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MISSA PRO ECCLESIA
PRIMUM NUNTIUM
SUMMI PONTIFICIS
BENEDICTI XVI
POST CONCELEBRATIONEM EUCHARISTICAM
CUM CARDINALIBUS
ELECTORIBUS IN �CAPPELLA SISTINA�
Die XX mensis Aprilis, anno Domini MMV
Venerabiles Fratres Nostri,
dilectissimi Fratres ac Sorores in Christo,
vos universi homines bonae voluntatis!
1. Gratia copiosa et pax vobis! (cfr 1 Pt 1, 2). Duo animum Nostrum discordes sensus hoc tempore una simul subeunt. Nam ex una parte
humano turbamento perfundimur et impares Nos sentimus officio hesterno die Nobis
commisso, Successoribus scilicet Petri Apostoli hac in Romana Sede, coram
universali Ecclesia. Ex altera autem parte magnopere animum gratum esse Deo
patefaciendum animadvertimus, qui - sicut in sacra liturgia canimus - gregem
suum non deserit sed eundem per temporum vices ducit, iis agentibus quos ipse
Filii sui vicarios elegit constituitque pastores (cfr Praefatio I de Apostolis).
Dilectissimi, intimus animi grati sensus propter divinae
misericordiae donum in corde Nostro praeter omnia antistat. Et id arbitramur
gratiam esse peculiarem, quam Decessor Noster, recolendae memoriae, Ioannes
Paulus Secundus Nobis tribuit. Eius videmur firmam persentire manum, quae
Nostram perstringit; subridentes Nobis videmur eius oculos contueri eiusque
verba audire, Nobis peculiari hoc momento destinata: "Noli timere!".
Summi Pontificis Ioannis Pauli Secundi obitus, et subsequentes
dies, pro Ecclesia mundoque insigne fuerunt gratiae tempus. Magnus dolor ob eius
excessum et vacui sensus in omnibus relictus Christi resuscitati opera
extenuantur, quae per concordem fidei, amoris et spiritalis solidarietatis
effusionem, exsequiarum sollemnium attingentis fastigium, diuturno hoc tempore
est patefacta.
Id quidem dicere possumus: Ioannis Pauli Secundi funus
experientia fuit revera unica ubi quodammodo potentiae Dei percepta est per
ipsius Ecclesiam quae cunctos populos magnam familiam efficere vult, per
coniungentem virtutem Veritatis atque Amoris (cfr Lumen Gentium, 1).
Mortis hora, suo Magistro Dominoque figuratus, Ioannes Paulus Secundus suum
diuturnum frugiferumque Pontificatum extulit, in fide christianum populum
confirmans, eundem circum se congregans atque efficiens ut universa hominum
familia coniunctiorem se esse sentiret.
Nonne hac testificatione Nos sustentari sentimus? Nonne
incitamentum, quod ex eventu hoc manat, animadvertimus?
2. Omnem Nostram praeveniens exspectationem, Providentia divina
per Venerabilium Patrum Cardinalium suffragia Nos, ut huic magno Pontifici
succederemus, vocavit. Hoc tempore mentem Nostram ad id convertimus quod abhinc
duo milia annorum in partibus accidit Caesareae Philippi. Petri verba audire
videmur: "Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi" itemque Domini sollemnem
confirmationem: "Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam
... Tibi dabo claves regni caelorum" (Mt 16, 15-19).
Tu es Christus! Tu es Petrus! Eandem evangelicam scaenam rursus
experiri videmur; Nos Petri Successores, trepidantes Galilaeae piscatoris
trepidantia verba iteramus atque intima quadam animi affectione roborantem
divini Magistri promissionem rursus audimus. Si permagnum est muneris onus, quod
debilibus umeris Nostris imponitur, procul dubio immensa est divina potentia qua
inniti possumus: "Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam"
(Mt 16,18). Romae Episcopum Nos eligens, suum Vicarium Nos voluit
Dominus, "petram" Nos voluit, in qua securi omnes sistere possint. Eum nimirum
rogamus ut Nostrarum virium egestati subveniat, ut animosi simus et fideles eius
gregis Pastores, usque Spiritui inspiranti obsequentes.
Hoc peculiare ministerium sumus ingressuri, ministerium scilicet
�petrinum�, universali Ecclesiae destinatum, humiliter Dei Providentiae manibus
Nos permittentes. Ante omnia Christo Nostram totam fidentemque adhaesionem
renovamus: "In Te, Domine, speravi; non confundar in aeternum!".
