Speeches and Homilies

27-Aug-1978: Radiomessage "Urbi et Orbi"

30-Aug-1978: To the Cardinals

31-Aug-1978: To the Diplomats accredited to the Holy See

01-Sep-1978: To the Journalists

03-Sep-1978: Mass of Initiation as Supreme Pastor

04-Sep-1978: To the Special Missions

07-Sep-1978: To the Clergy of Rome

21-Sep-1978: To a Group of US Bishops in "ad limina" Visit

23-Sep-1978: To the Mayor of Rome

23-Sep-1978: Taking Possession of St. John of Lateran' s Basilica

28-Sep-1978: To a Group of Phillipinian Bishops in "ad limina" Visit

30-Sep-1978: To the Jesuits (Post mortem)

Text of First Message to College of Cardinals and to the World Given At Conclusion of a Mass Celebrated in the Sistine Chapel

Having been called by a mysterious yet loving Father to this awesome responsibility of the papacy, we extend to you our greetings.

At the same time we greet everyone in the world, all who hear us. Following the teachings of the Gospel, we would wish to think of you as friends, as brothers and sisters. To all of you, I wish good health, peace, mercy and love:

"May the grace of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all".

We are still overwhelmed at the thought of this tremendous ministry for which we have been chosen: As Peter, we seem to have stepped out on dangerous waters. Battered by a strong wind, we turn towards Christ crying: "Lord, save me" (Mt. 14:30). Again we hear his voice encouraging and, at the same time, lovingly reminding us: "Why do you doubt, oh you of little faith".

If human forces alone cannot be adequate to the task before us, the help of almighty God who guides his Church throughout the centuries in the midst of great conflicts and opposition will certainly not desert us, this humble and present-day servant of the "servants of God".

Placing our hand in that of Christ, leaning on him, we have now been lifted up to steer that ship which is the Church; it is safe and secure, though in the midst of storms, because the comforting, dominant presence of the Son of God is with it.

According to the words of St. Augustine, who takes up an image dear to the ancient fathers, the ship of the Church must not fear because it is guided by Christ and by his vicar: "Although the ship is tossed about, it is still a ship. It alone carries the disciples and receives Christ. Yes, it is tossed on the sea but without it, one would immediately perish" (Sermon 75, 3; P1. 38, 475). Only in the Church is salvation: "Without it one perishes".

We shall proceed then with this faith. God's assistance will not be wanting to us, just as he has promised: "I am with you always even to the end of the world" (Mt. 28:20).

The common response and willing cooperation of all of you will make the weight of our daily burden lighter. We bind you to us in this awesome task, realizing the uniqueness of the Catholic Church.

Its tremendous spiritual power is the guarantee of peace and order. As such it is present in the world, as such it is recognized in the world. The echo of its daily life gives witness that, despite all obstacles, it lives in the heart of men, even those who do not share its truth or accept its message.

As the Second Vatican Council (to whose teachings we wish to commit our total ministry, as Priest, as teacher, as pastor) has said: "Destined to extend to all regions of the earth, the Church enters into human history, though it transcends at once all time and all racial boundaries. Advancing through trials and tribulations, the Church is strengthened by God's grace, promised to her by the Lord so that she may not waver from perfect fidelity, but remain the worthy bride of the Lord and not cease to renew herself under the action of the Holy Spirit until, through the Cross, she may attain to that light which knows no setting" (Lumen Gentium, 9).

According to the plan of God, who "has called together all those who look in faith toward Jesus, Author of Salvation and principle of unity and peace," the Church has been willed by him "so that it may be for each and for all the visible sacrament of this saving unity." (Ibid.)

In that light, we place ourselves interiorly, turning all of our physical and spiritual strength toward the service of the universal mission of the Church, that is to say, at the service of the world. In other words, we will be at the service of truth, of justice, of peace, of harmony, of collaboration within nations as well as rapport among peoples.

We call especially on the children of the church to better under stand their responsibility: "You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world" (Mt. 5:13). Overcoming internal tension, which can arise here and there, overcoming the temptation of identifying ourselves with the ways of the world or the appeal of easily won applause, united in the unique bond of love which forms the inner life of the Church just as with its external order, the faithful must be ready to give witness of their own faith to the world: "Always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Pt. 3:15).

