Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – On the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, “mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world,” on Sunday, November 9, the Holy Father Benedict XVI mentioned in the Angelus the importance of the temple building and the community of believers. The Lateran Basilica, the Pope said, “was the first to be built after Emperor Constantine’s edict, in 313, granted Christians freedom to practice their religion” and the emperor himself gave the Pope the land to build the Basilica, the Baptistery, and the Patriarchate, where the Popes lived until the Avignon period. Benedict XVI pointed out that the observance of this feast was confined to the city of Rome; then, beginning in 1565, it was extended to all the Churches of the Roman rite. “The honoring of this sacred edifice was a way of expressing love and veneration for the Roman Church, which, as St. Ignatius of Antioch says, 'presides in charity' over the whole Catholic communion.”
Thus, sighting the Liturgy of the Word on this feast day, the Pope mentioned that “the temple of stones is a symbol of the living Church, the Christian community... The beauty and harmony of the churches, destined to give praise to God, also draws us human being, limited and sinful, to convert to form a 'cosmos,' a well-ordered structure, in intimate communion with Jesus, who is the true Saint of saints. This happens in a culminating way in the Eucharistic liturgy, in which the 'ecclesia,' that is, the community of the baptized, come together in a unified way to listen to the Word of God and nourish themselves with the Body and Blood of Christ.” Benedict XVI shed light on the mystery of this ever-relevant feast, saying that is reminds us of “God’s desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth. But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God. Every community therefore has the duty to take special care of its own sacred buildings, which are a precious religious and historical patrimony.”
After the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued: “Today is the 70th anniversary of that sad event, which occurred during the nights of Nov. 9-10, 1938, when Nazi fury was unleashed against the Jews in Germany. Shops, offices, dwellings and synagogues were attacked and many people were also killed, initiating the systematic and violent persecution of German Jews, which ended with the Shoah. Today I still feel pain over what happened in those tragic circumstances. The memory of these things must serve to prevent similar horrors from ever happening again and must lead us to dedicate ourselves, at every level, to fight against every form of anti-Semitism and discrimination, educating the younger generations in respect and reciprocal acceptance. I invite you to pray for the victims of that time and to join with me in manifesting a deep solidarity with the Jewish world.”
Benedict XVI then made another appeal for the Congolese region of North Kivu, saying: “Troubling news continues to come from the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bloody armed skirmishes and systematic atrocities have caused and continue to cause many casualties among innocent civilians; destruction, looting and violence of every type have forced tens of thousands of persons to abandon even what little they had to survive. The number of refugees is estimated at more than 1 and a half million. To all and to each one I desire to express my special nearness, as I encourage and bless those who are working to alleviate their sufferings, among whom are the pastoral workers of the Church of that region. To families and their loved ones I offer my condolences and assure my prayers. Finally, fervently call upon all to work together to restore peace, respect for law and the dignity of every person to that land, for too long martyred.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 10/11/2008)
