Pave Benedikt tok i sin tale under messen i Peterskirken tirsdag morgen opp bl.a. to sentrale temaer; at den største faren for , og angrepet mot, Kirken kommer innenfra (ikke utenfra), og at fellesskapet alle katolikker (og spesielt biskopene) har med paven gir dem frihet, den binder dem ikke på noen måte:
… … despite the suffering they cause, are not the greatest danger for the Church. In fact it suffers greatest damage from what pollutes the Christian faith and life of its members and its communities, eroding the integrity of the Mystical Body, weakening its ability to prophesy and witness, tarnishing the beauty of its face. This reality is already attested in the Pauline Epistle. The First Epistle to the Corinthians, for example, responds to some problems of divisions, inconsistencies, of infidelity to the Gospel which seriously threaten the Church. But the Second Letter to Timothy – of which we heard an excerpt – speaks about the dangers of the «last days», identifying them with negative attitudes that belong to the world and can infect the Christian community: selfishness, vanity, pride, love of money, etc. (cf. 3.1 to 5). The Apostle’s conclusion is reassuring: men who do wrong – he writes – «will not make further progress, for their foolishness will be plain to all» (3.9). …
Communion with Peter and his successors, in fact, is the guarantee of freedom for the Church’s Pastors and the Communities entrusted to them. It is highlighted on both levels in the aforementioned reflections. Historically, union with the Apostolic See, ensures the particular Churches and Episcopal Conferences freedom with respect to local, national or supranational powers, that can sometimes hinder the mission of the ecclesial Church. Furthermore, and most essentially, the Petrine ministry is a guarantee of freedom in the sense of full adherence to truth and authentic tradition, so that the People of God may be preserved from mistakes concerning faith and morals.
Les mer om dette hos Father Z.