In first hearing and then reading the papal homily I noticed some very crucial points for us to reflect upon and to seriously consider: the real persecution of the Church today and the impact on Catholic identity exists not exclusively from outside the Church (a theme the pope has stated before now) but from the faithful’s betrayal of the faith, of Truth. When secularism, not to be confused with secularity, infiltrates the Church the true message of the Gospel is obscured and our hearts are darkened.<\/i><\/font><\/p>\n As usual on today’s solemn feast of Peter and Paul, Pope Benedict bestowed the pallium, the symbol of theological, juridical and fraternal communion between the pope and a bishop. It is also a symbol of the “fullness of charity and unity.” In seeing the pallium we see, as Benedict says, a symbol of “the guarantee of freedom for the Church’s Pastors and the Communities.” <\/i>Today, 38 archbishops from around the world received the pallium, including three archbishops from the USA and one from Canada. <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n The Pope’s exhortation and prayer upon giving the pallium:<\/i><\/font><\/p>\n To the glory of God and the praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the apostles Peter and Paul, and of the Holy Roman Church, for the honor of the Churches, which have been placed in your care, and as a symbol of your authority as metropolitan archbishop: We confer on you the pallium taken from the tomb of Peter to wear within the limits of your ecclesiastical provinces.<\/font><\/p>\n And then<\/i><\/font><\/p>\n May this pallium be a symbol of unity and a sign of your communion with the Apostolic See, a bond of love, and an incentive to courage. On the day of the coming and manifestation of our great God and chief shepherd, Jesus Christ, may you and the flock entrusted to you be clothed with immortality and glory. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.<\/font><\/p>\n Below is Benedict’s homily for today’s Mass (with my own points of emphasis).<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/font><\/p>\n The biblical This theme Observing closely we note Indeed, The theme of the freedom of I would like to draw a final point from the Word of Dear friends, I <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Though they suffered on different days, Saints Peter and Paul are known as one, as Saint Augustine reminds. In first hearing and then reading the papal homily I noticed some very crucial points for us to reflect upon and to seriously consider: the real persecution of the Church today and the impact on Catholic identity … Continue reading Pallium Mass 2010: a guarantee of freedom, charity and unity, the Pope reminds<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,7],"tags":[1810,1907,2466,32081,2467],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25671"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25671\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/i><\/font><\/p>\n![\"Sts](\"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/Sts%20Peter%20%26%20Paul%20Greco.jpg\")
\ntexts of this Eucharistic Liturgy of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, in
\ntheir great wealth, highlight a theme that could be summarized thus: God is
\nclose to his faithful servants and frees them from all evil, and frees the
\nChurch from negative powers. It is the theme of the freedom of the Church,
\nwhich has a historical aspect and another more deeply spiritual one<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nruns through today’s Liturgy of the Word. The first and second readings speak,
\nrespectively, of St Peter and St Paul, emphasizing precisely the liberating
\naction of God in them. Especially the text from the Acts of the Apostles
\ndescribes in abundant detail the intervention of the Angel of the Lord, who
\nreleases Peter from the chains and leads him outside the prison in Jerusalem,
\nwhere he had been locked up, under close supervision, by King Herod (cf. at
\n12.1 to 11). Paul, however, writing to Timothy when he feels close to the end
\nof his earthly life, takes stock which shows that the Lord was always near him
\nand freed him from many dangers and frees him still by introducing him into His
\neternal Kingdom (see 2 Tim 4, 6-8.17-18). The theme is reinforced by the
\nResponsorial Psalm (Ps 33), and also finds a particular development in the
\nGospel of Peter’s confession, where Christ promises that the powers of hell
\nshall not prevail against his Church (cf. Mt 16:18).<\/span><\/p>\n
\na certain progression regarding this issue. In the first reading a specific
\nepisode is narrated that shows the Lord’s intervention to free Peter from
\nprison. In the second Paul, on the basis of his extraordinary apostolic
\nexperience, is convinced that the Lord, who already freed him “from the
\nmouth of the lion “delivers him” from all evil”, by opening the
\ndoors of Heaven to him. In the Gospel we no longer speak of the individual
\nApostles, but the Church as a whole and its safekeeping from the forces of
\nevil, in the widest and most profound sense. Thus we see that the promise of
\nJesus – “the powers of hell shall not prevail” on the Church – yes,
\nincludes the historical experience of persecution suffered by Peter and Paul
\nand other witnesses of the Gospel, but it goes further, wanting to protect
\nespecially against threats of a spiritual order, as Paul himself writes in his
\nLetter to the Ephesians: ” For our struggle is not with flesh and blood
\nbut with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this
\npresent darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens”(Eph 6:12).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nif we think of the two millennia of Church history, we can see that – as the
\nLord Jesus had announced (cf. Mt 10.16-33) – Christians have never been lacking
\nin trials, which in some periods and places have assumed the character of real
\npersecution. These, however, despite the suffering they cause, are not the
\ngreatest danger for the Church.<\/i> In fact it suffers greatest damage from what
\npollutes the Christian faith and life of its members and its communities,
\neroding the integrity of the Mystical Body, weakening its ability to prophesy
\nand witness, tarnishing the beauty of its face<\/b>. This reality is already
\nattested in the Pauline Epistle. The First Epistle to the Corinthians, for
\nexample, responds to some problems of divisions, inconsistencies, of infidelity
\nto the Gospel which seriously threaten the Church. But the Second Letter to
\nTimothy – of which we heard an excerpt – speaks about the dangers of the
\n“last days”, identifying them with negative attitudes that belong to
\nthe world and can infect the Christian community: selfishness, vanity, pride,
\nlove of money, etc. (cf. 3.1 to 5). The Apostle’s conclusion is reassuring: men
\nwho do wrong – he writes – “will not make further progress, for their
\nfoolishness will be plain to all” (3.9). There is therefore a guarantee of
\nfreedom promised by God to the Church<\/span>, it is freedom from the material bonds
\nthat seek to prevent or coerce mission, both through spiritual and moral evils,
\nwhich may affect its authenticity and credibility<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nthe Church, guaranteed by Christ to Peter, also has a specific relevance to the
\nrite of the imposition of the pallium, which we renew today for thirty-eight
\nmetropolitan archbishops, to whom I address my most cordial greeting, extending
\nwith it affection to all who have wanted to accompany them on this pilgrimage.
