Pope from Brescia: "A Church Conformed to Christ in Dialogue with Humanity"
(08 Nov 09 - RV) A ''poor and free church”, capable of speaking to 'contemporary'
mankind and of addressing the challenges of today: the economic crisis, immigration,
interfaith dialogue. But above all the Church that is the faithful and patient instrument
of God’s love for humanity.
This was the message launched by Pope Benedict
XVI from the Cathedral of Brescia, the birth place of his predecessor Pope Paul VI,
a message taken from the spiritual testament of the Montini Pope, but one that Pope
Benedict said is still relevant today.
Four giants screens relayed Pope
Benedict’s words to the tens of thousands who filled the rain-swept square before
the Cathedral, named in honour of the Brescian man who steered the Church through
the Second Vatican Council and its difficult aftermath.
Pope Benedict told
them that the encounter and dialogue between the Church and humanity was particularly
important to Paul VI in every stage of his life, from the early years of priesthood
to his pontificate.
In his homily Pope Benedict XVI dwelt on Paul VI’s
encyclical Ecclesiam Suam. The major challenges that face the Church, he
said, are those represented by its confrontation with other faiths and a growing secularism
that leads to forgetfulness of God.
The Pope said that the question of
the Church, its role in the plan for our salvation and its relationship with the world
today remain absolutely central. As Paul VI wrote; “more than ever humanity is in
need of the precious example of the Churches love for mankind which is inseparable
from that of Christ.''
In the teachings of Paul VI, Pope Benedict said
we can always find valuable information to address the challenges of the present,
above all, the economic crisis, immigration, education of youth.
At the
same time, Pope Montini lost no opportunity to emphasize the primacy of God in human
experience or to promote the consecrated life.
Benedict XVI’s last words
from Brescia in fact were for the priests of the Diocese. Marking this Year for Priests,
he recalled the words of Paul VI to the Major Seminary on December 7, 1968:
"Many
- he said - expect the Pope to make dramatic gestures and be energetically decisive.
The Pope does not believe that he must follow another line that is not that of confidence
in Jesus Christ, He will calm the storm ... It is not about waiting inertly but of
watchful waiting in prayer. This is the condition that Jesus has chosen for us, so
that he can operate fully. Even the Pope needs to be helped by prayer”.