Pope Benedict XVI continued with his papal mass in Germany despite an earlier incident that day when a man fired an air gun at a security guard. The mass took place on Saturday, September 24, and the shooting occurred on the edge of the security zone in Erfurt, roughly two hours before the mass began.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said there was “no worry” for the papal entourage. The suspect was later identified by police as a 30-year-old Erfurt man from Berlin. German police said an air rifle and air pistol were found in his apartment, and that he was being held on suspicion of attempting to cause serious bodily harm.

At the mass, the pope defended traditional values saying religion must not be banished from public life, and that Christian churches are walking side by side in the battle. The pope also said, “Knowing, too, the value of family and marriage, we as Christians attach great importance to defending the integrity and the uniqueness of marriage between one man and one woman from any kind of misinterpretation.”

“Here the common engagement of Christians, including many Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians, makes a valuable contribution to building up a society equipped for the future,” he continued. After the Mass, the pope flew to the largely Catholic populated city of Freiburg in southern Germany, where roughly 25,000 people lined the streets, waving and cheering as he drove to the downtown cathedral.

At an evening prayer vigil in the outskirts of the city, he urged more than 20,000 youths to overcome “a tendency toward evil,” encompassing envy, aggression and selfishness. Speaking in Erfurt on Friday, the Pope spoke to other faiths, meeting Muslims in Berlin and, later, the leadership of the Protestant Church in Erfurt.

Later that day, in an unannounced meeting, the pope met for half an hour with victims who endured sexual abuse by priests. He met with the five victims for half an hour and expressed “deep compassion and regret.” The victims were two women and three men from across Germany and were said to have remained very calm during the meeting.

Victims’ groups have accused the pope of refusing to address the issue openly. Last year, hundreds of Germans revealed their stories of having been physically or sexually abused by members of the Catholic clergy.

The Vatican released a statement regarding the meeting with the victims stating in a that the pope was “moved and deeply shaken.” They said he expressed the hope that God “may heal the wounds of the victims and grant them inner peace.”

 
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The Pope, during his weekly blessing to pilgrims, claimed from his summer residence in Castel Gondolfo, south of Rome, the only way for all of the victims to escape from the tragedy in the Horn of Africa is with “compassion” and “fraternal solidarity.”

The catastrophic drought has affected more than 11.8 million people and cover so large an area where both the populations of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are suffering from hunger.

Relief organizations still don’t know how they can deal with the worst drought in the last 60 years. United Nations’ humanitarian affairs coordination says: “The crisis in southern Somalia is expected to continue to worsen through 2011, with all areas of the south slipping into famine.”

It is estimated that half of Somalia’s people are in need of relief assistance after large periods of civil conflict and drought.

“The drought is the reason I left Somalia, I had a deaf husband and between us we had cows and goats,” said Halima Korone Une, a Somalia’s refugee in Dabaab, Kenya. “Because of the drought we had to eat all our goats and my husband went to look for pasture for the cows but never came back so I decided to leave my home with our five children.”

That is the reality. Korone lost one of her children on their way and now she has only four children with her.

Meanwhile, the Pope is giving blessings far from the devastating situation, in his summer residence in Rome.  While The United Nations has declared a famine in two regions of southern Somalia and stated that the effects of the drought have been felt more widely across the war-torn country, as well as in parts of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, Pope Benedict XVI says: “It is an immense task. In this time of holiday, let us not forget to open our hands and our hearts to come to the aid of those who need it,” and he added: “Let us give food and share our bread with the needy.”

The Vatican’s official daily keeps saying that it is difficult to save the people of Somalia. Furthermore, their official daily will refer to the international community for the hard job. Sources in the Vatican also believe the international community should take a more active mediation role between rival and Somali clans:

“If international players do not manage to do this, then even a massive humanitarian effort by UN agencies, including the WFP’s airlift, and by non-governmental organisations will at best slow the emergency,” the Vatican’s official daily said.

Last week, the UN World Food Programme has started an airlift of food into the capital Mogadishu. Even though they are taking any possible action, WFP said: “our feeding centers continue to operate in spite of the difficult security situation.”

Despite the Vatican’s official daily opinion, charities have already said that more international donations are needed and relief efforts have been hampered by the combat, and also a ban on some humanitarian agencies by the Islamist group “Al Shabab” which controls much of southern Somalia.

The African Union is scheduling a further donor conference in Addis Adaba, Ethiopia’s capital during this month. The Pope claims a lack of “solid institutions” on the country, but the world is interested in knowing when a solid institution as the Vatican is going to start helping the people in Somalia.

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Madrid is absolutely ready for the beginning of  “Jornadas Mundial de la Juventud” (World Youth Day). Streets are clean and shut down and pilgrims are waiting for Benedict XVI to arrive to the city.

Even before his arrival, the polemic is already there. Is it worth it to spend 50 million euros for an event that will generate only 100 million, especially in a worldwide crisis context?

In a non-denominational state like Spain, all Madrid’s citizens will be faced to an enormous traffic diversion and a virtual collapse in the city.

Half a million people are expected to be a part of this 7 day event, but is it really profitable?
Pilgrims who checked in the JMJ, will get special discounts for public transportation, food tickets and housing for only 210 euros. A really good offer for those who are coming to see Benedict XVI.

Considering this, and also knowing that the average age is 22, how much money will the pilgrims spend in Madrid?
Other events, like annual Gay Pride counts with an austere budget, only 500.000 euros, and generated, this year, more than 110 million euros. A considerable difference if we compare it with World Youth Day.

Demonstrations, appart.

A secular demonstration is also organized for this Wednesday. Madrid’s mayor, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, believes that this is unacceptable, considering the possible conflict with other religious events.

After several discussions, the demonstration was finally accepted and will coincide with the pilgrims in Puerta del Sol, an strategic hotspot for World Youth Day.

As usual, Spain is divided.

From bullfighting to gay marriage, Spain has two strong views: left and right-wing. We are not talking about politics, but rather people.

Strong points of view are exposed with this international event: from college students to nuns, in favor and again arguments come up easily in Madrid’s streets… and also on the Internet.

Twitter has an enormous roll these days. Hashtags like #MadridSinPapa (Madrid with no Pope), #Madrid11 or #JMJ are used to express from one side and the other, all thoughts related with Benedict XVI and World Youth Day.

Humor aside (people can be really original with their comments), taking a look into these hashtags we can see phrases like “We are totally ready for this incredible experience” and “We are strong and the world will see it”.

But a huge current of comments like “Not with my taxes” and “Spend that money in Somalia” is also coming up with the same force as the others.One thing is for sure, the respect, first of all and from all sides, religious and secular, in this kind of massive event, is the most important matter to emphasize.

In a particular coexistence of each view lies what really turns a society into a tolerant and democratic region.

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