Marking the Fifth Anniversary of Benedict XVI's Pontificate
(RV - 17 Apr 2010) Five Years of the Pontifiate: An editorial by Fr. Federico Lombardi
Next
Monday, April 19th, marks the 5th anniversary of Joseph Ratzinger’s election to the
“Chair of Peter.” We bring you an editorial on the major themes of the first five
years of Pope Benedict XVI’s Pontificate, given for Octava dies, the weekly programme
of the Vatican’s television station:
Time has passed quickly and the events
have been intense in these five years of the pontifiate. To read them correctly we
must return to the Sistine Chapel – the morning after the election – when the new
Pope gathered the spiritual heritage of his great predecessor and indicated the priorities
that would guide his service in the Lord’s vineyard: Man’s relationship with God,
revealed by Jesus Christ, met in particular in the Eucharist, in the worship of the
Church; he tireless commitment to restore the full and visible unity of all Christ’s
followers; the desire to respond to the call for help from a modern humanity that,
wracked by fear and uncertainty, questions its future; pen and sincere dialogue with
followers of other religions or with those who are simply seeking answers to fundamental
questions of existence, for the search of the true good of man and of society. There
is no doubt that these were (and are) the priorities of the pontificate, pursued with
consistency and courage amid tensions and obstacles. Pope Benedict said he would not
look to shine his own light, but that of Christ. Auschwitz, Istanbul, New York, Sydney,
Paris, Africa, Jerusalem. Synagogues and Mosques, Encyclicals on charity, on hope,
on the ethics of development, on economics and respect for the environment. The pontificate
thus far has seen a rich and full balance between serving God and humanity. A fire
to continue with a sure route.