Pope Benedict XVI in Cyprus - Meeting with the Catholic Community
(5 June 10 - RV) Below is the full text of Pope Benedict XVI's discourse to the Catholic
community of Cyprus at the St. Maron elementary school:
Dear brothers and sisters
in Christ, Είναι ευάρεστο σε μένα να είμαι μαζί με σας που είστε οι αντιπρόσωποι
της καθολικής κοινότητας της Κύπρου. I thank Archbishop Soueif for his kind words
of welcome on your behalf and I thank in a special way the children for their beautiful
presentation. I also greet His Beatitude Patriarch Fouad Twal, and salute the great
and patient work of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land in the person of Father
Pizzaballa, here with us today. On this historic occasion of the first visit
of the Bishop of Rome to Cyprus, I come to confirm you in your faith in Jesus Christ
and to encourage you to remain of one heart and one soul in fidelity to the apostolic
tradition (cf. Acts 4:32). As the Successor of Peter, I stand among you today
to offer you the assurance of my support, my affectionate prayers and my encouragement.
We have just heard from the Gospel of John how some Greeks, who had learned of
the great works which Jesus was performing, approached the Apostle Philip and said,
“We wish to see Jesus” (cf. Jn 12:21). These words touch all of us deeply.
Like the men and women in the Gospel, we wish to see Jesus, to know him, to love and
to serve him, with “one heart and soul”. Furthermore, like the voice from heaven
in today’s Gospel which testified to the glory of God’s name, the Church proclaims
his name not simply for her own sake, but for the good of humanity as a whole (cf.
Jn 12:30). You too, Christ’s followers of today, are called to live your faith
in the world by adding your voices and actions to the promotion of the Gospel values
handed down to you by generations of Cypriot Christians. These values, deeply embedded
in your own culture as well as in the patrimony of the universal Church, should continue
to inspire your efforts to promote peace, justice and respect for human life and the
dignity of your fellow citizens. In this way, your fidelity to the Gospel will surely
benefit all Cypriot society. Dear brothers and sisters, given your unique circumstances,
I would also like to draw your attention to an essential part of our Church’s life
and mission, namely the search for greater unity in charity with other Christians
and dialogue with those who are not Christians. Especially since the Second Vatican
Council, the Church has been committed to advancing along the path of greater understanding
with our fellow Christians with a view to ever stronger ties of love and fellowship
among all the baptized. Given your circumstances, you are able to make your personal
contribution to the goal of greater Christian unity in your daily lives. Let me encourage
you to do so, confident that the Spirit of the Lord, who prayed that his followers
might be one (cf. Jn 17:21), will accompany you in this important task. With
regard to interreligious dialogue, much still needs to be done throughout the world.
This is another area where Catholics in Cyprus often live in circumstances which afford
them opportunities for right and prudent action. Only by patient work can mutual
trust be built, the burden of history overcome, and the political and cultural differences
between peoples become a motive to work for deeper understanding. I urge you to help
create such mutual trust between Christians and non-Christians as a basis for building
lasting peace and harmony between peoples of different religions, political regions
and cultural backgrounds. Dear friends, I would invite you to look to the profound
communion that you already share among yourselves and with the Catholic Church throughout
the world. With regard to the immediate needs of the Church, I encourage you to pray
for and to foster vocations to the priesthood and religious life. As this Year for
Priests draws to a close, the Church has gained a renewed awareness of the need for
good, holy and well-formed priests. She needs men and women religious completely
committed to Christ and to the spread of God’s reign on earth. Our Lord has promised
that those who lay down their lives in imitation of him will keep them for eternal
life (cf. Jn 12:25). I ask parents to ponder this promise and to encourage
their children to respond generously to the Lord’s call. I urge pastors to attend
to the young, to their needs and aspirations, and to form them in the fullness of
the faith. Here in this Catholic school, let me also address a word to those
working in the Catholic schools of the island, especially the teachers. Your work
is part of a long and esteemed tradition of the Catholic Church in Cyprus. Continue
patiently to serve the good of the whole community by striving for educational excellence.
May the Lord bless you abundantly in the sacred trust which is the formation of almighty
God’s most precious gift to us - our children. I now address a special word to
you, my dear young Catholics of Cyprus. Παραμείνετε δυνατοί στην πίστη σας, γεμάτοι
χαρά στην υπηρεσία του Θεού και γενναιόδωροι με τον χρόνο σας και με τα τάλαντα σας.
Βοηθήστε να κτισθεί ένα καλύτερο μέλλον για την Εκκλησία και για την χώρα σας, προωθώντας
το καλό των άλλων παρά το δικό σας. Dear Catholics of Cyprus, foster your own
harmony in communion with the universal Church and with the Successor of Peter, and
build up your fraternal bonds with each other in faith, hope and love. In a special
way, I wish to consign this message to those present who come from Kormákiti, Asómatos,
Karpásha and Aía Marina. I know of your desires and sufferings, and so I ask you
to carry my blessing, my closeness and my affection to all who come from your villages.
We Christians are a people of hope. For my part, I fervently hope and pray that,
with the commitment and good will of those concerned, a better life for all the inhabitants
of the island will be speedily assured. With these few words, I entrust all of
you to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the intercession of Saints Paul
and Barnabas. Ο Θεός ας σας ευλογήση όλους!