| Nero's Fire |
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"Therefore, to put an end to the rumor, Nero created a diversion and subjected to the most extraordinary tortures those called Christians, hated for their abominations by the common people. The originator of this name (was) Christ, who, during the reign of Tiberius, had been executed by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate. Repressed for the time being, the deadly superstition broke out again not only in Judea, the original source of the evil, but also in the city (Rome), where all things horrible or shameful in the world collect and become popular. So an arrest was made of all who confessed; then on the basis of their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of arson as for hatred of the human race." --Tacitus's Account of Nero's Persecution of Christians, Annales, 15, 44.2-8 (Tacitus lived from c. AD 56-c. 120; he wrote the Annales after AD 100; he was not a Christian, and is regarded as one of Rome's greatest historians)
Today's Feast of the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome does not include the name of any martyr.There was a considerable Jewish population in Rome in the first century, but the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome in A.D. 49-50, perhaps due to controversy between Jews and Jewish Christians. (Suetonius, the Roman historian, says that the expulsion was due to disturbances in the city "caused by the certain Chrestus" [Christ].)
In July of A.D. 64, more than half of Rome was destroyed by fire. Rumor blamed the tragedy on Nero, who wanted to enlarge his palace.
Nero, threatened by an army revolt and condemned to death by the Senate, committed suicide in 68 AD at the age of 31.
What was the date of Peter's death?
Guarducci, in a study on this question, wrote: "Tacitus has no hesitation in establishing the year 64 for these events. If we look at the series of events the historian lists as having happened between the fire of Rome (July 18-19) and the end of the year, we can establish that the Vatican spectacles took place in the first half of October. Nor is it difficult to prove that between the end of 64 and Nero's death on June 9, 68, there are no other periods in which there was anti-Christian persecution of the type that Tacitus and Clement describe. It is also useful to note that the period between the end of September 66 and the beginning of 68 can be excluded without doubt since that was the period of Nero's travels in Greece."
She continues: "But, confirming the dating proposed for the circus spectacles and, therefore, for Peter's martyrdom, are two other important, anonymous, texts in Greek contained in a papyrus conserved in Vienna today. They are theApocalypse of Peter and the Ascension of Isaiah. I believe that these texts (belonging to the so-called "apocalyptic literature," a very common category between the end of the first century and the first half of the second which used prophetic and symbolic language to interpret historical events of the time) are so well informed on the history of the Neronian period that they must have been written not long after events in 64 (not after the year 80, perhaps). I also believe that they are the fruit of the same Judeo-Christian environment. After addressing Nero's infamies, the authors of the two texts announce his punishment as imminent. According to the author of the Apocalypse, it would be none other than Peter's martyrdom that would mark the beginning of the emperor's end. This statement is echoed in the Ascensiontext which affirms that Nero's kingdom would last for "three years, seven months and 27 days" after the apostle's death.
And she notes: "October 13 was not just any ordinary day. It was the anniversary of Nero's ascent to the throne, his dies imperii. Moreover October 13, 64 was the 10th anniversary of his reign (decennalia), October 13, 54/October 13, 64)... It is highly likely, then, that the Emperor Nero, who loved manifestations to be as spectacular as possible, would have promoted cruel spectacles for his decennalia (a feast when, in the person of the emperor made a god, the majesty of the Roman Empire was exalted). It is highly likely that he would have organized the execution of Christians who were already condemned on charges of being enemies of the empire."
Tacitus was a fierce critic of Nero, so some modern scholars have questioned the reliability of his account of this notorious Roman Emperor.
Tacitus writes, continuing the lines at the beginning above:
"Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames. These served to illuminate the night when daylight failed. Nero had thrown open the gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or drove about in a chariot. Hence, even for crimnals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being punished."
The text is full of difficulties, and there are not a few textual variations in the manuscript tradition (e.g., "Christianos" or "Chrestianos" and "Christus" or "Chrestos").
But the fundamental question is the historical reliability of this information -- i.e., whether this was Tacitus's actual writing, or a later Christian insertion (called an "interpolation").
And it is true that no other ancient source associates Christians with the burning of Rome until Sulpicius Serverus in the late 300s, 300 years after Tacitus.
