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INITIAL MESSAGE OF POPE BENEDICT XVI: WEDNESDAY, 20 APRIL [2005]
On Wednesday, 20 April, the day after his election as Supreme
Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy Father Benedict XVI
addressed a Message to the Cardinals, the faithful and all men and women
of good will, outlining his resolutions for his Pontificate and the new
Pope's determination "to make Christ's light shine out before the men
and women of today". The following is a translation of the Holy Father's
Message, which was written in Latin.
Venerable Brother Cardinals,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
All you men and women of good will,
1. "Favour and peace be yours in abundance" (I Pt 1:2)! At this time,
side by side in my heart I feel two contrasting emotions. On the one
hand, a sense of inadequacy and human apprehension as I face the
responsibility for the universal Church, entrusted to me yesterday as
Successor of the Apostle Peter in this See of Rome. On the other, I have
a lively feeling of profound gratitude to God who, as the liturgy makes
us sing, never leaves his flock untended but leads it down the ages
under the guidance of those whom he himself has chosen as the Vicars of
his Son and has made shepherds of the flock (cf. Preface
of Apostles I).
Dear friends, this deep gratitude for a gift of divine mercy is
uppermost in my heart in spite of all. And I consider it a special grace
which my Venerable Predecessor, John Paul II, has obtained for me. I
seem to feel his strong hand clasping mine; I seem to see his smiling
eyes and hear his words, at this moment addressed specifically to me,
"Do not be afraid!".
The death of the Holy Father John Paul II and the days that followed
have been an extraordinary period of grace for the Church and for the
whole world. Deep sorrow at his departure and the sense of emptiness
that it left in everyone have been tempered by the action of the Risen
Christ, which was manifested during long days in the unanimous wave of
faith, love and spiritual solidarity that culminated in his solemn
funeral Mass.
We can say it: John Paul II's funeral was a truly extraordinary
experience in which, in a certain way, we glimpsed the power of God who,
through his Church, wants to make a great family of all the peoples by
means of the unifying power of Truth and Love (cf. Lumen Gentium,
n. 1). Conformed to his Master and Lord, John Paul II crowned his long
and fruitful Pontificate at the hour of his death, strengthening
Christian people in their faith, gathering them around him and making
the entire human family feel more closely united.
How can we not feel sustained by this testimony? How can we fail to
perceive the encouragement that comes from this event of grace?
Divine power is truly boundless
2. Surprising all my expectations, through the votes of the Venerable
Father Cardinals, divine Providence has called me to succeed this great
Pope. I am thinking back at this moment to what happened in the
neighbourhood of Caesarea Philippi some 2,000 years ago. I seem to hear
Peter's words: "You are the Christ..., the Son of the living God"
and the Lord's solemn affirmation: "You are 'Peter' and on this rock
I will build my Church.... I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom
of heaven" (cf. Mt 16:15-19).
You are Christ! You are Peter! I seem to be reliving the same Gospel
scene; I, the Successor of Peter, repeat with trepidation the anxious
words of the fisherman of Galilee and listen once again with deep
emotion to the reassuring promise of the divine Master. Although the
weight of responsibility laid on my own poor shoulders is enormous,
there is no doubt that the divine power on which I can count is
boundless: "You are `Peter', and on this rock I will build my Church"
(Mt 16:18). In choosing me as Bishop of Rome, the Lord wanted me to be
his Vicar, he wanted me to be the "rock" on which we can all safely
stand. I ask him to compensate for my limitations so that I may be a
courageous and faithful Pastor of his flock, ever docile to the
promptings of his Spirit.
I am preparing to undertake this special ministry, the "Petrine"
ministry at the service of the universal Church, with humble abandonment
into the hands of God's Providence. I first of all renew my total and
confident loyalty to Christ: "In Te, Domine, speravi; non confundar
in aeternum!".
