Benedict XVI on the Papacy (Petrus Apostolus)

On the second anniversary of Benedict XVI's death, this article serves as a testament to how Pope Benedict XVI viewed the Papacy.

 

Shortly before the announcement of Pope Benedict XVI's resignation, on 8 February 2013, he gave a deeply Roman, Petrine, lesson in his meeting with the seminarians of Rome in the chapel of the Pontifical Roman Seminary (photo above from that meeting). Three days later, in a morning meeting with his cardinals, he announced his decision to step down from the papacy.

 

Excerpts from the official translation by the Holy See below:

"We have heard three verses from the First Letter of St Peter (cf. 1:3-5). Before going into this text it seems to me important to be aware of the fact that it is Peter who is speaking. The first two words of the Letter are Petrus apostolus (cf. v.1): he speaks and he speaks to the Churches in Asia and calls the faithful “chosen”, and “exiles of the Dispersion” (ibid.).

 

Let us reflect a little on this. Peter is speaking and - as we hear at the end of the Letter - he is speaking from Rome, which he called “Babylon” (cf. 5:13). Peter speaks as if it were a first encyclical with which the first Apostle, Vicar of Christ, addresses the Church of all time.

Peter, an apostle: thus, the one who is speaking is the one who found the Messiah in Jesus Christ, who was the first to speak on behalf of the future Church: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (cf. Mt 16:16).

 

The one who introduced us to this faith is speaking, the one to whom the Lord said: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (cf. Mt 16:19), to whom he entrusted his flock after the Resurrection, saying to him three times: “Feed my lambs...Tend my sheep” (cf. Jn 21:15-17).

 

And it is also the man who fell who is speaking, the man who denied Jesus three times and was granted the grace to see Jesus’ look, to feel deeply moved in his heart and to find forgiveness and a renewal of his mission.

 

However, above all it is important that this man, full of passion, full of longing for God, full of a desire for the Kingdom of God, for the Messiah, this man who has found Jesus, the Lord and the Messiah, is also the man who sinned, who fell; and yet he remained in God’s sight and in this way he remained responsible for the Lord’s Church, he remained the one assigned by Christ, he remained the messenger of Christ’s love.

Peter the Apostle is speaking, but the exegetes tell us: it is impossible for this Letter to have been written by Peter because the Greek is so good that it cannot be the Greek of a fisherman from the Sea of Galilee.

 

And it is not only the language — the syntax is excellent — but also the thought which is already quite mature, there are actual formulas in which the faith and the reflection of the Church are summed up. These exegetes say, therefore: it had already reached a degree of development that cannot be Peter’s.

 

How does one respond? There are two important positions: first, Peter himself — that is, the Letter — gives us a clue, for at the end of the writing he says I write to you: “By Silvanus... dia Silvanus”.

 

This “by” [dia] could mean various things. It may mean that he [Silvanus] brings or transmits; it may mean that Silvanus helped him write it; it may mean that in practice it was really Silvanus who wrote it. In any case, we may conclude that the Letter itself points out to us that Peter was not alone in writing this Letter but it expresses the faith of a Church, which is already on a journey of faith, a faith increasingly mature. He does not write alone, as an isolated individual; he writes with the assistance of the Church, of people who help him to deepen the faith, to enter into the depths of his thought, of his rationality, of his profundity.

 

And this is very important: Peter is not speaking as an individual, he is speaking ex persona Ecclesiae, he is speaking as a man of the Church, as an individual of course, with his personal responsibility, but also as a person who speaks on behalf of the Church; not only private and original ideas, not as a 19th century genius who wished to express only personal and original ideas that no one else could have expressed first.

 

No.

 

He does not speak as an individualistic genius, but speaks, precisely, in the communion of the Church. In the Apocalypse, in the initial vision of Christ, it is said that Christ’s voice is like the sound of many waters (cf. Rev 1:15). This means: Christ’s voice gathers together all the waters of the world, bears within it all the living waters that give life to the world; he is a Person, but this is the very greatness of the Lord, that he bears within him all the rivers of the Old Testament, indeed, of the wisdom of peoples. ...

I would like to say something more: St Peter writes from Rome. This is important.

 

Here we already have the Bishop of Rome, we have the beginning of Succession, we already have the beginning of the actual Primacy located in Rome, not only granted by the Lord but placed here, in this city, in this world capital.

 

How did Peter come to Rome? This is a serious question. The Acts of the Apostles tell us that after his escape from Herod’s prison, he went to another place (cf. 12:17) - eis eteron topon. Where he went is not known; some say to Antioch, others, to Rome.

 

In any case, in this capital it should also be said that before fleeing he entrusted the Judaeo-Christian Church, the Church of Jerusalem, to James, and in entrusting her to James he nevertheless remained Primate of the universal Church, of the Church of the Gentiles but also of the Judaeo-Christian Church.

 

And here in Rome he found a great Judaeo-Christian community.

 

The liturgists tell us that in the Roman Canon there are traces of a characteristically Judaeo-Christian language.