The Church, in this common effort to be responsible and so respond to the pressing problems of the day, is called to give to the world that "strengthening of the Spirit" which is so needed and which alone can assure salvation.

The world awaits this today: It knows well that the sublime perfection which it has reached by research and technology — in which it is just to recognize the fulfillment of the first command of God: "Fill the earth and make it subject to man" (Gn. 1:28) — has reached a height beyond which dizziness occurs. It is the temptation of substituting for God one's own decisions, decisions that would do without moral law. The danger for modern man is that he would reduce the earth to a desert, the person to an automaton, brotherly love to a planned collectivization, often introducing death where God wishes life.

The Church, admiring yet lovingly outstretched towards human achievements, intends rather to safeguard the world, that thirsts for a life of love, from dangers that would attack it. The Gospel calls all of its children to place their full strength, indeed their life, at the service of their brothers in the name of the charity of Christ: "Greater love than this no man has than that he would lay down his life for his friends" (in. 15:13).

In this solemn moment, we intend to consecrate all that we are and all that we can achieve for this supreme goal. We will do so until our last breath, aware of the task insistently entrusted to us by Christ: "Confirm your brothers" (Lc. 22:32).

We are helped, given strength in our arduous task, by the most sweet memory of our predecessors, whose lovable sweetness and intrepid strength will be an example for us in the papal program.

We recall in particular the great lessons of pastoral guidance left by the most recent Popes, Pius XI, Pius XII, John XXIII. With wisdom, dedication, goodness and love of the Church and the world, they have left an indelible mark or our time, a time that is both troubled and magnificent.

Most of all the pontifical pastoral plan of Paul VI, our immediate Predecessor, has left a strong impression on our heart and in our memory. His sudden death was crushing to the entire world. In the manner of his prophetic style, which marked his unforgettable Pontificate, his death placed in clear light the extraordinary stature of a great yet humble man. He cast an extraordinary light upon the Church even in the midst of controversy and hostility of these last 15 years, he undertook immense, untiring labours, without rest, in the realization of the Council and in seeking world peace, the tranquillity of order.

Our program will be to continue his; and his in turn was in the wake of that drawn from the great heart of John XXIII.

Brothers and dearest sons and daughters, in this awesome moment for us, yet a moment enriched by God's promise, we extend our greeting to all of our sons and daughters: We wish we could see all of them face to face, embrace them, give them courage and confidence, while asking their understanding and prayers for us.

They should know that, among all who are dear to us, they are the dearest: They are never forgotten in our prayers and thoughts, because they have a privileged place in our heart.

We are all struggling to raise the world to a condition of greater justice, more stable peace, more sincere cooperation. We invite all of you and encourage you, from the humblest who are the underpinning of nations to heads of state responsible for each nation — we encourage you to build up an efficacious and responsible structure for a new order, one more just and honest.

A dawn of hope spreads over the earth, although it is sometimes touched by sinister merchants of hatred, bloodshed and war with a darkness which sometimes threatens to obscure the dawn. This humble Vicar of Christ, who begins in fear yet trust in his mission, places himself at the disposal of the entire Church and all civil society. We make no distinction as to race or ideology but seek to secure for the world the dawn of a more serene and joyful day. Only Christ could cause this dawn of a light which will never set, because he is the "sun of justice" (cf. Mal. 3:20). He will indeed oversee the work of all. He will not fail us.

We ask all our sons and daughters for the help of their prayers, for we are counting on them; and we open ourselves with great trust to the assistance of the Lord, who, having called us to be His representative on Earth, will not leave us without his Almightly grace. Mary most holy, Queen of the Apostles, will be the shining star of our Pontificate. Peter, the founder of the Church (S. Ambrose Exp. Ev. St. Sec. Lucam. IV, 70: CSEL 32:4, p. 175) will support us through his intercession and with his example of unconquerable faith and human generosity. St. Paul will guide us in our apostolic efforts directed to all the people of the Earth. Our holy patrons will assist us.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we impart to the world our first, the most loving Apostolic Blessing.

Thank you, Most Reverend Eminence, for the so good words that you has deigned to address me, in the name, besides the Sacred School, it seemed to me to see in the name of the Church and its members: faithful, Priests, Monks.

