Father Lombardi :With courage and joy

In answer to a question put to him on board the plane of whether he was concerned about the criticism and opposition that awaited him in the United Kingdom, the Pope told to reporters that he was not worried, but going forward with courage and joy. He also gave the reason the reason for this courage and joy when he said that the Church should not be concerned with making itself attractive and powerful, but rather with being completely transparent about the person and words of Jesus Christ. If the Church really is trying to be transparent for the people it encounters then it has done its duty, fulfilled its mission and has no reason to be afraid. Here is the simple secret of the Pope’s serenity in difficult situations. Serenity, that itself becomes a message and example for believers. The secret is, in fact, faith in Jesus Christ. Benedict XVI proposes it with intelligence, confidence and joy, knowing and respecting the questions and difficulties of his interlocutors. It is not by chance that in evoking the figure of Cardinal Newman, he highlighted his modernity and relentless search for truth. He knows that today, an encounter with God and the Christian faith is not easy and or to be taken for granted; we need a friendly hand and voice that clearly propose and lovingly accompany humanity in its rediscovery of the beauty and value of the Christian faith. Will this proposal be accepted or not? Here, naturally space must be given to the freedom of those who listen and the responsibility the mediator of the message, who may facilitate or indeed impede, it from reaching its listener. But the proposal is a beautiful one: it is the best the Pope has to offer. So he does it with joy. And whoever welcomes it, shares in this joy.