|
Preparing
for a papal visit
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
The Holy
Father’s pending pastoral visit to the United States has been well
publicized. I personally look forward to participating in a general
meeting Benedict XVI will have with the bishops of the United States at
the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington on April
16 and to concelebrating Mass with him the following day. While I will
not be proceeding on to New York, the Holy Father will address the
United Nations there and complete his visit with the celebration of Mass
in Yankee Stadium on Sunday, April 20. The occasion is the 200th
anniversary of the establishment of Baltimore as the first archdiocese
in the United States. It had become the first diocese in 1789. It is
also the 200th anniversary of the establishment of Boston, Philadelphia,
New York and Bardstown (later transferred to Louisville in 1841) as
dioceses.
This papal
visit presents an opportunity to review the importance of the role
played by our Holy Father in the Catholic Church and to share some
information about him.
The word
“disciple” is often found in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John. Disciple means “learner.” Jesus chose 12 men from this
group of disciples and gave them a special office in his Church. These
12 were called apostles, a word that means “one who is sent.” They
shared in the mission of Jesus in a special way. We proclaim in the
First Eucharistic Prayer that every Mass is offered for “all who hold
and teach the Catholic faith that comes to us from the apostles.”
“The 11 (this
was after the defection of Judas) made their way to Galilee, to the
mountain to which Jesus had summoned them. At the sight of him, those
who entertained doubts fell down in homage. Jesus came forward and
addressed them in these words: ‘Full authority has been given to me both
in heaven and on earth; go, therefore, and make disciples of all
nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you
and know that I am with you always until the end of the world’” (Matt.
28:16-20). This is how Jesus commissioned the apostles.
“Apostolic
succession” is a term familiar to Catholics. It refers to the handing on
of apostolic authority from the apostles to successors, the bishops. The
office of bishop is a permanent office in the Church. Reference to
apostolic succession can be found in the earliest writings of the
fathers of the Church: in Clement of Rome’s epistle to the Corinthians,
which was written about 96 A.D., and Ignatius of Antioch’s letter to the
Church of Philadelphia in Asia, that was written in or about 106 A.D.
Not only did
Jesus choose apostles, but he chose Peter to be head of the apostles and
their successors. He was given the “power of the keys.” In the presence
of all the apostles, Jesus said to Peter: “I declare to you, you are
‘Rock’ and on this rock I will build my Church, and the jaws of death
shall not prevail against it. I will entrust to you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven. Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in
heaven; whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven”
(Matt. 16:18-19). Peter, whose given name was Simon, means rock. Simon
Peter was the first to confess Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the
living God. Simon Peter was the first among the apostles and their head.
As Peter’s successor, the pope, as bishop of Rome, is the pastor of the
Universal Church.
The
Catechism of the Catholic Church (881) teaches: “The Lord made Simon
alone, whom he named Peter, the ‘rock’ of his Church. He gave him the
keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock. The
office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned
to the College (permanent assembly) of Apostles united to its head. This
pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church’s
very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of
Peter.”
The
Catechism continues (882): “The pope, bishop of Rome and Peter’s
successor, ‘is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the
unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful. For
the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as
pastor of the entire Church, has full, supreme and universal power over
the whole Church.”
The pope
identifies himself as the “servant of the servants of God.” This means
as successor of St. Peter and head of the College of Bishops, he serves
those who serve. When Christ called Peter to be head of the apostles,
the authority given to him was not to be considered or used as special
privilege for his own benefit. Rather, Peter and his successors were to
confirm the faith of those who followed Jesus Christ. The pope’s life,
in other words, is to be spent in imitation of Jesus, who came to serve
and not to be served. That has clearly been seen in the popes of recent
times.
Catholics
refer to the pope as “Holy Father” or “His Holiness.” These terms are
meant to remind us that the pope is the universal pastor of the Church.
The office has an objective sanctity about it, flowing from its divine
institution. To be pope means God has conferred a unique charism on a
man. Including our present Holy Father, there have been 265 popes in the
history of the Catholic Church. Not all of them have been noted for
their holiness. At the same time, there have been truly saintly popes.
St. Pius X, who was pope from 1903 to 1914, is a canonized saint. Pope
Pius IX, who was pope from 1846 until 1878, and John XXIII, who was pope
from 1958 until 1963, have been declared “blessed.” It is likely that
Pope Pius XII, who was pope from 1939 until 1958, will some day be
canonized. Seventy-five of the 265 popes are considered saints.
Pope Benedict
XVI will address the United Nations as head of the smallest sovereign
state in the world: Vatican City. For centuries the pope was sovereign
head of the Papal States, 16,000 square miles (more or less) of land
across the central part of modern-day Italy. With the exception of the
areas surrounding the Vatican, the Church of what today is the Lateran
Basilica (Rome’s cathedral) and the villas of Castel Gandolfo (the
summer residence of the pope 15 miles southeast of the city of Rome),
the Papal States were seized from the Church in 1870 by the Kingdom of
Italy and in 1871 became part of a unified Italy. The controversy caused
by this seizure was settled with the ratification of the Lateran
Agreement entered into by the Italian government and the Vatican in
1929. This was when Vatican City was formally recognized as an
independent country.
Today,
Vatican City, in addition to the major basilicas and several office
buildings which house various congregations of the Roman Curia in the
city of Rome, covers 108.7 acres. St. Peter’s Basilica is part of
Vatican City, as well as the Vatican museums, art galleries, libraries,
a radio station, post office, bank, an astronomical observatory,
offices, apartments and service facilities. Even though it is called the
Papal Palace, the pope lives in a simple apartment inside the Palace,
the vast majority of which is divided into audience halls. |
