"To confirm in faith, [. . .] in love, [. . .]
in unity" are the three tasks of the Petrine ministry that Pope Francis wanted
to highlight during the celebration of the Eucharist this morning in the St
Peter's Basilica, on the Solemnity of the Apostles Peter and Paul. The
feast, the Pontiff said, was "made even more joyful by the presence of
bishops from around the world." At the start of Mass, the pope bestowed the pallium, a circular woven band of white wool with five embroidered crosses (symbolising Jesus' holy wounds), on 34 metropolitan archbishops from various parts of the world, as a sign of their communion with the See of Peter.
Six of them were from Asia, namely Mgr Prakash Mallavarapu of Visakhapatnam (India), Mgr Rolando Joven Tria Tirona of Caceres (Philippines), Mgr George Antonysamy of Madras and Mylapore (India), Mgr Anil Joseph Thomas Couto of Delhi (India), and Mgr John Wong Soo Kau Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia). Mgr François Xavier Le Van Hong, archbishop of Hue (Vietnam), was unable to attend, but would "receive the pallium in his Metropolitan See," the Vatican Press Office reported.
The Pope, who greeted the bishops one by one, noted in his homily that such an international presence "allows us to relive, in a certain way, the event of Pentecost. Today, as back then, the faith of the Church speaks in every language and seeks to unite all the peoples in one family. "
Ecumenism was another element in today's celebration. Like in past decades, a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople took part in the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul, led this year by the Metropolitan of Pergamon Ioannis Zizioulas, co-chairman of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.
Ioannis, who met the Pope yesterday, was accompanied by an aide, Athenagoras Peckstadt, bishop of Sinope and metropolitan of Belgium, and by archimandrite Fr Prodromos Xenakis, deputy secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Church of Crete.
To strengthen the ecumenical character of the event, the Thomaskirche (St Thomas Church) Choir of Leipzig, Johann Sebastian Bach's own church, performed some choral music during the service.
The Petrine ministry, universality and unity were the topics in Pope Francis's homily, all related to the word "confirm".
The Bishop of Rome is called first of all to "confirm the faith," he said. "The role, the ecclesial service of Peter, is founded upon his confession of faith in Jesus, the Son of the living God, made possible by a grace granted from on high."
In his address to the ecumenical delegations, the pontiff did not hide the fact that betrayals can occur (and have occurred) in history. "Whenever," he said, "we let our thoughts, our feelings or the logic of human power prevail, and we do not let ourselves be taught and guided by faith, by God, we become stumbling blocks. Faith in Christ is the light of our life as Christians and as ministers in the Church!"
The second task is "to confirm in love". Quoting from the second reading of the Mass (2 Tm 4:7) in which Saint Paul talks about the "good fight", that of "martyrdom", the pope said, "Saint Paul has but one weapon: the message of Christ and the gift of his entire life for Christ and for others. It is precisely this readiness to lay himself open, personally, to be consumed for the sake of the Gospel, to make himself all things to all people, unstintingly, that gives him credibility and builds up the Church. The Bishop of Rome is called himself to live and to confirm his brothers and sisters in this love for Christ and for all others, without distinction, limits or barriers."
Off the cuff, he added, "Not only the bishop of Rome but all of you too have the duty of making yourself all things to all people, unstintingly, and confirming the entire people of God."
The third task is "to confirm in unity," the pope said. "The pallium," he told the metropolitans present, "is a symbol of communion with the Successor of Peter, 'the lasting and visible source and foundation of the unity both of faith and of communion' (Lumen Gentium, 18)".
Here, too, off the cuff, he added, "The synod of bishops and the primacy. We have to go in harmony to build this unity."
However, such unity is not "uniformity" because "in the Church, variety, which is itself a great treasure, is always grounded in the harmony of unity, like a great mosaic in which every small piece joins with others as part of God's one great plan. This should inspire us to work always to overcome every conflict that wounds the body of the Church. United in our differences: this is the way of Jesus! The pallium, while being a sign of communion with the Bishop of Rome and with the universal church, also commits each of you to being a servant of communion. Repeatedly, "united in our differences! There is no other way to be together. This is the Catholic way to unity."
"These," he concluded, "are the tasks which the holy apostles Peter and Paul entrust to each of us, so that they can be lived by every Christian. May the holy Mother of God guide us and accompany us always with her intercession. Queen of Apostles, pray for us! Amen.
At the end of the celebration, Pope Francis and Metropolitan Ioannis went together to the tomb of Saint Peter, under the altar of the Confession, where they paused in silence, in prayer for the unity of the Church.