Ex vobis, Venerabiles Cardinales Fratres, grato animo ob Nobis
significatam fiduciam quaerimus ut Nos precatione necnon constanti, actuosa
prudentique cooperatione sustentetis. Ab omnibus quoque in Episcopatu Fratribus
flagitamus ut precatione et consilio Nobis adsint, ut Servus servorum Dei
vere simus. Quemadmodum Petrus ceterique Apostoli Domini voluntate unum
efformarunt Collegium apostolicum, eodem quidem modo Petri Successor et
Episcopi, Apostolorum successores, - id Concilium firmiter confirmavit (cfr
Lumen gentium, 22) -, inter se arte coniuncti esse debent. Collegialis haec
communio, licet diversa sint munera officiaque Romani Pontificis et Episcoporum,
Ecclesiae et unitati in fide omnium credentium inservit, unde maximam partem
pendet in huius temporis mundo evangelizationis operae efficacitas. Hanc eandem
semitam, in qua Venerabiles Decessores Nostri ambularunt, calcare quoque Nos
volumus, universo mundo praesentiae vivae Christi de proclamatione tantummodo
solliciti.
3. Nostros ante oculos Ioannis Pauli Secundi Pontificis
potissimum obversatur testimonium. Animosiorem, liberiorem iunioremque Ecclesiam
relinquit, Ecclesiam scilicet quandam quae, ad eiusdem doctrinam et exemplum,
tranquille praeteritum tempus contuetur quaeque futurum aevum haud timet. Per
Magnum Iubilaeum ea in novum est ingressa millennium gerens manibus suis
Evangelium directum ad hodiernum orbem per iteratam lectionem magna cum
auctoritate Concilii Vaticani Secundi. Iustissima quidem de causa Pontifex
Ioannes Paulus Secundus Ecclesiae in Concilio illo demonstravit indicem seu ut
dicitur quasi "nauticam pyxidem", qua in vasto mari tertii millennii dirigeretur
(cfr Litt. Ap.
Novo millennio ineunte, 57-58). In suo spiritali quoque Testamento
scripsit: "Persuasum mihi habeo advenientes homines diutius etiam quaedam
sumpturos ex divitiis illis quas hoc Concilium saeculi vicesimi nobis est
elargitum" (17.III.200).
Nos quoque propterea munus ingredientes quod est proprium
Successoris Petri, firmam certamque voluntatem declarare volumus Concilii
Vaticani Secundi continuandi exsecutionem, Praegredientibus Decessoribus
Nostris, atque in fideli perpetuitate duorum milium annorum Ecclesiae
traditionis. Hoc ipso anno conciliaris congressionis conclusae recoletur memoria
anniversaria quadragesima (die octavo mensis Decembris anno millesimo
nongentesimo sexagesimo quinto). Annorum decursu Concilii Documenta hodierni
temporis haud amiserunt vim; immo eorum doctrina pro novis Ecclesiae
praesentisque societatis globalizatae, ut aiunt, postulationibus admodum evadit
apta.
4. Quadam cum significatione Noster Pontificatus incohatur, dum
peculiarem Annum Eucharistiae dicatum vivit Ecclesia. Nonne provida in haec
temporum convenientia indicium quoddam est percipiendum, quod ministerium notare
debet cui sumus vocati? Eucharistia, vitae christianae cor ac Ecclesiae
evangelizantis fons, necessario permanentem mediamque partem constituit et
fontem petrini ministerii, Nobis commissi.
Eucharistia continenter Christum resuscitatum efficit
praesentem, qui nobis pergit se tradere, nos vocans sui Corporis Sanguinisque ad
mensam communicandam. Ex eius plena communione aliud quiddam Ecclesiae vitae
oritur, communio videlicet in primis inter omnes Christifideles, nuntiandi
Evangeliique testificandi munus, in omnes, potissimum in pauperes parvulosque,
caritatis ardor.
Hoc anno idcirco singulari modo celebranda erit Sollemnitas
Corporis Domini. Praeterea media pars Eucharistiae erit mense Augusto in Die
Mundiali Iuventutis Coloniae et mense Octobri in Coetu Ordinario Synodi
Episcoporum quae versabitur in argumento: "Eucharistia: fons et culmen
vitae et missionis Ecclesiae". Ab omnibus propterea rogamus ut proximis mensibus
amorem pietatemque erga Iesum in Eucharistia multiplicent ac fortiter et
luculenter fidem suam declarent in realem Domini praesentiam, imprimis per
sollemnitatem et rectitudinem celebrationum.