 

Thus we see that in Rome both parts of the Church were to be found: the Judaeo-Christian and the pagan-Christian, united, an expression of the universal Church. And for Peter, moving from Jerusalem to Rome meant moving to the universality of the Church, moving to the Church of the Gentiles and of all the epochs, to the Church that also still belongs to the Jews.

And I think that in going to Rome St Peter not only thought of this transfer: Jerusalem/Rome, Judaeo-Christian Church/universal Church.

 

He certainly also remembered Jesus’ last words to him, recorded by St John: “when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go” (cf. Jn 21:18).

 

It is a prophecy of the crucifixion. Philologists show us that “stretch out your hands” is a precise, technical expression for the crucifixion. St Peter knew that his end would be martyrdom, would be the cross: that it would therefore be following Christ completely.

 

Consequently, in going to Rome there is no doubt that he was also going to martyrdom: martyrdom awaited him in Babylon. The primacy, therefore, has this content of universality but it has a martyrological content as well.

 

Furthermore, Rome had been a place of martyrdom from the outset. In going to Rome, Peter once again accepts this word of the Lord: he heads for the cross and invites us too to accept the martyrological aspect of Christianity, which may have very different forms.

 

And the cross may have very different forms, but no one can be Christian without following the Crucified One, without accepting the martyrological moment too.

...

Perhaps today we are tempted to say: we do not want to rejoice at having been chosen, for this would be triumphalism. It would be triumphalism to think that God had chosen me because I was so important. This would really be erroneous triumphalism.

 

However, being glad because God wanted me is not triumphalism. Rather, it is gratitude, and I think we should re-learn this joy: God wanted me to be born in this way, into a Catholic family, he wanted me to know Jesus from the first.

 

What a gift to be wanted by God so that I could know his face, so that I could know Jesus Christ, the human face of God, the human history of God in this world! Being joyful because he has chosen me to be a Catholic, to be in this Church of his, where subsistit Ecclesia unica; we should rejoice because God has given me this grace, this beauty of knowing the fullness of God’s truth, the joy of his love.

...

Christians are certainly not only foreigners; we are also Christian nations, we are proud of having contributed to the formation of culture; there is a healthy patriotism, a healthy joy of belonging to a nation that has a great history of culture and of faith.

 

Yet, as Christians, we are always also foreigners - the destiny of Abraham, described in the Letter to the Hebrews. As Christians we are, even today, also always foreigners.

 

In the work place, Christians are a minority, they find themselves in an extraneous situation; it is surprising that a person today can still believe and live like this. This is also part of our life: it is a form of being with the Crucified Christ; this being foreigners, not living in the way that everyone else lives, but living — or at least seeking to live — in accordance with his Word, very differently from what everyone says.

 

And it is precisely this that is characteristic of Christians. They all say: “But everyone does this, why don’t I?”

 

No, I don’t, because I want to live in accordance with God. St Augustine once said: “Christians are those who do not have their roots below, like trees, but have their roots above, and they do not live this gravity in the natural downwards gravitation."

 

Let us pray the Lord that he help us to accept this mission of living as exiles, as a minority, in a certain sense, of living as foreigners and yet being responsible for others and, in this way, reinforcing the goodness in our world.

...

Inheritance. It is a very important word in the Old Testament, where Abraham is told that his seed will inherit the earth, and this was always the promise for his descendants.

 

You will have the earth, you will be heirs of the earth. In the New Testament, this word becomes a word for us; we are heirs, not of a specific country, but of the land of God, of the future of God.

 

Inheritance is something of the future, and thus this word tells us above all that as Christians we have a future, the future is ours, the future is God’s. Thus, being Christians, we know that the future is ours and the tree of the Church is not a tree that is dying but a tree that constantly puts out new shoots.

 

Therefore we have a reason not to let ourselves be upset, as Pope John said, by the prophets of doom who say: well, the Church is a tree that grew from the mustard seed, grew for 2,000 years, now she has time behind her, it is now time for her to die.

 

No.

 

The Church is ever renewed, she is always reborn. The future belongs to us. Of course, there is a false optimism and a false pessimism. A false pessimism tells us that the epoch of Christianity is over. No: it is beginning again!

 

The false optimism was the post-Council optimism, when convents closed, seminaries closed and they said “but... nothing, everything is fine!”.... No! Everything is not fine. There are also serious, dangerous omissions and we have to recognize with healthy realism that in this way things are not all right, it is not all right when errors are made.

 

However, we must also be certain at the same time that if, here and there, the Church is dying because of the sins of men and women, because of their non-belief, at the same time she is reborn.

 

The future really belongs to God: this is the great certainty of our life, the great, true optimism that we know. The Church is the tree of God that lives for ever and bears within her eternity and the true inheritance: eternal life.

...

And, lastly, “guarded through faith.” The New Testament text, from the Letter of St Peter, uses a rare word here, phrouroumenoi, which means: there are the “guards” and faith is like the guards who preserve the integrity of my being, of my faith.

 

This word interprets in particular “the guards” at the gates of a city, where they stand and keep watch over the city so that it is not invaded by destructive powers.

