Cindy Wooden of CNS blogs on the Pope’s Advent wreath – with red candles, in the German style.
He met with representatives of the Baptist World Alliance:

This meeting in Rome is the second round of ongoing discussions that Members of the Baptist World Alliance are holding with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The theme for this meeting is: “The Word of God in the Life of the Church: Scripture, Tradition and Koinonia.”

That theme, the Pope told the delegates, “offers a promising context for the examination of such historically disputed issues as the relationship between Scripture and Tradition, the understanding of Baptism and the Sacraments, the place of Mary in the communion of the Church, and the nature of … primacy in the Church’s ministerial structure.”
In an approach that seems to be characteristic of all Benedict XVI’s efforts to promote dialogue, he said, “[i]f our hope for reconciliation and greater fellowship between Baptists and Catholics is to be realized,” he added, “issues such as these need to be faced together, in a spirit of openness, mutual respect and fidelity to the liberating truth and saving power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
“Today, as ever, the world needs our common witness to Christ and to the hope brought by the Gospel,” Pope Benedict concluded. “Obedience to the Lord’s will should constantly spur us, then, to strive for that unity so movingly expressed in His priestly prayer: ‘that they may all be one. so that the world may believe.’ For the lack of unity between Christians ‘openly contradicts the will of Christ, provides a stumbling block to the world, and harms the most holy cause of proclaiming the good news to every creature’.”

He also met with the Pontifical Oriental Institute:

Recalling the history of the Pontifical Oriental Institute for the 280 members at the audience, Benedict XVI explained that it was founded by Pope Benedict XV in 1917.
“The time of that Pope was a time of war,” said the Holy Father, “while he himself worked for peace. To achieve peace he launched various appeals and even drew up … a plan for peace, a detailed plan which unfortunately proved unsuccessful.”
“Nonetheless,” the Pope added, “in order to ensure peace within the Church, he created … three monuments of incomparable value: the Congregation for the Oriental Church (later renamed ‘for the Oriental Churches’); the Pontifical Oriental Institute for the study of the theological, liturgical, juridical and cultural aspects of Oriental Christian wisdom; and the ‘Codex Iuris Canonici’.”
Noting his own “particular bond” with Benedict XV, Benedict XVI explained how his predecessor thereby favored the Oriental Churches. Under his care the Church in the East cam to “enjoy a regime more in keeping with their traditions, under the gaze of the Roman Pontiffs who have never ceased to show their concern with concrete gestures of support.”
These communities have known “difficult periods” and “harsh trials,” said the Pope. “Though physically distant from Rome, they have always remained close through their faithfulness to the See of Peter.”

Tomorrow (Friday), he will be meeting with Metropolitan Krill, second in authority in the Russian Orthodox Church.
One more Vatican-related note, something to get up early for a week from tomorrow:

Si informano i giornalisti accreditati che venerdì 14 dicembre 2007, alle ore 11.30, nell’Aula Giovanni Paolo II della Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, avrà luogo la Conferenza Stampa di presentazione della “Nota dottrinale su alcuni aspetti dell’evangelizzazione” a cura della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede.
Interverranno:

•  Em.mo Card. William Joseph Levada, Prefetto della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede;
•  Em.mo Card. Ivan Dias, Prefetto della Congregazione per l’Evangelizzazione dei Popoli;
•  Em.mo Card. Francis Arinze, Prefetto della Congregazione per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti;
•  S.E. Mons. Angelo Amato, S.D.B., Segretario della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede.

(Il Documento è da considerarsi sotto embargo fino alle ore 12 di venerdì 14 dicembre 2007.

What does that mean? That next Friday, the CDF is releasing one of its “doctrinal notes”, this one on “Certain Aspects of Evangelization”
You might remember that the one of the more recent documents of a similar nature, one which concerned the nature of the Church was released in July without a press conference – perhaps because no one thought that anyone could really care much about this short document from the CDF..they were wrong, because it got quite a bit of press – even in the secular media – and I think the failure to introduce the document in a press conference might have inadvertantly encouraged some of the misrepresentations that ran amuk. Of course, misrepresentation of a Church document is bound to run amuk no matter what, but it is interesting to me that this one gets a high-level intro to the world. Very high level.