the efforts of his predecessors, to turn the Euro-centric Church into a Church of the world, by integrating the bishops from all continents in its government and in the Synods which he convened. His 6 August 1967 motu proprio ''Pro Comperto Sane'' opened the Roman Curia to the bishops of the world. Until then, only Cardinals could be leading members of the Curia. Related questions were raised about the new National Bishop Conferences, which became mandatory after Vatican II. Others questioned his Ostpolitik and contacts with Communism and the deals he engaged in for the faithful.
The pope clearly suffered from the responses within the Church to Humanae Vitae. While most regions and bishops supported the Pontiff, a small but important part of them especially in Holland, Canada, and Germany openly disagreed with the Pope, which deeply wounded him for the rest of his life When Patrick O'Boyle, the Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, D.C., disciplined several priests for publicly dissenting from this teaching, the pope gave him encouragement.
According to some sources, as Paul became increasingly ill, he spoke of possibly abdicating the papal throne and going into retirement, provided he cannot fulfill the duties of the papacy in the fullest. His position mirrors identical statements attributed to Pius XI "a Pope may suffer but he must be able to function" and, repeatedly by Pius XII to the same effect. Pope Paul reflecting on the description of Hamlet wrote in a private note in 1978 about himself:
:"What is my state of mind? Am I Hamlet? Or Don Quixote? On the left? On the right? I do not think I have been properly understood. I am filled with 'great joy (Superabundo gaudio)' With all our affliction, I am overjoyed (2.Cor.2.4)."
This inner joy seems to have been a characteristic of Paul VI. His confessor, the Jesuit Paolo Dezza, arrived at the Vatican every Friday evening at 7 pm to hear confession of Paul VI. The only words he ever spoke about his long service to Paul VI during his pontificate were, "that this pope is a man of great joy". After the death of Pope Paul VI, Dezza was more outspoken, saying that "if Paul VI was not a saint, when he was elected Pope, he became one during his pontificate. I was able to witness not only with what energy and dedication he toiled for Christ and the Church but also and above all, how much he suffered for Christ and the Church. I always admired not only his deep inner resignation but also his constant abandonment to divine providence.". It is this character trait, which led to the opening of the process of beatification and canonization for Paul VI.
Pope Paul VI caused considerable surprise in 1968 when, to the consternation of his aides, he publicly denied rumours of "scandalous behaviour". Though rumours had circulated periodically in anti-papal and anti-Catholic publications as to Paul's sexual orientation and possible homosexuality, with suggestions of a past relationship while he was an archbishop with a priest who had served as his secretary, when what Paul called these suggestions began to feature in some elements of the Italian media, he made the controversial choice of issuing a public denial. It was the first time in the modern era that a pope had commented in any way about his sexual identity.
;Video on YouTube — Italian documentaries (English subtitled)
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Except as otherwise disclosed in this Privacy Policy, we will use the information you provide us only for the purpose of responding to your inquiry or in connection with the service for which you provided such information. We may forward your contact information and inquiry to our affiliates and other divisions of our company that we feel can best address your inquiry or provide you with the requested service. We may also use the information you provide in aggregate form for internal business purposes, such as generating statistics and developing marketing plans. We may share or transfer such non-personally identifiable information with or to our affiliates, licensees, agents and partners.
We may retain other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Such third parties may be provided with access to personally identifiable information needed to perform their functions, but may not use such information for any other purpose.
In addition, we may disclose any information, including personally identifiable information, we deem necessary, in our sole discretion, to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal proceeding or governmental request.
We do not want you to receive unwanted e-mail from us. We try to make it easy to opt-out of any service you have asked to receive. If you sign-up to our e-mail newsletters we do not sell, exchange or give your e-mail address to a third party.
E-mail addresses are collected via the wn.com web site. Users have to physically opt-in to receive the wn.com newsletter and a verification e-mail is sent. wn.com is clearly and conspicuously named at the point of
collection.If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter and promotional communications, you may opt-out of receiving them by following the instructions included in each newsletter or communication or by e-mailing us at michaelw(at)wn.com
The security of your personal information is important to us. We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during registration and once we receive it. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100 percent secure, however. Therefore, though we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
If we decide to change our e-mail practices, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we think appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.
If we make material changes to our e-mail practices, we will notify you here, by e-mail, and by means of a notice on our home page.
The advertising banners and other forms of advertising appearing on this Web site are sometimes delivered to you, on our behalf, by a third party. In the course of serving advertisements to this site, the third party may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser. For more information on cookies, you can visit www.cookiecentral.com.
As we continue to develop our business, we might sell certain aspects of our entities or assets. In such transactions, user information, including personally identifiable information, generally is one of the transferred business assets, and by submitting your personal information on Wn.com you agree that your data may be transferred to such parties in these circumstances.