 

Thus faith is a “guard” of my being, of my life, of my inheritance.

 

We must be grateful for this vigilance of faith that protects us, helps us, guides us, gives us the security: God does not let me fall from his hands.

 

Archives of the Order (10) - Decree of the Sacred Council of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem (1801)

In order to contribute as soon as possible to the restoration of a Grand Master, and the primitive constitution to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the sovereign council of the said Order, in the meeting of the 22nd of June 1801, has inquired into the form of convocation for a general chapter, and finds that the statutes are as follows on that subject:

"A General Chapter must consist of the Grand Master, the Bishop of Malta, the Prior of the Church, the Conventual Bailiffs or Pillars of the Languages, the Grand Priors or Capitular Bailiffs who have a decisive vote, a Solicitor for the Knights of each Language, and a Solicitor for the Commanders of each Priory.”

The sovereign council, in consideration that all the elements of a general chapter are dispersed, and knowing that, in the present situation of things, it would be impossible to assemble them, according to the form expressed in the statutes, has resolved to adopt a mode of election which shall differ as little as possible from the ancient one, prevent delay, spare the priories all unnecessary expense and convenience, and immediately fix upon a chief for the sovereign Order to govern it, and take possession of the island of Malta, whenever circumstances shall make it possible to do so.

For this purpose, the sovereign council enjoins all the Grand Priors immediately to convene their chapters, and to carry before them the following propositions:

1st. The provincial chapter shall mark out, among the professed Knights of every language, those whom they think most capable of filling the dignity of Grand Master with due courage and firmness. The Grand Priors shall acquaint the sovereign council as soon as possible with this opinion, that a list may be formed from all the different priories of those who are candidates for the Grand Mastership.

2nd. The council proposes to send this list to the court of Rome, and His Holiness, as supreme chief of the Roman Church, and as superior of all religious Orders, shall be entreated to select a Grand Master from among the candidates; specifying at the same time, that this is only to be the case on this one occasion, and without derogating in any degree from the rights and privileges of the sovereign Order.

His Holiness shall also be requested to notify this election to all Catholic countries by a pontifical brief, commanding the Knights to obey the Grand Master thus chosen, according to the statutes of holy obedience.

All the sovereign chapters shall be summoned by their Grand Priors to declare their opinions formally and with precision, on the question of referring to the Pope to elect a Grand Master from the number of professed Knights pointed out by the different priories.

By these means the Order will be assured of having a Grand Master of its own choice, and from among its own members; and the sovereign council may proceed with confidence, according to the wishes and opinions of all the capitular chapters. Moreover, the sovereign council represents to all the Grand Priors, that it is more important than ever to employ all their authority and prudence to prevent every kind of division and intrigue, to choose a candidate truly worthy of the sovereign command, endowed with the necessary qualities to make the Order of general utility, and to restore a severe discipline.

Lastly, the sovereign council has in its wisdom judged that this was the only method to conciliate the members in general, to avoid all pretences for schisms, and to unite all the scattered members of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

Given at St. Petersburg, the 20th day of July 1801.

Source: A History of the Knights of Malta, Vol 2., Porter, Wintworth., (c) 1858, Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, London.

Archives of the Order (9) - Proclamation of Tsar Alexander I, appointing Count de Soltikoff as Lieutenant of the Grand Master

 

We, Alexander I, by the grace of God, etc. etc., being desirous of giving a proof of our particular esteem and affection towards the sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, declare that we take the said Order under our imperial protection, and that we will employ every possible care and attention to maintain it in all its rights, honours, privileges, and possessions.

For this purpose we command and ordain, that our General, Field Marshal, Bailiff, Count de Soltikoff should continue to exercise the functions and authority of Lieutenant of the Grand Master of the said Order, and convene a sitting of the sacred council to make known our intentions that the imperial residence should be still regarded as the chief seat of the sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, until such time as circumstances shall permit the election of a Grand Master, according to the ancient forms and statutes.

In the interim, we ordain, in our quality of protector, that the sacred council shall have the government of the Order, and shall make known to all the languages and priories this our determination; inviting them, at the same time, for their own proper interest, to submit to the decrees issued by the said council.

We confirm, by this present declaration, our two grand Russian and Catholic priories, established in our empire, in the enjoyment of the property, privileges, and administration already bestowed on them; and it is our will and pleasure that they should be governed, in our name of protector, by the Lieutenant of the Mastership, our General, Field Marshal, Bailiff Count Nicholas de Soltikoff.

The very first moment that, in concert with other courts, means can be found, and a proper place fixed upon, to convene a general chapter of the sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the first effects of our protection will be, to procure a Grand Master to be elected, who shall be worthy to preside over the Order, and to re-establish it as formerly.

Given at our imperial residence of St. Petersburg, on the 16th of March 1801, in the first year of our reign.

(Signed) Alexander.

(Countersigned) The Grand Chancellor Count de Pablus.

 

Source: A History of the Knights of Malta, Vol 2., Porter, Wintworth., (c) 1858, Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, London.