First of all, I wanted to apologize somehow because, on the newspapers, I have seen that, almost, almost, I would have reproached the Sacred College. It is not exactly like this. When I came back from the blessing and I saw all the College ready for the picture which then it was not made, it came to me, spontaneously, from the school memories, it is due to school, the text from the Tudesk, there where it is spoken about St. Bernard, it also says the reaction he had had when he heard that Eugene III, one of his, had been made a Pope. Then, he wrote: Quid fecistis? Parcat vobis Deus. But it wasn' t me who said it. I did not reproach you absolutely! I meant, St. Bernard' s reaction. Instead, in this moment, I must thank for the absolutely unexpected confidence for me and also unmerited, that you have had in giving your vote to me. Let us hope the Lord does not make me unworthy of this confidence. Help me with your prayers, too. Here, I see Cardinal Felici, with his customary kindness, before ending the scrutiny, he came, because he was right in front of me, and he told me: 'Message for the new Pope'. 'Thanks!' - I said, but I had not been made, yet. I opened. What was it? A small Via Crucis. That is the Popes' way. But... in the Via Crucis, one of the personages is also the Cirenean. I hope that, my brothers Cardinals will help this poor Christ, Vicar of Christ, to carry the cross with their collaboration of which I feel so much necessity (...)

In a certain sense, I feel sorrow for not being able to come back to the simple apostolate life that I liked so much. I have always had small dioceses: Vittorio Veneto, small diocese; the same Venice, great of history and small, 430,000 inhabitants. For that reason, my work was: children, workers, sick, pastoral visits. I will not be able to do this work any more. But you can do it. But you do not have to think only about your diocese. Bishops must also think about the universal Church. We must work together. Have mercy of the poor new Pope that really did not hope to arrive to this place. Try to help and let us try together to make a scene of unity for the world, even sacrifying something sometimes. But we will have much to lose if the world does not see us solidly united.

With this, I give you the greatest congratulations and I finish with the apostolic blessing that the Cardinal Dean has requested... I say the truth: it seems to me a little bit strange to give you the apostolic blessing . You also are all successors of the Apostles. Anyway, it is written here: In Christ' s name, I give, with effusion of feelings, to you, to your collaborators and to all the souls trusted to your pastoral cure, the first fruits of my propitiatory apostolic blessing. A little pompous the language. Be patient!

We warmly thank your worthy spokesman for his words, which were full of deference, or rather of good will and trust. Our first reaction would be to admit to you our embarrassment at these remarks that give us honor and these sentiments that give us comfort. But we are well aware that this homage and this appeal are addressed through us to the Holy See, to its highly spiritual and human mission, and to the Catholic Church, whose children are particularly desirous to build, together with their brothers and sisters, a more just and harmonious world.

We have not previously had the honor of making your acquaintance. Until now our ministry was limited to the dioceses entrusted to us and the pastoral duties that it entailed, around Vittorio Veneto and Venice. Nonetheless, it was already a sharing in the ministry of the universal Church.

But now, in this See of the apostle Peter, our mission has indeed become universal and places us in relationship not only with our Catholic sons and daughters but with all peoples, with their qualified representatives, and more particularly with the diplomats of the countries that have established relations on this level with the Holy See. On these grounds we are very happy to receive you here and to tell you of our esteem for you, our trust in you and our understanding of your noble role. We are happy also to greet through you each one of the nations that you represent. We look on each of them with respect and affection, with an ardent desire for their progress and peace. These nations will become still more familiar to us according as we meet not only their Bishops and faithful, but also their civil leaders.

Everybody knows how much was achieved in this field of diplomatic relations by our venerated Predecessor. During his Pontificate the missions of which you are the heads grew in number. We too wish these relations to be ever more cordial and fruitful for the good of your fellow citizens, for the good of the Church in your countries, and for the good of universal concord. Moreover, the relationships that you can have with each other at the Holy See also serve understanding and peace. We offer you our sincere collaboration in accordance with the means that belong to us.

In the range of diplomatic posts your role here is unique, just as the mission and competence of the Holy See are unique. Obviously we have no temporal goods to exchange, no economic interests to discuss, such as your states have. Our possibilities for diplomatic interventions are limited and of a special character. They do not interfere with purely temporal, technical and political affairs, which are matters for your governments. In this way, our diplomatic missions to your highest civil authorities, far from being a survival from the past, are a witness to our deep-seated respect for lawful temporal power, and to our lively interest in the humane causes that the temporal power is intended to advance. Similarly, you are here your governments' spokesmen and watchful witnesses of the Holy See' s spiritual activity. On both sides there is presence, respect, exchange and collaboration, without confusing competences.

