Christians need to make the first move in offering reconciliation and establishing peace, which includes accepting the blame for wrongdoings, Pope Benedict XVI said."Today we must learn once again to be able to recognize guilt, we must shake off the illusion of being innocent," the pope said Dec. 21 in his annual pre-Christmas address to the Roman Curia and cardinals who reside in Rome.
"We must learn the ability to do penance, to let ourselves be transformed; to meet the other and let God give us the courage and strength for such renewal," he said.
The pope introduced the theme of reconciliation in his remarks looking back on the Synod of Bishops for Africa in October, which was dedicated to the church's role in fostering reconciliation, justice and peace.
The pope made no mention of his recent meeting with top officials of the Irish Catholic church concerning the handling of clerical sex abuse cases and his plan to write a special pastoral letter to Irish Catholics, which was likely to include the suggestion of public services of repentance for Irish bishops and priests.
In promoting peace and reconciliation, he said, Christians must take their example from Christ, who freely became human and died for the sins of all.
Free of ulterior motives, people must "be willing to take the first step, be the first to meet the other, offering them reconciliation, taking on the pain that comes with letting go of having to always be right," the pope said.
Pope Benedict called for a rediscovery of the sacrament of penance, which has more or less "disappeared from the existential habits of Christians" today.
The neglect of the sacrament is "a symptom of the loss of truth in relation to ourselves and with God; a loss that puts our humanity in danger and weakens our capacity for peace," he said.
The pope's emphasis on reconciliation was evident in many of the subjects he highlighted in his seven-page reflection on the past year, including his trip to Cameroon and Angola in March and his pilgrimage to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories in May.
He said his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem was "a disturbing encounter with the cruelty of human sin and with the hatred of a blind ideology which, without any justification, sent millions of people to their death and, with that, ultimately aimed to also eliminate God from the world."
He said Yad Vashem represents "a monument to human sin" and calls out to people to purify themselves, to forgive and to love.
The pope said visiting the places associated with Christ's birth, ministry, death and resurrection was like "touching the history of God."
"Faith is not a myth. It is real history and we can touch traces of it with our hands."
The concrete reality upon which the Christian faith is based "is particularly helpful to us during the tormented times of the present," he said.
That God came to be among humanity shows that God is always near and always among his people; this is a source of hope and an inspiration to reconcile oneself with God and with one's neighbors, he said.
The pope dedicated much of his speech to the work carried out by bishops from Africa during the fall synod.
He said the meeting focused on the church's pastoral and spiritual role in dealing with critical problems facing the church and society in Africa. It was critical to avoid giving the impression that the church wanted to "personally hold the reins in politics and as pastors transform themselves into political guides," he added.
In fact, many church leaders are faced with the very same question today: "How can we be realistic and practical without taking upon ourselves a political competence that we are not entitled to?" he asked.
The question actually revolves around the separation of church and state, a correct form of secularism that is "positive and applied and interpreted in the right way," he said.
The pope also made mention of his trip to the Czech Republic in September. He said before his visit, he had always been told agnostics and atheists made up the majority of the country's people.
Yet he said he was pleasantly surprised at the "great cordiality," courtesy and friendliness of the people. The pope said it struck him that Catholics must show concern for people who describe themselves as atheists or agnostics.
"When we talk of a new evangelization, perhaps these people get frightened," he said. Perhaps they don't want to see themselves as being the object of evangelization or to give up their sense of freedom of thought and will, he added.
"We have to concern ourselves with not letting people put aside the question of God" as if it were not an essential part of their lives and help make sure people confront the question and their yearning for the transcendent, he said.
Most importantly, he said, priests have to be true friends of Jesus and be approachable by everyone, including nonbelievers. How else can people come to know God if not through people who are friends of Christ, he added.
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SIC: CNS