Your Eminences, with heartfelt gratitude for the trust you have shown
me, I
ask you to support me with your prayers and with your constant, active
and wise collaboration. I also ask all my Brothers in the Episcopate to
be close to me with their prayers and advice, so that I may truly be the
Servus servorum Dei. Just as the Lord willed that Peter and the
other Apostles make up the one Apostolic College, in the same way the
Successor of Peter and the Bishops, successors of the Apostles
—
the Council has forcefully reasserted this (cf. Lumen Gentium, n.
22) —
must be closely united with one another. This collegial communion,
despite the diversity of roles and functions of the Roman Pontiff and
the Bishops, is at the service of the Church and of unity in the faith,
on which the efficacy of evangelizing action in the contemporary world
largely depends. Therefore, it is on this path, taken by my Venerable
Predecessors, that I also intend to set out, with the sole concern of
proclaiming the living presence of Christ to the whole world.
The example of Pope John Paul II
3. I have before my eyes in particular the testimony of Pope John
Paul II. He leaves a Church that is more courageous, freer, more
youthful. She is a Church which, in accordance with his teaching and
example, looks, serenely at the past and is not afraid of the future.
With the Great Jubilee she entered the new millennium, bearing the
Gospel, applied to today's world through the authoritative rereading of
the Second Vatican Council. Pope John Paul II rightly pointed out the
Council as a "compass" by which to take our bearings in the vast ocean
of the third millennium (cf. Apostolic Letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte,
nn. 57-58). Also, in his spiritual Testament he noted, "I am convinced
that it will long be granted to the new generations to draw from the
treasures that this 20th-century Council has lavished upon us" (17 March
2000; L'Osservatore Romano English edition [ORE], 13 April
2005, p. 4).
Thus, as I prepare myself for the service that is proper to the
Successor of Peter, I also wish to confirm my determination to continue
to put the Second Vatican Council into practice, following in the
footsteps of my Predecessors and in faithful continuity with the
2,000-year tradition of the Church. This very year marks the 40th
anniversary of the
conclusion of the Council (8 December 1965). As the years have passed,
the Conciliar Documents have lost none of their timeliness; indeed,
their teachings are proving particularly relevant to the new situation
of the Church and the current globalized society.
The heart of the Petrine ministry
4. My Pontificate begins in a particularly meaningful way as the
Church is living the special Year dedicated to the Eucharist. How could
I fail to see this providential coincidence as an element that must mark
the ministry to which I am called? The Eucharist, the heart of Christian
life and the source of the Church's evangelizing mission, cannot but
constitute the permanent centre and source of the Petrine ministry that
has been entrusted to me.
The Eucharist makes constantly present the Risen Christ who continues
to give himself to us, calling us to participate in the banquet of his
Body and his Blood. From full communion with him flows every other
element of the Church's life: first of all, communion among all the
faithful, the commitment to proclaiming and witnessing to the Gospel,
the ardour of love for all, especially the poorest and lowliest.
This year, therefore, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi must be
celebrated with special solemnity. Subsequently, the Eucharist will be
the centre of the World Youth Day in Cologne in August, and in October,
also of the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, whose theme will
be: "The Eucharist, source and summit of the life and mission of the
Church". I ask everyone in the coming months to intensify love and
devotion for Jesus in the Eucharist, and to express courageously and
clearly faith in the Real Presence of the Lord, especially by the
solemnity and the correctness of the celebrations.
I ask this especially of priests, whom I am thinking of with deep
affection at this moment. The ministerial Priesthood was born at the
Last Supper, together with the Eucharist, as my Venerable Predecessor
John Paul II so frequently emphasized. "All the more then must the life
of a priest be 'shaped' by the Eucharist" (Letter to Priests for Holy
Thursday 2005, n. 1; ORE, 23 March, p. 4). In the first
place, the devout, daily celebration of Holy Mass, the centre of the
life and mission of every priest, contributes to this goal.
Top priority: full Christian unity
5. Nourished and sustained by the Eucharist, Catholics cannot but
feel encouraged to strive for the full unity for which Christ expressed
so ardent a hope in the Upper Room. The Successor of Peter knows that he
must make himself especially responsible for his Divine Master's supreme
aspiration. Indeed, he is entrusted with the task of strengthening his
brethren (cf. Lk 22:32).