Id peculiarem in modum a Sacerdotibus postulamus, quibus nunc
magnus Nostri animi affectus dirigitur. Sacerdotium quippe ministeriale in
Cenaculo una cum Eucharistia enatum est, quemadmodum saepenumero confirmavit
Decessor Noster Ioannes Paulus Secundus, veneratae memoriae. "Sacerdotalis
exsistentia peculiari titulo �eucharistiam formam� habere debet": sic in
novissima Epistula in Feria V in Cena Domini scripsit (n. 1). Ad id propositum
multum confert ante omnia celebratio quotidie devota sacrificii eucharistici,
quod est veluti centrum vitae ac missionis cuiusque sacerdotis.
5. Nutriti atque sustentati Eucharistia ipsa catholici
necessario se impelli sentiunt ad plenam illam unitatem quam in Cenaculo
Christus tam vehementer exoptavit. Petri itaque Successor se debere novit
recipere hoc supremum Magistri Divini desiderium in se et quidem peculiari modo.
Etenim officium illi est concreditum confirmandi fratres (cfr Lc 22, 32).
Plena propterea conscientia ineunte ministerio suo intra
Ecclesiam Romanam quam Petrus suo irrigavit sanguine, hodiernus ipsius Successor
accipit tamquam primarium quoddam munus ut laboribus nihil parcens det operam
restituendae plenae visibilique unitati omnium Christi discipulorum. Haec est
eius voluntas, hoc ipsius etiam obstringens officium. Sibi enim conscius est, ut
hoc obtineatur, non sufficere bonorum sensuum declarationes. Solida opera
postulantur quae animos penetrent atque conscientias excitent, unumquemque ad
illam interiorem conversionem permoventia quae est fundamentum omnium progresuum
in oecumenismi via.
Pernecessarius est dialogus theologicus pariterque poscitur
investigatio causarum historicarum in quibusdam consiliis iam pridem captis.
Magis tamen urget illa "memoriae purgatio" totiens a Ioanne Paulo Secundo
commemorata, quae sola homines disponere potest ad plenam Christi veritatem.
Coram eo, Supremo videlicet Iudice omnium viventium, quisque nostrum sistere
debet conscius se aliquando rationem reddere ei debere omnium quae fecerit et
omiserit de permagno bono plenae et visibilis unitatis omnium eius discipulorum.
Hic Petri Successor illa interrogatione patitur se etiam in
prima persona interpellari paratusque est ad ea omnia efficienda quae potuerit
ut principalem oecumenismi causam promoveat. Decessorum suorum vestigiis
ingressus plane provehere in animo habet omne inceptum quod opportunum videri
possit ad consortium et consensum adiuvandum cum diversarum Ecclesiarum et
Communitatum ecclesialium legatis. Ad eos immo vero etiam hac data opportunitate
fervidissimam suam mittit in Christo unico Domino universorum salutationem.
6. Hoc temporis momento repetimus nostra memoria inestinguibilem
experientiam quam omnes habuimus in morte et exsequiis Pontificis complorati
Ioannis Pauli Secundi. Circa exuvias mortales eius in nuda terra repositas
Capita Nationum conglobata sunt, homines cuiusvis socialis ordinis ac praesertim
iuvenes in memorabili affectus et admirationis amplexu. Fidens ad illum respexit
orbis totus. Multis quidem visa est haec intenta communicatio, propagata usque
ad orbis fines per communicationis socialis instrumenta veluti chorus ad
Pontificem directus et auxilium expetens pro hominibus nostri temporis qui
dubiis timoribusque conturbati sua interrogant de aetate ventura.
Ecclesia horum dierum in se conscientiam renovare debet sui
officii hominibus iterandi vocem eius qui dixit: "Ego sum lux mundi; qui
sequitur me, non ambulabit in tenebris, sed habebit lucem vitae" (Io
8, 12). Suum ideo ministerium suscipiens Pontifex novus probe intellegit opus
suum esse ut refulgere sinat coram viris ac mulieribus hodiernis Christi lucem:
non suam, verum Christi ipsius lucem.
Haec omnia cogitantes appellamus omnes, etiam illos qui alias
sequuntur religiones vel qui solummodo responsionem conquirunt interrogationi
fundamentali de exsistentia humana necdum eam invenerunt. Simpliciter atque
amanter omnes alloquimur ut iis confirmemus Ecclesiam velle cum illis dialogum
apertum sincerumque componere dum verum quaeritur hominis ac societatis bonum.