Still, in defense of authenticity, it has been argued that no Christian would ever have written that Christianity was seen as a "pernicious superstition" or "the home of the disease" or that Christians were "loathed for their vices."
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Today, the Holy See announced a widely-rumored appointment, that of the Archbishop of Quebec, Marc Oullet (photo), Primate of the Church in Canada, as the head of the Congregation for Bishops, the Vatican office which advises the Pope on candidates for the Catholic episcopate worldwide (except in mission countries, which are under the direction of the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples). He will succeed Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re whose resignation for reason of age the Holy Father accepted at the same time.
Oullet, whom I have known for many years, is a calm, quiet, simple, thoughtful, devout man, and his appointment should ensure that the Holy Father has careful and good advice on the choice of bishops for the Church in the coming years.
Oullet is a staunch defender of life, and served in Rome as a professor at the John Paul II Institute on Marriage and the Family, then as Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
Pope Benedict announced the creation of a the new Council during the Vespers service marking the vigil of the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. The place Pope Benedict chose to make the announcement, the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls, is, of course, dedicated to the first great Christian missionary to the Gentiles, St. Paul.
Today, June 30, Benedict XVI appointed the sometimes controversial Italian Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella (photo), president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, to be president of the newly created Council.
In his June 28 homily, Benedict said that the new Council would be "dedicated to the specific task of promoting a renewed evangelization in countries where the first proclamation of the faith already resounded, and where Churches are present of ancient foundation, but which are going through a progressive secularization of society and a sort of 'eclipse of the sense of God,' which constitutes a challenge to find the appropriate means to propose again the perennial truth of the Gospel of Christ."
Today, the Vatican announced the appointment of Fisichella, 58, who has also been serving as rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, to lead the new dicastery.
Born in Codogno, Italy, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rome in 1976, and an auxiliary bishop of Rome in 1998.
In 2008, he was named president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, at which time he was elevated to the dignity of archbishop. Fisichella will be succeeded in his former post by Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, who has been serving as the academy's chancellor. The Spanish-born Carrasco de Paula is a member of Opus Dei, and has served as director of the Bioethics Institute of the University of the Sacred Heart in Rome.
Pope Benedict said he received this legacy upon his own election to the Chair of Peter.
He said he wanted to give the new Council the task of preaching and witnessing in countries with deep Christian roots yet now experiencing the “eclipse of God."
The challenge, he said, is to find the appropriate means to revive faith in the Gospel of Christ.
But in this effort as well, today as at the beginning, one truth holds: "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church."
Note: Pilgrimage with special meetings inside the Vatican. We are now beginning to take preliminary requests for our Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 pilgrimages, which will include visits to Assisi, Norcia, Rome and the Vatican. If you would like information about these trips, please email us at: http://insidethevatican.com/contact-us.htm.
Unexpectedly, this little talk has become a minor "best-seller."
In this talk, Dr. Moynihan gives a 2,000-year history of the Mass in 60 minutes which is clear and easy to understand. The talk covers questions like:
— Does the motu proprio overcome some of the liturgical confusion since Vatican II?
— Who was Annibale Bugnini?
Special note: Three years ago, we participated in a concert in Rome (on March 29, 2007) in which a Russian choir and orchestra, flying in from Moscow, performed a new version of The Passion According to St. Matthew composed a few months before by the young Russian Orthodox bishop (now Metropolitan and "foreign minister" of the Russian Orthodox Church, Hilarion Alfeyev).
On December 17, 2007, a leading Russian orchestra performed an exceptional "world premiere" concert of Russian Christmas music at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. Now you can order your copy of the concert on DVD, which includes English sub-titles.
The music is a completely new composition by a young Russian Orthodox Archbishop, Hilarion Alfeyev, 43. At the time, he was the Russian Orthodox bishop for all of central Europe, based in Vienna, Austria. He is now a Metropolitan and the head of the External Relations Department of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The launch comes with the release of the first of five videos. The first video is called Made for Each Other and includes a Viewer’s Guide and Resource Booklet. It explores sexual difference and the complementarity between man and woman as husband and wife in marriage. Later videos will treat the good of children, the good of society and what constitutes discrimination, religious liberty, and issues particular to a Latino/a audience. 
