Music affirms solidarity, brotherhood and peace: Pope

June 2, 2012: On Friday evening, Pope Benedict XVI attended a concert at Milan’s world famous La Scala opera house where he heard Beethoven’s 9th Symphony performed by the La Scala orchestra. Following the concert, the Pontiff praised both the work and its performance in remarks that touched on technical aspects of the music as a way into a profound theological reflection occasioned by it.
"It's an idealized vision of humanity that Beethoven draws with his music:" the joy in the brotherhood and mutual love, under the paternal gaze of God. There is a distinctly Christian joy that Beethoven sings, said Pope Benedict XVI about the concert. The concert was presented in honour of the Pope with delegates of the VII world Meeting of families in attendance.

Pope Benedict XVI recalled that the joyous celebration of the concert was marked by the shadow of the earth quake which brought great suffering to many people in Italy. The Pontiff said that ‘We are looking for a fraternity that, in the midst of suffering, supports the other and so helps us move forward. After this concert, many will go to Eucharistic adoration - the God who has put in our suffering and continue to do so. The God who suffers with us and for us, and so has made men and women able to share the suffering of others and turn it into love."

The choice of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony allows us to send a message with the music that affirms the fundamental value of solidarity, brotherhood and peace. "This message is also valuable for the family, because it is in family that we experience for the first time how the human person is created not to live closed in on oneself, but in relation with others’, the Pope added.