With full awareness, therefore, at the beginning of his ministry in
the Church of Rome which Peter bathed in his blood, Peter's current
Successor takes on as his primary task the duty to work tirelessly to
rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers. This is
his ambition, his impelling duty. He is aware that good intentions do
not suffice for this. Concrete gestures that enter hearts and stir
consciences are essential, inspiring in everyone that inner conversion
that is the prerequisite for all ecumenical progress.
Theological dialogue is necessary; the investigation of the
historical reasons for the decisions made in the past is also
indispensable. But what is most urgently needed is that "purification of
memory", so often recalled by John Paul II, which alone can dispose
souls to accept the full truth of Christ. Each one of us must come
before him, the supreme Judge of every living person, and render an
account to him of all we have done or have failed to do to further the
great good of the full and visible unity of all his disciples.
The current Successor of Peter is allowing himself to be called in
the first person by this requirement and is prepared to do everything in
his power to promote the fundamental cause of ecumenism. Following the
example of his Predecessors, he is fully determined to
encourage every initiative that seems appropriate for promoting contacts
and understanding with the representatives of the different Churches and
Ecclesial Communities. Indeed, on this occasion he sends them his most
cordial greeting in Christ, the one Lord of us all.
Ongoing interreligious dialogue
6. I am thinking back at this time to the unforgettable experience
seen by all of us on the occasion of the death and funeral of the late
John Paul II. The Heads of Nations, people from every social class and
especially young people gathered round his mortal remains, laid on the
bare ground, in an unforgettable embrace of love and admiration. The
whole world looked to him with trust. To many it seemed that this
intense participation, amplified by the media to reach the very ends of
the planet, was like a unanimous appeal for help addressed to the Pope
by today's humanity which, upset by uncertainties and fears, was
questioning itself on its future.
The Church of today must revive her awareness of the duty to
re-propose to the world the voice of the One who said: "I am the light
of the world. No follower of mine shall ever walk in darkness; no, he
shall possess the light of life" (Jn 8:12). In carrying out his
ministry, the new Pope knows that his task is to make Christ's light
shine out before the men and
women of today: not his own light, but Christ's.
Aware of this I address everyone, including the followers of other
religions or those who are simply seeking an answer to the fundamental
questions of life and have not yet found it. I address all with
simplicity and affection, to as sure them that the Church wants to
continue to weave an open and sincere dialogue with them, in the search
for the true good of the human being and of society.
I ask God for unity and peace for the human family, and declare the
willingness of all Catholics to cooperate for an authentic social
development, respectful of the dignity of every human being.
I will make every conscientious effort to continue the promising
dialogue initiated by my Venerable Predecessors with the different
civilizations, so that mutual understanding may create the conditions
for a better future for all.
I am thinking in particular of the young. I offer my affectionate
embrace to them, the privileged partners in dialogue with Pope John Paul
II, hoping, please God, to meet them in Cologne on the occasion of the
upcoming World Youth Day. I will continue our dialogue, dear young
people, the future and hope of the Church and of humanity, listening to
your expectations in the desire to help you encounter in ever greater
depth the living Christ, eternally young.
I intend to serve Christ alone
7. Mane nobiscum, Domine! Stay with us, Lord! This invocation,
which is the principal topic of the Apostolic Letter of John Paul II for
the Year of the Eucharist, is the prayer that wells up spontaneously
from my heart as I prepare to begin the ministry to which Christ has
called me. Like Peter, I too renew to him my unconditional promise of
fidelity. I intend to serve him alone, dedicating myself totally to the
service of his Church.
To support me in my promise, I call on the motherly intercession of
Mary Most Holy, in whose hands I place the present and future of the
Church and of myself. May the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the
Saints also intercede for us.
With these sentiments I impart to you, Venerable Brother Cardinals,
to those who are taking part in this rite and to all who are watching it
on television and listening to it on the radio, a special, affectionate
Blessing.
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