A Deo flagitamus unitatem ac pacem hominum familiae et
declaramus catholicos omnes paratos esse ad operam adiutricem suam conferendam
in verum progressum socialem qui dignitatem omnis hominis revereatur.
Viribus Nostris non parcemus neque studiis ut magnae spei
dialogum prosequamur a Nostris Venerabilibus Decessoribus incohatum cum diversis
culturis ut ex mutua comprehensione condiciones melioris venturi temporis
omnibus oriantur.
Nominatim cogitamus adulescentes. Ad eos qui fuerunt
interlocutores praecipui Pontificis Ioannis Pauli Secundi extenditur peramanter
amplexio Nostra, cum exspectamus, si placuerit Deo, dum eos Coloniae conveniamus
proximo nempe Mundiali Iuventutis Die. Vobiscum - carissimi adulescentes - qui
estis futura aetas et Ecclesiae totiusque mundi spes, pergemus colloqui et
exspectationes vestras exaudire unde possimus adiuvare vos ad altius usque
Christum viventem cognoscendum qui sempiternus est Iuvenis.
7. Mane nobiscum, Domine! Invocatio haec, quae argumentum
principale efficit Epistulae Apostolicae Ioannis Pauli Secundi pro Eucharistiae
Anno, est etiam precatio quae sua sponte Nostro surget ex animo, dum comparamus
Nos ad ministerium illud incipiendum in quod Christus Nos advocavit. Ei Nos,
sicut Petrus, quoque fidelitatem Nostram sine ulla condicione promissam
renovamus. Ei uni servire cogitamus Nosque totos eius Ecclesiae ministerio
devovere.
Ut haec suffulciatur promissio maternam deprecationem Mariae
Sanctissimae invocamus, cuius in manibus tum praesens tum futurum tempus
Personae Nostrae atque Ecclesiae reponimus. Intercedant deprecatione pariter sua
sancti Apostoli Petrus et Paulus, ceterique caelites universi.
His cum affectibus vobis, Venerabiles Cardinales Fratres,
singulis qui huius ritus sunt participes nec non omnibus qui per televisionem et
radiophonium sequuntur, amantem Nostram Benedictionem impertimur.
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MISSA PRO ECCLESIA
FIRST MESSAGE
OF HIS HOLINESS
BENEDICT XVI
AT THE END OF THE EUCHARISTIC CONCELEBRATION
WITH THE MEMBERS OF THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS
IN THE SISTINE CHAPEL
Wednesday, 20 April 2005
Venerable Brother Cardinals,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
All you men and women of good will,
1. "Favour and peace be yours in abundance" (I Pt 1: 2)! At this time, side by side in my heart I feel two contrasting emotions. On the one hand, a sense of inadequacy and human apprehension as I face the responsibility for the universal Church, entrusted to me yesterday as Successor of the Apostle Peter in this See of Rome. On the other, I have a lively feeling of profound gratitude to God who, as the liturgy makes us sing, never leaves his flock untended but leads it down the ages under the guidance of those whom he himself has chosen as the Vicars of his Son and has made shepherds of the flock (cf.
Preface of Apostles I).
Dear friends, this deep gratitude for a gift of divine mercy is uppermost in my heart in spite of all. And I consider it a special grace which my Venerable Predecessor, John Paul II, has obtained for me. I seem to feel his strong hand clasping mine; I seem to see his smiling eyes and hear his words, at this moment addressed specifically to me, "Do not be afraid!".
The death of the Holy Father John Paul II and the days that followed have been an extraordinary period of grace for the Church and for the whole world. Deep sorrow at his departure and the sense of emptiness that it left in everyone have been tempered by the action of the Risen Christ, which was manifested during long days in the unanimous wave of faith, love and spiritual solidarity that culminated in his solemn funeral Mass.
We can say it: John Paul II's funeral was a truly extraordinary experience in which, in a certain way, we glimpsed the power of God who, through his Church, wants to make a great family of all the peoples by means of the unifying power of Truth and Love (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 1). Conformed to his Master and Lord, John Paul II crowned his long and fruitful Pontificate at the hour of his death, strengthening Christian people in their faith, gathering them around him and making the entire human family feel more closely united.
How can we not feel sustained by this testimony? How can we fail to perceive the encouragement that comes from this event of grace?