Our services, consequently, are of two orders. It can be, if we are invited, participation by the Holy See as such, at the level of your governments or the international entities, in the search for better solutions to the great problems that see at stake detente, disarmament, peace, justice, humanitarian measures and aid, development, etc. Our representatives or delegates take part in that search, as you know, speaking freely and disinterestedly. That is one appreciable form of cooperation or mutual aid that the Holy See has the possibility of contributing, thanks to the international recognition that it enjoys and the representation of the whole of the Catholic world that it ensures. We are ready to continue in this field the diplomatic and international activity already undertaken, to the extent that participation by the Holy See proves desired and fruitful, and is in correspondence with our means.

But our activity at the service of the international community is also — we would say, chiefly — situated on another level, one that could be more specifically called pastoral and which belongs properly to the Church. It is a matter of contributing, through documents and commitments of the Apostolic See and of our collaborators throughout the Church, to forming consciences — chiefly the consciences of Christians but also those of men and women of good will, and through these forming a wider public opinion — regarding the fundamental principles that guarantee authentic civilization and real brotherhood between peoples. These principles are respect for one' s neighbour, for his life and for his dignity, care for his spiritual and social progress, patience and the desire for reconciliation in the fragile building up of peace, in short all the rights and duties of life in society and international life as they have been set forth in the council' s constitution Gaudium et Spes and in so many messages by the late Pope Paul VI.

Such attitudes, which in the logic of evangelical love the Christian faithful take or should take for their salvation, contribute to the gradual transformation, closer and closer, of human relationships, the social fabric and institutions. They help peoples and the international community to ensure more effectively the conditions for the common good and to discover the final meaning of their forward march. They have a civic and political impact.

Your countries are trying to build a modern civilization, dedicating to this task efforts that are often ingenious and generous and have our full understanding and encouragement, as long as they are in conformity with the moral laws written by the creator in the human heart. But we have confidence in Gods help. The Holy See will employ all its strength in that work. It also deserves your full interest.

From today on, our most cordial wishes accompany you in the mission that will be yours with us, as it was with Pope Paul VI. And we invoke upon each of you, on your families, on the countries that you represent and on all the people of the world abundant blessings from the most high.

Note: the text in bold are the words that the Pope has addressed to the journalists putting aside the written text.

We are happy in the first week of our Pontificate to be able to welcome such a qualified and numerous representation of the "world" of social communications, in Rome for two events which, for the Catholic Church and the world at large, have had a deep significance: the death of our late Predecessor Paul VI and the recent conclave when the formidable weight of Church service as Supreme Pastor was placed on our humble and frail shoulders.

This pleasing meeting gives us a chance to thank you for the sacrifices and toil which you have faced during the month of August in serving world public opinion — yours, too, is a very important service — by offering to your readers, listeners and television viewers, with the rapid and immediate delivery required of your responsible and sensitive profession, the possibility of participating in these historical events, in their religious dimension, with their deep connection to human values and the expectations of today' s society.

I say it with all sincerity. It was Cardinal Mercier who said, as well: If St. Paul came, he would be a journalist. Pierre L' Hermitte, from 'La Croix' of Paris, answered him: 'Hey, no, Eminence! If St. Paul came, he would not only be a journalist. He would be director of the Reuter'. But, I add today: not only director of the Reuter. Perhaps today, St. Paul would go and see Paolo Grassi ( n. o. a. the person in charge of the RAI, in those times ) to ask him a little of TV space or to the NBC.

We want to tell you especially of our gratitude for the commitment made by you in these days, in letting the public know better the figure, the teachings, the work and the example of Paul VI and for the attentive sensitivity with which you have sought to capture and translate in your numberless dispatches and full analyses, as well as through the multitude of images transmitted from Rome, the expectation of this city, of the Catholic Church and of all the world over a new pastor to assure the continuity of Peter' s mission.

The sacred inheritance left us by Vatican Council II and by our Predecessors John XXIII and Paul VI, of dear and holy memory, demands from us the promise of special attention, of a frank, honest and effective collaboration with the mass media which you worthily represent. It is a promise which we make willingly, aware as we are of the more and more important function which the mass media are assuming in the life of modern man.

