Today, the Pope met with Swiss bishops. I don’t think it was an ad limina visit, strictly speaking. The Vatican Information Service reports :
Early this morning, Benedict XVI presided at a Eucharistic concelebration in the Vatican’s "Redemptoris Mater" Chapel, with prelates from the Conference of Swiss Bishops.
Later, the Pope held a meeting with the Swiss prelates, which was also attended by heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia and had the aim of "considering certain aspects of the current situation of the Church in Switzerland, identifying those elements worthy of being intensified and promoted, and those in need of correction and purification."
Hmmm. Ad limina visits include conversations with dicasteries, of course, but the way this is described implies something a little more urgent and focused.
The Holy Father told the Swiss bishops that this meeting was, in some way, "the conclusion of their ‘ad limina’ visit of February 2005, because on that occasion it had not been possible to accomplish one of the essential parts of the process, the meeting with John Paul II."
Translations in the comments, thanks to MIchael Kremer. Reports of the meeting pick up on the emphasis. Catholic News Agency heads the story with "Pope confronts" and CNS leads with the no picking-and-choosing theme.
UPDATE: Or not!
A “speech” allegedly delivered by Pope Benedict XVI to the Swiss bishops was released and few hours later recalled by the Vatican Press Office on Tuesday.
The “Sala Stampa” released a speech allegedly given by Pope Benedict in the context of the Ad Limina visit of the Catholic bishops of Switzerland (scheduled from November 7-9).
According to the Swiss press, the alleged “speech” released by the press office, and even summarized by the Vatican Information Service (VIS), was one prepared by the late Pope John Paul II, but never delivered, since the Ad Limina visit of the Swiss bishops was suspended in February 2005, when the Pope’s health became more precarious.
The speech was posted for few hours on the Vatican web page and was also released in Switzerland by the press office of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference. Both recalled the text without further comment.
The Vatican Information Service plans to release portions of Pope Benedict’s actual speech, which was reportedly improvised, on Wednesday morning.
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