Aboard the plane to Cyprus, Pope Benedict XVI gave this press conference on June 4th 2010.
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Father Lombardi: Your Holiness, we would like to thank you for
being with us, as on every trip, and for speaking with us to orient our
attention in these days that will be quite intense. Unfortunately, the first
question, of course, must be about the matter that struck us so sadly
yesterday, the assassination of Bishop Padovese, and which was an occasion of
deep sorrow for you. So, on behalf of all my colleagues, I wanted to ask you to
say a word about how you took this news and how you are experiencing the trip
to Cyprus in this atmosphere.
Benedict XVI: Naturally, I am dee ply saddened by the death of
Bishop Padovese, who contributed a great deal to the preparation of the Synod;
he collaborated, and he would have been a precious part of this Synod. Let us
recommend his soul to the goodness of the Lord. This shadow, however, has nothing
to do with the themes themselves and the reality of the trip, becaue we must
not attribute this deed to Turkey or Turks. It is something about which we have
little information. It is certain that it is not a political or religious
assassination; it is rather something personal. We still await all the
explanations, but we do not wish now to mix up this tragic situation with
dialogue with Islam and with all the issues of our trip. It is an unrelated
matter that causes sadness but must not in any way cloud the dialogue in all
senses that will be the theme of this trip.
Father Lombardi: Cyprus is a divided land. Your Holiness, you will
not go to the northern part occupied by the Turks. Do you have a message for
the inhabitants of that region? And how do you think that your visit will
contribute to closing the distance between the Greek part and the Turkish part,
to moving toward a solution of peaceful coexistence, in respect to religious
freedom, to the spiritual and cultural patrimony of the different communities?
Benedict XVI: This trip to Cyprus is, in many senses, a
continuation of last year’s trip to the Holy Land and this year’s trip to
Malta. The trip to the Holy Land had three parts: Jordan, Israel and the
Palestinian territories. In all three it was a matter of a pastoral, religious
trip; it was not a political or tourist trip. The fundamental theme was the
peace of Christ, which must be universal peace in the world. So the theme was,
on the one hand, the announcement of our faith, the witness to the faith, the
pilgrimage to these places that witness to the life of Christ and all of sacred
history; on the other hand, the common responsibility of all who believe in God
the Creator of heaven and earth, in a God in whose image we are created.
Malta and Cyprus powerfully add the theme of St. Paul, great
believer, evangelizer, and St. Barnabas too, who is a Cypriot and who had
opened the door to the mission of St. Paul. So, witness to our faith in the one
God, dialogue and peace are the themes. Peace in a very profound sense: it is
not a political add-on to our religious activity, but peace is a word of the
heart of our faith, it is at the center of the Pauline teaching; we think of
the Letter to the Ephesians, where it says that Christ brought peace, that he
destroyed the walls of enmity. This remains a permanent mandate; thus, I do not
go with a political message, but with a religious message, that must prepare
souls more to find openness for peace. These are not things that go from today
to tomorrow, but it is very important not only to take the necessary political
steps, but above to prepare souls to be capable of taking the necessary po
litical steps, to create that interior openness for peace, that, in the end,
comes from faith in God and from the conviction that we are all sons of God and
brothers and sisters to each other.
Father Lombardi: Thank you, Your Holiness. This next question is
very much in continuity with the previous one, however, I will ask it anyway,
in such a way that if you would like to add something else, you can. You are
going to the Middle East a few days after the Israeli attack on the flotilla
off Gaza added tensions to the already difficult peace process. How do you
think that the Holy See can contribute to overcoming this difficult moment for
the Middle East?
Benedict XVI: I would say that we contribute above all in a
religious way. We can also be of help with political and strategic advice, but
the essential work of the Vatican is always that which is religious, that
touches the heart. With all of these episodes that we experience, there is
always the danger that one loses pati ence, that one says “Enough
now,” and does not want to seek peace any longer. And here there comes to
my mind, in this Year for Priests, a beautiful story about the Curé of Ars. To
the people who said to him “It doesn’t make sense that I go to confession
now and receive absolution because after tomorrow I am sure to fall into the
same sins again,” the Curé of Ars answered: “It doesn’t matter. The
Lord willingly forgets that after tomorrow you will commit the same sins. He
pardons you now completely, he will be forbearing, and continue to help you, to
come to you.” So, we must almost imitate God, his patience. After all the
cases of violence, do not lose patience, do not lose courage, do not lose the
longanimity to start again; create these dispositions of heart always to start
again, in the certainty that we can make progress, that we can arrive at peace,
that violence is not the solution, but the patience of goodness. It seems to me
that creating this disposition is the principal work that the Vatican and its
structures and the Pope can do.
