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BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

Ultimo Aggiornamento: 23/08/2021 11:16
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13/01/2011 09:33
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In his new column, Vittorio Messori offers a specific reflection on the Papacy that we do not usually think about...


The task of the Popes:
To confirm us in the faith

Translated from

Jan. 12, 2001

In the little town on Lake Garda where I live, a young priest from Verona, don Andres Brugnoli, is trying out new forms of apostolate. One of those which has been successful and which he is exporting to other parts of Italy, is the 'theological coffee klatsch". Evening gatherings when attendees listen to good speakers while sipping coffee and nibbling pastries.

At yesterday's theological klatsch, the guest was Gianpaolo Barra, editor of Il Timone [parent publication of La Bussola]. I went to hear him, and there were a lot of people. Barra had a very lucid - and very apologetistic - presentation on what is the true Church of Christ.

He recalled, for instance, the statement Jesus made to Peter: "You are Peter, and on this rock I shall build my Church". This has been the stumbling block for all those who reject the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, and the cream of Protestant theologians, taken seriously by their academic colleagues, have said: "Actually, Jesus points to Simon when he says 'You are Peter', then points to himself when he says 'On this rock I will build my Church'". A wisecrack that indicates how weighty the statement is.

I would like to add another argument which did not come up last night for lack of time. It is what Jesus said to Simon as reported in the Gospel of Luke: "Simon, Simon, I have prayed for you, that your own faith may never fail... and that you will confirm your brothers in the faith".

Here, Peter is given a very important task, which is a useful answer to give to whoever criticizes the papacy by saying: "But look what immoral and dishonorable persons have sat on Peter's Chair in the course of history!" Think of, say Alexander VI, Papa Borgia, almost the icon of papal dissolution.

But we must recognize that Jesus did not give us Peter and his successors as examples of living but as custodians and teachers of the faith. In the history of the Popes, there is everything, including the opposite of everything: Popes who were saints and Popes who were villains. Sorry about that! We would have wanted all of them to be consistent with the Gospel message.

But what counts is their teaching, since the task of the Pontiff is to be the Rock that supports the faith. Blessed John Henry Newman acknowledged that, in the list of Popes, even those who had the most scandalous lives have always confirmed, from the doctrinal point of view, the Christian faith consistent with preceding tradition.

It would be most gratifying if all Popes were also consistent in their lifestyle, and yet we must acknowledge that, thank God, at least since the fall of Napoleon onwards, we have since always had Popes who were equally admirable for their moral life.

But we must not forget that their mission is to confirm us in the faith, even when they themselves may not live in accordance with moral demands. It's a painful inconsistency, but Jesus himself seems to have anticipated this when, speaking of the priests in his time, he gave prevalence to 'do as they say', without being very much scandalized when what they did was not in accordance with what they taught.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 13/01/2011 09:34]
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