Raniero Cantalamessa

Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap. (born July 22, 1934) is an Italian Catholic priest in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. He has served as the Preacher to the Papal Household since 1980, under both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

Contents

Biography

Early life and education

Raniero Cantalamessa was born in Ascoli Piceno, Italy on July 22, 1934. He was ordained a priest in 1958. He holds doctoral degrees in theology and classical literature. He formerly served as a professor of ancient Christian history and the director of the Department of Religious Sciences at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, resigning in 1979. Cantalamessa also served as a member of the International Theological Commission from 1975 until 1981.[1]

Preacher to the Papal Household

In 1980, Cantalamessa was appointed the Preacher to the Papal Household by Pope John Paul II. He has remained in this position under the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. In this capacity, he provides meditations to the Pope and other high-ranking officials each Friday during Lent and Advent,[1] and is "the only person allowed to preach to the Pope."[2]

Cantalamessa, a frequent speaker, is a member of the Catholic Delegation for the Dialogue with the Pentecostal Churches.[1][2] He currently hosts a weekly program on Radiotelevisione Italiana.

Notable statements

In December 2006, Cantalamessa urged Pope Benedict in an Advent sermon to declare a day of fasting and penitence in response to child sex crimes by clergy in the Roman Catholic Church. There was no reported reaction from the Pope.[2]

In 2010, Cantalamessa caused controversy with his sermon during Good Friday prayers in St Peter's Basilica. According to media outlets, he implied that the sensational coverage of alleged child abuse and cover-ups within the Roman Catholic Church was evidence of anti-Catholicism, and bore similarities to the "more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism".[3] Cantalamessa responded that he was reading directly from a letter received earlier in the week from a Jewish friend; the unidentified letter writer was expressing his contempt for what he considered a blatant media assault on the Pope.[4] A Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, later gave a statement saying that Cantalamessa was not speaking as a Vatican official. The statement added that Cantalamessa's comparison could "lead to misunderstandings and is not an official position of the Catholic Church".[3]

Bibliography

Father Cantalamessa is the author of several books on theological and spiritual topics. A selection follows:[5]

  • Glorify God in Your Bodies: Our Call to Horizontal Holiness (1986)
  • The Mystery of Christmas: A Commentary on the Magnificat (1988)
  • Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God (1991)
  • The Holy Spirit, Soul of Evangelization (1992)
  • The Eucharist, our Sanctification (1993)
  • Easter in the Early Church (1993)
  • The Mystery of Easter (1993)
  • The Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus, The Mystery of Christ's Baptism (1994)
  • The Mystery of God's Word (1994)
  • Virginity (1995)
  • The Power of the Cross (1996)
  • The Ascent to Mount Sinai (1996)
  • Poverty (1997)
  • Life in Christ: a Spiritual Commentary on the Letter to the Romans (1997)
  • The Mystery of Pentecost (2002)
  • Spiritual Healing (2003)
  • Come, Creator Spirit: Meditations on the Veni Creator (2003)
  • Loving the Church (2005)
  • Sober Intoxication of the Spirit (2005)
  • This Is My Body (2005)
  • Contemplating the Trinity (2007)
  • Beatitudes: Eight Steps to Happiness (2009)

References

  1. ^ a b c "Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap". Cantalamessa.org. http://www.cantalamessa.org/en/predicatore.php. Retrieved January 3, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c "Call for Church sex abuse penance". BBC News. December 15, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6184477.stm. Retrieved January 3, 2011. 
  3. ^ a b "Pope's preacher compares abuse row to anti-Semitism". BBC News. April 2, 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8601084.stm. Retrieved January 3, 2011. 
  4. ^ Pentin, Edward (April 2, 2010). "What Fr. Cantalamessa Really Said". National Catholic Register. http://www.ncregister.com/blog/what_fr._cantalamessa_really_said/. Retrieved January 3, 2011. 
  5. ^ "Bibliography". Cantalamessa.org. http://www.cantalamessa.org/en/libri.php. Retrieved January 3, 2011. 

See also