We do not hide the risks of massification and simplification which are inherent in such instruments, with threatening consequences for the spirituality of the individual and for his capacity for personal reflection and for objectivity of judgment.

But we are well aware also of the new and happy possibilities offered to today' s men to know each other better and to grow closer, and to see closer up the anxieties over justice, peace and brotherhood and to establish through these deeper bonds of participation, of understanding and of solidarity in view of a world that is more just and human.

We know, in a word, that the ideal goal towards which all of you direct your efforts, despite the difficulties and delusions is to arrive through communications at a more real communion.

And it is this goal toward which the heart of the Vicar of Him who taught us to call on God as the one loving Father of every human being aspires, as you can well understand.

Before giving my Blessing to each of you and to your families, a blessing which I would like to extend to all collaborators of the information instruments you represent — agencies, newspapers, radio and television — I' d like to assure you of the esteem I have for your profession and the care which I will take to facilitate your noble and difficult mission, in the spirit of the council decree Inter Mirifica and the pastoral instruction Communio et Progressio.

If I can add a prayer and a real prayer, when major events happen and when the Holy See publishes important documents, you will often have to present the Church, speak about the Church, sometimes perhaps comment on my humble ministry, I hope you will do it with love of truth and respect for human dignity because such is the goal of all social communications.

I have read a little amused during the pre-conclave, articles from some newspaper, written with right intention, but I say, a little amused because... I have only thought about asking the Lord to illuminate me to give the vote to the right person. There were no factions. There weren' t... I assure you, there was nothing of all this. Written with good intention but with another vision. It would be necessary to enter the vision of the Church when it is spoken about the Church. I have remembered an episode of the Italian media history: it was about Baldasarre Avanzini, then director of 'Fanfulla'. We were at the time of the French-Prussian War. And he gave this advise to his reporters: the public is not interested on knowing what Napoleon III told William of Prussia! It is interested on knowing if he wore red or beige trousers; if he smoked or not the cigarette.

I have had... the feeling that, sometimes, journalists are mainly interested on secondary things in things of Church. It would be necessary to aim to the centre. Those that are the true problems of the Church. Then, it would also be an educative function for your public who reads you, listens to you or watches you. Therefore, I ask you sincerely; rather, I pray you! that you try to contribute to help safeguard in today' s society a deep regard for the things of God and for the mysterious relationship between God and each of us, which constitutes the sacred dimension of human reality.

Please understand the deep reasons for which the Pope, the Church and its pastors must sometimes ask for a spirit of sacrifice, generosity and renunciation to build up a world of justice, love and peace.

With the certainty of maintaining ever in the future this spiritual bond begun in the meeting, we give to you with open heart our Apostolic Blessing.

In this sacred celebration inaugurating the ministry of the Supreme Pastor of the Church, which has been placed on our shoulders, we begin by turning our mind in adoration and prayer to the infinite and eternal God, who has raised us to the Chair of Blessed Peter by his own design, which human reasoning cannot explain, and by his benign graciousness. The words of St. Paul the Apostle come spontaneously to our lips: "Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!" (Rom. 11:33).

Next we embrace in thought and greet with paternal affection the whole Church of Christ. We greet this assembly, representing as it were the whole Church, which is gathered in this place — a place filled with works of piety, religion and art, which is the attentive custodian of the tomb of the Chief of the Apostles. We then greet the Church that is watching us and listening to us at this moment through the modern media of social communication.

We greet all the members of the people of God: the Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, missionaries, seminary students, lay people engaged in the apostolate and in various professions, people involved in the fields of politics, culture, art and business, fathers and mothers of families, workers, migrants, young people, children, the sick, the suffering, the poor.

We greet also with reverence and affection all the people in the world. We regard them and love them as our brothers and sisters, since they are children of the same heavenly Father and brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus (cf. Mt. 23:Sf).

We have begun this homily in Latin, because as is well known, it is the official language of the Church and in an evident and effective way expresses its universality and unity.

The word of God that we have just been listening to has presented the Church to us as in a crescendo, first, as prefigured and glimpsed by the prophet Isaiah (cf. Is. 2:2.5) in the form of the new temple with the nations streaming towards it from all sides, anxious to know the law of God, to observe it with docility, while the terrible weapons of war are transformed into instruments of peace.

