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Palmberg, Sundholm at Mass with Ratzinger
CHICAGO, IL (April 20, 2005) - During a recent trip to Rome, President Glenn
Palmberg and Jim Sundholm, director of Covenant World Relief, did not
see the pope as had been planned due to his illness, but they did see
his successor. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the newly elected Pope
Benedict XVI, was the celebrant at a Mass that Palmberg and Sundholm
attended in March during a Vatican conference on justice.
"He delivered a strong sermon on the call to justice," Sundholm said
Tuesday. "He called the church to follow the example of Christ, whose
life, death and resurrection, was offered for all people."
"He was a powerful speaker," said Palmberg. "He left a strong
impression."
Palmberg and Sundholm were among a number of international church
leaders invited to participate in The Call to Justice Conference March
16-18 in Vatican City in Rome. The initial contact came in an
invitation to Sundholm to present a paper at the conference. John Paul
II's failing health caused their audience with the pope to be
cancelled.
"One of the reasons we were invited," said Palmberg, "is because of the
Covenant's strong sense of justice growing out of biblical authority
within an authentic evangelical faith."
Revisiting the Vatican II Papal Council statement on justice issued 40
years ago, the conference explored the relationship between issues of
justice and "the vocation to be a fully human being."
Five plenary speakers addressed themes such as "The Call to Justice and
the Political Order," "The Call to Justice in the Economic Order," and
"The Role of the Family in the Social Order." Presenters included
Rubens Ricupero, former director general of the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development; Callistro Madavo, special advisor
to the president of the World Bank; Helen M. Alvare, associate
professor of law at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School
of Law; Cardinal Claudio Hummes, archbishop of Sao Paulo, Brazil; and
Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of St. Egidio.
In addition to the plenary speakers, scholars and practitioners from 30
countries presented and responded to more than 60 papers that fell
within three broad categories: theological reflection, exploration of
the church's mission in the social order, and examination of
contemporary economic, political and social issues.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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