2. Surprising all my expectations, through the votes of the Venerable Father Cardinals, divine Providence has called me to succeed this great Pope. I am thinking back at this moment to what happened in the neighbourhood of Caesarea Philippi some 2,000 years ago. I seem to hear Peter's words: "You are the Christ..., the Son of the living God", and the Lord's solemn affirmation: "You are "Peter' and on this rock I will build my Church.... I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (cf. Mt 16: 15-19).
You are Christ! You are Peter! I seem to be reliving the same Gospel scene; I, the Successor of Peter, repeat with trepidation the anxious words of the fisherman of Galilee and listen once again with deep emotion to the reassuring promise of the divine Master. Although the weight of responsibility laid on my own poor shoulders is enormous, there is no doubt that the divine power on which I can count is boundless: "You are "Peter', and on this rock I will build my Church" (Mt 16: 18). In choosing me as Bishop of Rome, the Lord wanted me to be his Vicar, he wanted me to be the "rock" on which we can all safely stand. I ask him to compensate for my limitations so that I may be a courageous and faithful Pastor of his flock, ever docile to the promptings of his Spirit.
I am preparing to undertake this special ministry, the "Petrine" ministry at the service of the universal Church, with humble abandonment into the hands of God's Providence. I first of all renew my total and confident loyalty to Christ: "In Te, Domine, speravi; non confundar in aeternum!".
Your Eminences, with heartfelt gratitude for the trust you have shown me, I ask you to support me with your prayers and with your constant, active and wise collaboration. I also ask all my Brothers in the Episcopate to be close to me with their prayers and advice, so that I may truly be the Servus servorum Dei. Just as the Lord willed that Peter and the other Apostles make up the one Apostolic College, in the same way the Successor of Peter and the Bishops, successors of the Apostles - the Council has forcefully reasserted this (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 22) -, must be closely united with one another. This collegial communion, despite the diversity of roles and functions of the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops, is at the service of the Church and of unity in the faith, on which the efficacy of evangelizing action in the contemporary world largely depends. Therefore, it is on this path, taken by my Venerable Predecessors, that I also intend to set out, with the sole concern of proclaiming the living presence of Christ to the whole world.
3. I have before my eyes in particular the testimony of Pope John Paul II. He leaves a Church that is more courageous, freer, more youthful. She is a Church which, in accordance with his teaching and example, looks serenely at the past and is not afraid of the future. With the Great Jubilee she entered the new millennium, bearing the Gospel, applied to today's world through the authoritative rereading of the Second Vatican Council. Pope John Paul II rightly pointed out the Council as a "compass" by which to take our bearings in the vast ocean of the third millennium (cf. Apostolic Letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte, nn. 57-58). Also, in his spiritual Testament he noted, "I am convinced that it will long be granted to the new generations to draw from the treasures that this 20th-century Council has lavished upon us" (17 March 2000; L'Osservatore Romano English edition [ORE], 13 April 2005, p. 4).
Thus, as I prepare myself for the service that is proper to the Successor of Peter, I also wish to confirm my determination to continue to put the Second Vatican Council into practice, following in the footsteps of my Predecessors and in faithful continuity with the 2,000-year tradition of the Church. This very year marks the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the Council (8 December 1965). As the years have passed, the Conciliar Documents have lost none of their timeliness; indeed, their teachings are proving particularly relevant to the new situation of the Church and the current globalized society.
4. My Pontificate begins in a particularly meaningful way as the Church is living the special Year dedicated to the Eucharist. How could I fail to see this providential coincidence as an element that must mark the ministry to which I am called? The Eucharist, the heart of Christian life and the source of the Church's evangelizing mission, cannot but constitute the permanent centre and source of the Petrine ministry that has been entrusted to me.
The Eucharist makes constantly present the Risen Christ who continues to give himself to us, calling us to participate in the banquet of his Body and his Blood. From full communion with him flows every other element of the Church's life: first of all, communion among all the faithful, the commitment to proclaiming and witnessing to the Gospel, the ardour of love for all, especially the poorest and lowliest.
This year, therefore, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi must be celebrated with special solemnity. Subsequently, the Eucharist will be the centre of the World Youth Day in Cologne in August, and in October, also of the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, whose theme will be: "The Eucharist, source and summit of the life and mission of the Church". I ask everyone in the coming months to intensify love and devotion for Jesus in the Eucharist, and to express courageously and clearly faith in the Real Presence of the Lord, especially by the solemnity and the correctness of the celebrations.
