At least 150,000 people from across Italy came together to show their affection and express their support for Benedict XVI in the wake of the paedophile priests scandal, something that has turned into a media war against the pontiff.Responding to an invitation by Consulta delle aggregazioni laicali (Lay Associations Council) and led by Card Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Italy, members of various associations and movements (Comunione e Liberazione, Rinnovamento dello Spirito, Comunità neocatecumenali, Sant’Egidio, Coldiretti, etc.) arrived in Rome by bus, train or car, thronging Saint Peter’s Square and parts of nearby Via della Conciliazione.
Following the Regina Caeli prayer, Benedict XVI expressed his “deep gratitude” for “the affection and deep closeness of the Church and the Italian people to the Pope and your priests who take care of you on a daily basis, for through a commitment to spiritual and moral renewal we can better serve the Church, the People of God and all those who turn to use with confidence.”
“The real enemy to fear and fight,” he went on to say, “is sin, spiritual evil, which sometimes taints the members of the Church. We live in the world, but do belong to the world (cf Jh, 17:14). We Christians are not afraid of the world, even if we must guard ourselves against its seductive power. Instead, we must fear sin and for this, we must be strongly rooted in God, be one with what is good, with love and service. It is what the Church and its ministries, together with the faithful, have done and continue to do with fervid commitment for the spiritual and material wellbeing of people in every part of the world. Above all, it is what you usually try to do in your parishes, associations and movements, which is to serve God and mankind in the name of Christ. Let us continue together with confidence on this path, and let the trials, which the Lord allows, push us towards greater radicality and coherence.”
Previously, Benedict XVI talked about the Ascension of the Lord, the festivity celebrated today, which was “not forsaking because He remains for ever with them in a new form”.
“The Lord,” he added, “draws the Apostles’ attention towards Heaven to show them how to follow the path of goodness during their earthly existence. However, he remains in the thick of human history and is close to each one of us. He leads our Christian journey and accompanies those who are persecuted because of their faith. He is in the heart of all those who are marginalised and is present in those who are denied the right to life. We can listen, see and touch Lord Jesus in the Church, especially through the words and sacramental deeds of his Pastors.”
“The Lord, by opening the way to heaven, gave us a foretaste of divine life on this earth. A 20th century Russian scholar wrote in his spiritual will, “Gaze at the stars more often. When your soul is burdened, look up at the stars or the blue sky. When you feel sad, when you are slighted . . . talk . . . with heaven. Your soul will then find peace.” (Pavel A. Florenskij. Non dimenticatemi. Le lettere dal gulag del grande matematico, filosofo e sacerdote russo, edited by N. Valentini and L. Žák, Milan, 2000, p. 418).
Today is also World Social Communication Day, which is celebrated as part of the solemnity of the Ascension. This year’s topic is “The priest and pastoral ministry in a digital world: new media at the service of the word”.
Benedict XVI told the “brothers in the priesthood that in the ‘lives and activity of priests’, [they] need to be distinguished by a determined witness to the Gospel (Letter of his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI proclaiming a Year for Priests on the 150th anniversary of the "Dies Natalis" of the Curé of Ars).”
He also told them “that they must know that by ‘Using new communication technologies, priests can introduce people to the life of the Church and help our contemporaries discover the face of Christ’ (cf Message for 44th World Social Communications Day, 24 January 2010)”.
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