Father Lombardi: Thank you! Let’s move to another topic, that of
ecumenism. Your Holiness, dialogue with the Orthodox has taken many steps
forward from the cultural, spiritual and life perspective. On the occasion of
the recent concert given as a gift to you by the Patriarch of Moscow one felt a
deep harmony between the Orthodox and Catholics in the face of the challenges posed
to Christianity in Europe by secularization. But what is your view on the
dialogue, also from the more properly theological perspective?
Benedict XVI: I would like first of all to stress this great
progress that we have made in the common witness to Christian values in the
secularized world. Let’s say that this is not just a moral, political
coalition, but truly something that is deeply of faith, because the fundamental
values by which we live in this secularized world are not moralisms,
fundamental physiognomy of the Christian faith. When we are able together to
witness to these values, to engage in dialogue, in discussion about this world,
in the witness to live these values, we have already given a fundamental
testimony to a very profound unity of faith. Naturally, there are many
theological problems, but here too the elements of unity are strong. I would
like to indicate three elements that bind us, that show us to be ever closer,
make us ever closer.
First, Scripture. The Bible is not a book that fell out of the
sky, that exists now and everyone picks up, but a book that grew in the people
of God and lies in this common subject of the people of God and only here does
it remain ever present and real, that is, the Bible cannot be isolated, rather,
the Bible stands within the nexus of tradition and Church. This awareness is
fundamental and belongs to the foundation of Orthodoxy and Catholicism and
gives us a common road.
As a second element, l et us say the tradition that interprets us,
that opens the doors of Scripture to us, also has an institutional, sacred
form, sacredly willed by the Lord, namely, the episcopacy; it has a personal
form, that is, the college of bishops is together a witness and presence of
this tradition.
And the third point: the so-called “regula fidei,” that
is, the confession of faith elaborated in the ancient councils is the summary
of what is in Scripture and opens the “doors” of interpretation. Then
there are other elements: the liturgy, the common love for Mary bind us deeply
and more and more it becomes clear to us too that they are the foundation of
the Christian life. We must be more aware of and delve into the details, but it
seems to me that even if the different cultures, the different situations,
created misunderstandings and difficulties, we grow in the consciousness of the
essential and of the unity of the essential. I would like to add that it is not
theolo gical discussion that by itself creates unity; it is an important
dimension, but the whole Christian life, getting to know each other, the
experience of fraternity, learning, despite the experience of the past, this
common fraternity, these are experiences that also demand great patience. But
it seems to me that we are indeed learning patience and love, and with all the
dimensions of theological dialogue we move forward, leaving it up to the Lord
the time when he will grant us perfect unity.
Father Lombardi: And now one last question. One of the purposes of
this trip is the consignment of the working paper of the Synod of Bishops for
the Middle East. What are your principal expectations and hopes for this Synod,
for the Christian communities and for the believers of other faiths in this
region?
Benedict XVI: The first important point is that different bishops,
heads of different Churches will be here, because we have so many Churches —
various rites are dispersed in di fferent countries, in different situations —
and they often appear isolated, often they also have little information from
the other; seeing them together, meeting together, and thus becoming aware of
each other, of the problems, of the differences and the common situations,
forming together a judgment about the situation, about the road to take. This
concrete communion of dialogue and life is the first point. Second is also the
visibility of these Churches, that it is seen, that is, by the world that there
is a great and ancient Christianity in the Middle East, that often is not
before our eyes, and that this visibility also help to be closer to them, to
deepen our mutual knowledge, to learn from each other, to help each other, and
in this way help also the Christians of the Middle East not to lose hope, to
stay, even if the situations can be difficult. Thus — the third point — in
the dialogue between them they also open to dialogue with the other Orthodox
Christians, Armenians, e tc., and develop a common awareness of Christian
responsibility and also a common capacity for dialogue with the Muslim
brothers, who are brothers, despite the differences; and it seems to me that
there should likewise be encouragement, regardless of all the problems, to
continue, with a common vision, the dialogue with them. All the efforts at a
coexistence that is ever more fruitful and fraternal are very important. This
is therefore a meeting within the Catholic Christianity of the Middle East in
the different rites, but it is also a meeting of opening up, of renewed
capacity for dialogue, of courage and hope for the future.
Father Lombardi: Thank you, Your Holiness, for this wide panorama
and thanks especially such a positive and encouraging vision that you gave us
of the purpose of this trip. So we truly wish you well so that the trip unfolds
in this atmosphere and with these results, and let’s try to work together for
good information to this end. Thank you, Your Holin ess, and have a good trip!
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
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