I ask this especially of priests, whom I am thinking of with deep affection at this moment. The ministerial Priesthood was born at the Last Supper, together with the Eucharist, as my Venerable Predecessor John Paul II so frequently emphasized. "All the more then must the life of a priest be "shaped' by the Eucharist" (Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday 2005, n. 1; ORE, 23 March, p. 4). In the first place, the devout, daily celebration of Holy Mass, the centre of the life and mission of every priest, contributes to this goal.
5. Nourished and sustained by the Eucharist, Catholics cannot but feel encouraged to strive for the full unity for which Christ expressed so ardent a hope in the Upper Room. The Successor of Peter knows that he must make himself especially responsible for his Divine Master's supreme aspiration. Indeed, he is entrusted with the task of strengthening his brethren (cf. Lk 22: 32).
With full awareness, therefore, at the beginning of his ministry in the Church of Rome which Peter bathed in his blood, Peter's current Successor takes on as his primary task the duty to work tirelessly to rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers. This is his ambition, his impelling duty. He is aware that good intentions do not suffice for this. Concrete gestures that enter hearts and stir consciences are essential, inspiring in everyone that inner conversion that is the prerequisite for all ecumenical progress.
Theological dialogue is necessary; the investigation of the historical reasons for the decisions made in the past is also indispensable. But what is most urgently needed is that "purification of memory", so often recalled by John Paul II, which alone can dispose souls to accept the full truth of Christ. Each one of us must come before him, the supreme Judge of every living person, and render an account to him of all we have done or have failed to do to further the great good of the full and visible unity of all his disciples.
The current Successor of Peter is allowing himself to be called in the first person by this requirement and is prepared to do everything in his power to promote the fundamental cause of ecumenism. Following the example of his Predecessors, he is fully determined to encourage every initiative that seems appropriate for promoting contacts and understanding with the representatives of the different Churches and Ecclesial Communities. Indeed, on this occasion he sends them his most cordial greeting in Christ, the one Lord of us all.
6. I am thinking back at this time to the unforgettable experience seen by all of us on the occasion of the death and funeral of the late John Paul II. The Heads of Nations, people from every social class and especially young people gathered round his mortal remains, laid on the bare ground, in an unforgettable embrace of love and admiration. The whole world looked to him with trust. To many it seemed that this intense participation, amplified by the media to reach the very ends of the planet, was like a unanimous appeal for help addressed to the Pope by today's humanity which, upset by uncertainties and fears, was questioning itself on its future.
The Church of today must revive her awareness of the duty to repropose to the world the voice of the One who said: "I am the light of the world. No follower of mine shall ever walk in darkness; no, he shall possess the light of life" (Jn 8: 12). In carrying out his ministry, the new Pope knows that his task is to make Christ's light shine out before the men and women of today: not his own light, but Christ's.
Aware of this I address everyone, including the followers of other religions or those who are simply seeking an answer to the fundamental questions of life and have not yet found it. I address all with simplicity and affection, to assure them that the Church wants to continue to weave an open and sincere dialogue with them, in the search for the true good of the human being and of society.
I ask God for unity and peace for the human family, and declare the willingness of all Catholics to cooperate for an authentic social development, respectful of the dignity of every human being.
I will make every conscientious effort to continue the promising dialogue initiated by my Venerable Predecessors with the different civilizations, so that mutual understanding may create the conditions for a better future for all.
I am thinking in particular of the young. I offer my affectionate embrace to them, the privileged partners in dialogue with Pope John Paul II, hoping, please God, to meet them in Cologne on the occasion of the upcoming World Youth Day. I will continue our dialogue, dear young people, the future and hope of the Church and of humanity, listening to your expectations in the desire to help you encounter in ever greater depth the living Christ, eternally young.
7. Mane nobiscum, Domine! Stay with us, Lord! This invocation, which is the principal topic of the
Apostolic Letter of John Paul II for the Year of the Eucharist, is the prayer that wells up spontaneously from my heart as I prepare to begin the ministry to which Christ has called me. Like Peter, I too renew to him my unconditional promise of fidelity. I intend to serve him alone, dedicating myself totally to the service of his Church.
To support me in my promise, I call on the motherly intercession of Mary Most Holy, in whose hands I place the present and future of the Church and of myself. May the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the Saints also intercede for us.
With these sentiments I impart to you, Venerable Brother Cardinals, to those who are taking part in this rite and to all who are watching it on television and listening to it on the radio, a special, affectionate Blessing.
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