\nCommunion with Peter and his successors, in fact, is the guarantee of freedom
\nfor the Church’s Pastors and the Communities entrusted to them<\/span>. It is
\nhighlighted on both levels in the aforementioned reflections. Historically,
\nunion with the Apostolic See, ensures the particular Churches and Episcopal
\nConferences freedom with respect to local, national or supranational powers,
\nthat can sometimes hinder the mission of the ecclesial Church. Furthermore, and
\nmost essentially, the Petrine ministry is a guarantee of freedom in the sense
\nof full adherence to truth and authentic tradition, so that the People of God
\nmay be preserved from mistakes concerning faith and morals. Hence the fact that
\neach year the new Metropolitans come to Rome to receive the pallium from the
\nhands of the Pope, must be understood in its proper meaning, as a gesture of
\ncommunion, and the issue of freedom of the Church gives us a particularly
\nimportant key for interpretation. This is evident in the case of churches
\nmarked by persecution, or subject to political interference or other hardships.
\nBut this is no less relevant in the case of communities that suffer the
\ninfluence of misleading doctrines or ideological tendencies and practices
\ncontrary to the Gospel. Thus the pallium becomes, in this sense, a pledge of
\nfreedom, similar to the “yoke” of Jesus, that He invites us to take
\nup, each on their shoulders (Mt 11:29-30). While demanding, the commandment of
\nChrist is “sweet and light” and instead of weighing down on the bearer,
\nit lifts him up, thus the bond with the Apostolic See – while challenging –
\nsustains the Pastor and the portion of the Church entrusted to his care, making
\nthem freer and stronger.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nGod, in particular from Christ’s promise that the powers of hell shall not
\nprevail against his Church. These words may also have a significant ecumenical
\nvalue, since, as I mentioned earlier, one of the typical effects of the Devil
\nis division within the Church community. The divisions are in fact symptoms of
\nthe power of sin, which continues to act in members of the Church even after
\nredemption<\/b>. But the word of Christ is clear: ” Non praevalebunt – it will
\nnot prevail” (Matt. 16:18). The unity of the Church is rooted in its union
\nwith Christ, and the cause of full Christian unity – always to be sought and
\nrenewed from generation to generation – is well supported by his prayer and his
\npromise<\/i>. In the fight against the spirit of evil, God has given us in Jesus the
\n‘Advocate’, defender, and after his Easter, “another Paraclete” (Jn
\n14:16), the Holy Spirit, which remains with us always and leads the Church into
\nthe fullness of truth (cf. Jn 14:16; 16:13), which is also the fullness of
\ncharity and unity. With these feelings of confident hope, I am pleased to greet
\nthe delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which, in the beautiful
\ncustom of reciprocal visits, participates in the celebrations of the patron
\nsaints of Rome. Together we thank God for progress in ecumenical relations
\nbetween Catholics and Orthodox, and we renew our commitment to generously
\nreciprocate to God’s grace, which leads us to full communion.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ncordially greet all of you: Cardinals, Brother Bishops, Ambassadors and civil
\nauthorities, in particular the Mayor of Rome, priests, religious and lay
\nfaithful. Thank you for your presence. May the Saints Peter and Paul help you
\nto grow in love for the holy Church, the Mystical Body of Christ the Lord and
\nmessenger of unity and peace for all men. May they also help you to offer the
\nhardships and sufferings endured for fidelity to the Gospel with joy for her
\nholiness and her mission. May the Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles and Mother of
\nthe Church, always watch over you and especially over the Ministry of
\nmetropolitan archbishops. With her heavenly help may you always live and act in
\nthat freedom that Christ has won for us. Amen.