During a lunch with members of the College of Cardinals on Monday to mark the 7th
anniversary of his pontificate, Pope Benedict thanked his closest advisors for all
their support during both the joys and the difficulties of his Petrine ministry. The
Pope began by thanking God for the joyous days as well as what he called ‘the dark
nights’ and went on to reflect about the presence of evil in the world. We can see,
he said, how evil seeks to dominate our world, through cruelty and violence, but also
in more subtle ways, posing as a force for good while destroying the moral foundations
of society. Recalling the old fashioned use of the term ‘the Church militant’,
the Pope said we must fight against evil and for this reason it is important to have
friends to support us in this struggle. Recalling also the words of Our Lord, ‘Take
heart, I have overcome the world’, Pope Benedict said we are on the Lord’s team and
therefore we will be victorious.. Listen