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Catholic World News News Feature

Angelus message: focus on ecumenism in Petrine ministry June 29, 2006

At his Angelus audience on June 29, Pope Benedict XVI cited the words of St. Irenaeus in describing the role of the papacy as "a specific ministry in the service of the doctrinal and pastoral unity of the People of God throughout the world."

As the Church celebrated the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Holy Father prayed that the patron saints of Rome would "reinforce the love of the faithful for Christ and the Church," and renew their "their desire to serve." Pope Benedict was late in arriving for his scheduled noon audience, and apologized to the waiting crowd, explaining that he had been delayed by the unexpected length of a liturgical ceremony that morning, in which he had conferred the pallium on 27 new metropolitan archbishops. He explained that the pallium is "an ancient liturgical sign expressing the special communion between those pastors and Peter's successor," and asked the faithful to join in prayers for the archbishops.

Noting that both Sts. Peter and Paul gave their lives for the faith, the Pope said that their martyrdom fully established the Church of Rome. He offered a particular salutation to the people of the Rome diocese, and a prayer that the Catholic community there would safeguard "the richness of its treasures of faith, history, and art."

Pope Benedict also made a point of welcoming the delegation of Orthodox prelates who had come to Rome for the feast day, representing Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, in a sign of "the ties of brotherhood between our churches." Each year the Orthodox Patriarch sends a delegation to the Vatican for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, while the Vatican sends prelates to Constantinople for the patronal feast of St. Andrew in November. This year Pope Benedict himself will make the trip to join Patriarch Bartholomew in celebrating that feast.