VATICAN - "Spe salvi" - 'in hope we were saved': second Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI presented this morning

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The second Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI with the title "Spe salvi" - 'in hope we were saved' was presented this morning, November 30 during a press conference at the John Paul II Hall of the Holy See Press Office by Cardinal Georges Marie Martin Cottier, O.P., former Theologian of the Papal Household and Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, SJ., former Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the Pontifical Biblical Institute.
“In this new encyclical we find the Pope profound theologian again and at the same time a shepherd concerned for the necessities of his flock- said Cardinal Cottier -. Besides deep reflection on the relation between Christian hope and Christian faith, and on the evolution of the modern mentality with regard to Christian hope, we find moving pages on great witness of hope, beginning with Saint Augustine who lived in a dramatic epoch, down to very recent times, those of Saint Josephine Bakhita, an African woman of 1800, made a slave at the age of 9, tormented by cruel owners but at last set free and born to hope thanks to an encounter with the God of the Christians, a loving saviour. The Holy Father cites at length an extraordinary letter written by a Vietnamese martyr of the 19th century, Paul Le-Bao-Thin, who suffered "all kinds of cruel torments", but remained "filled with joy", because he was not alone, Christ was with him; he wrote: "As the tempest rages I throw my anchor once again as far as the throne of God: living hope in my heart…". Of our times the Encyclical refers to the case of "unforgettable" Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan, a prisoner for thirteen years, nine of them spent in solitary confinement, has left us a precious little book: Prayers of Hope. During thirteen years in jail, in a situation of seemingly utter hopelessness, the fact that he could listen and speak to God became for him an increasing power of hope". These exceptional cases well reveal the intense dynamism of the Christian experience”.
Cardinal Vanhoye underlined the “ample meditation on hope as an essential dimension of Christian existence, with its beauty and its power of liberation, offered by the encyclical Spe salvi, contains also a call to reflect deeply on the spiritual situation of our times, questioning some great witnesses of modernity and awareness of its crisis. It must be said that since the encyclical treats of hope it speaks also of faith. In fact the Letter to the Hebrews, from which the reflection takes its inspiration, presents a “a sort of definition della fede which interweaves this virtue tightly with hope”. On the sarchophagus of the early Christians Christ is represented by the figure of a true philosopher. It is He who leads us on the right path of life towards the fullness of life, beyond death. The evocation of this suggestive imagine helps understand why Christian hope is decisive for culture and authentic humanism.” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 30/11/2007 - righe 32, parole 457)