VATICAN CITY, JUNE 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Rome was key for both Peter and Paul in their respective missions, affirmed Benedict XVI on the apostles' feast day, in a Vatican Mass celebrated in the company of the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople.
The Pope focused in the homily for Sunday's feast of Sts. Peter and Paul on the importance of Rome for both the "great princes" of the Church.
The Mass, held in St. Peter's Square, formed part of the celebrations for the inauguration of the Pauline Jubilee Year. The Holy Father inaugurated the Pauline year at Saturday's vespers in the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls. The jubilee runs through June 29, 2009.
Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople was in Rome for the occasion, and also gave a homily at Sunday's Mass.
"By their martyrdom, they -- Peter and Paul -- are now part of Rome," the Pontiff said. "Through martyrdom, even Peter became a Roman citizen forever. […] By virtue of their martyrdom, Peter and Paul are in reciprocal relationship forever.
"They die for the one Christ and, in the witness for which they give their lives, they are one."
Benedict XVI suggested that the New Testament enables us to "follow the development of their embrace, this unity in witness and in mission."
He noted how Paul, three years after his conversion, went to Jerusalem to consult Peter. Fourteen years later, he goes to Jerusalem again and at the conclusion of his meeting with the apostles, "James, Cephas and John give him their right hands, thus confirming the communion that unites them in the one Gospel of Jesus Christ," the Holy Father noted.
He continued: "Peter and Paul met each other at least twice in Jerusalem; at the end their paths take them to Rome. Why? Was this perhaps more than just pure chance? Is there perhaps a lasting message in it?
"While Paul usually only goes to places where the Gospel had not yet been announced, Rome is an exception. There he finds a Church whose faith the world speaks about. Going to Rome is part of the universality of his mission as one sent to all peoples. The way to Rome, which, already before his external trip, he had traveled interiorly with his letter, is an integral part of his task of bringing the Gospel to all peoples -- of founding the Church, catholic and universal. Going to Rome is for him the expression of his mission's catholicity. Rome must make the faith visible to the whole world, it must be the meeting place in the one faith."
Catholic
The Pope then turned his attention to Peter's journey to Rome, noting that the New Testament is less explicit about his motives.
Citing Paul's Letter to the Galatians, the Holy Father recalled: "Paul says that God gave strength to Peter for the apostolic ministry among the circumcised, and to Paul himself, the ministry among the pagans instead. But this assignment could be in force only as long as Peter remained with the Twelve in Jerusalem in the hope that all of Israel would adhere to Christ.
"In the face of later developments, the Twelve recognized the time in which they too must go forth into the world to announce the Gospel to it. Peter who, following divine order, had been the first to open the door to pagans, now leaves the leadership of the Christian-Jewish Church to James the Less, in order to dedicate himself to his true mission: to the ministry of the unity of the one Church of God made up of Jews as well as pagans. The desire of Paul to go to Rome highlights above all, as we have seen, the word 'catholica' ('catholic') among the characteristics of the Church."
Peter's journey to Rome, is, thus, associated with the word "one," the Pontiff affirmed. "He has the task of creating the 'unity' of the 'catholica,' of the Church made up of Jews and pagans, the Church of all peoples.
"And this is the permanent mission of Peter: to make sure that the Church never identifies herself with any one nation, any one culture or any one state. That it may always be the Church of all. That it may unite mankind beyond every frontier and, amidst the divisions of this world, make God's peace present, the reconciling power of his love. […] [W]e have all the more need of interior unity which comes from the peace of God -- the unity of all those who, through Jesus Christ, have become brothers and sisters. This is the permanent mission of Peter, as well as the special task entrusted to the Church of Rome."
ZE08063007 - 2008-06-30
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-23062?l=english
Pope: Rome Was Key for Peter and Paul
Says City Was Fundamental to Catholicity, Unity of Mission
© Innovative Media, Inc.
Reprinting ZENIT's articles requires written permission from the editor.
 |
Send this to a friend |  |
Comment on this article |
 |
Printer-friendly format |  |
PDF format |
 |
Home |
