DEAR EDITOR: The CCSJ would like to share with readers the letter we received recently from Cardinal Martino. Of the many e-mails that would have been received by the Vatican to congratulate His Holiness, little T&T received a prompt reply.

"Dear Ms Ramdeen:

Thank you for your e-mail message of April 27, in which you expressed your gratitude upon the election of Pope Benedict XVI.

It has certainly been a hectic past six weeks here in Rome . This past Saturday evening, May 7, I concelebrated Mass with His Holiness as he took possession of the Basilica of St John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome.

Once again, the Holy Father was warmly received by the crowds that had gathered inside and outside the Basilica, as well as the thousands that lined the streets of the route from the Vatican to the Lateran.

Now, we have a new Pope and we look forward to his leading the Church into the Third Millennium, just as Pope John Paul did as he "opened the doors of the Great Jubilee"!

Pope Benedict XVI has re-confirmed me in my position as President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The trust and confidence that the Holy Father has in the work that I am doing is reassuring.

The work continues at full speed. Just when it appears that we all get caught up, something comes along. The publication of the Compendium of the Social Teaching of the Church, along with the convening of the First World Congress of Ecclesial Organizations Working for Justice and Peace will be seen, I believe, as two of the year's great successes. Now, of course, it sets the bar a little bit higher for the rest of this year!

I hope that all is well with you, your family and all the members of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice. Please know that I think of you often and continue to remember all of you in my prayers.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Renato Raffaele Cardinal Martino,
President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace."

DEAR EDITOR: Since it seems that mankind cannot live in peaceful co-existence and is intent on destroying his fellow man and the world that we live in, perhaps the only resources left to the faithful is to pray fervently for the intercession of Our Lord and Saviour for deliverance.

I would like to recommend that the faithful include this short petition in their daily prayers.

Almighty God, we beseech you to bring peace to the world, let there be an end to the wars, the fighting, the hatred and the animosity that exists among your children on earth, that they may grow I peace and love to serve you O Lord and each other.

This we ask in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Martin Kavanagh, La Romaine