But St. Peter reminds us that this mysterious new temple, the pole of attraction for the new humanity, has a cornerstone, a living, chosen and precious cornerstone (cf. i Pt. 2:4.9), which is Jesus Christ, who founded his Church on the Apostles and built it on Blessed Peter, their leader (cf. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 19).

"You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church" (Mt. 16:18) are the weighty, great and solemn words that Jesus speaks to Simon, son of John, after his profession of faith. This profession of faith was not the product of the Bethsaida fisherman' s human logic or the expression of any special insight of his or the effect of some psychological impulse; it was rather the mysterious and singular result of a real revelation of the Father in Heaven.

Jesus changes Simon' s name to Peter, thus signifying the conferring of a special mission. He promises to build on him His Church, which will not be overthrown by the forces of evil or death. He grants him the keys of the Kingdom of God, thus appointing him the highest official of his Church, and gives him the power to interpret authentically the law of God. In view of these privileges, or rather these superhuman tasks entrusted to Peter, St. Augustine points out to us: "Peter was by nature simply a man, by grace a Christian, by still more abundant grace one of the Apostles and at the same time the first of the Apostles" (St. Augustine, In loannis Evang. Tract., 124, 5: P1. 35, 1,973).

With surprised and understandable trepidation, but also with immense trust in the powerful grace of God and the ardent prayers of the Church, we have agreed to become Peter' s successor in the See of Rome, taking on us the yoke that Christ has wished to place on our fragile shoulders. We seem to hear as addressed to us the words that St. Ephrem represents Christ as speaking to Peter: "Simon, my Apostle, I have made you the foundation of the Holy Church. I have already called you Peter because you will support all the edifices. You are the superintendent of those who will build the Church on earth . . . You are the source of the fountain from which My doctrine is drawn. You are the Head of My Apostles . . . I have given you the keys of My Kingdom" (St. Ephrem, Sermones in Hebdomadam Sanctam, 4,1:Lamy T.J., S. Ephrem Syri Himni et Sermones, 1, 412).

From the moment we were elected, throughout the days that followed, we were deeply struck and encouraged by the warm manifestations of affection given by our sons and daughters in Rome and also by those sending us from all over the world the expression of their irrepressible jubilation at the fact that God has again given the Church her visible head. Our mind re-echoes spontaneously the emotion-filled words that our great saintly predecessor, St. Leo the Great, addressed to the faithful of Rome: "Blessed Peter does not cease to preside over his See. He is bound to the eternal Priest in an unbroken unity . . . Recognize therefore that all the demonstrations of affection that you have given me because of fraternal amiability or filial devotion have with greater devotedness and truth been given by you and me to him whose See we rejoice to serve rather than preside over it" (St. Leo the Great, Sermon V, 4-5: P1. 54, 155-156).

Yes, our presiding in charity is service. In saying this, we think not only of our Catholic brothers and sons and daughters but also of all those who endeavour to be disciples of Jesus Christ, to honour God, and to work for the good of humanity.

In this way we greet affectionately and with gratitude the delegations from other churches and ecclesial communities present here. Brethren not yet in full communion, we turn together to Christ our Saviour, advancing all of us in the holiness in which he wishes us to be and also in the mutual love without which there is no Christianity, preparing the paths of unity in faith with respect for his truth and for the ministry that he entrusted, for his Church' s sake, to his Apostles and their successors.

Furthermore, we owe a special greeting to the heads of state and the members of the extraordinary missions. We are deeply touched by your presence, you who preside over the high destinies of your countries or represent your governments or international organizations, to which we are most grateful. In your participation we see the esteem and trust that you place in the Holy See and the Church, that humble messenger of the Gospel for all the peoples of the earth, in order to help create a climate of justice, brotherhood, solidarity and hope, without which the world would be unable to live.

Let all here, great or small, be assured of our readiness to serve them according to the spirit of the Lord.

Surrounded by your love and upheld by your prayer, we begin our apostolic service by invoking, as a resplendent star on our way, the Mother of God, Mary, Salus Populi Romani and Mater Ecclesiae, whom the liturgy venerates in a special way in this month of September. May our Lady, who guided with delicate tenderness our life as a boy, as a seminarian, as a Priest and as a Bishop, continue to enlighten and direct our steps, in order that, as Peter's voice and with our eyes and mind fixed on her Son Jesus, we may proclaim in the world with joyous firmness our profession of faith: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt. 16:16). Amen.

UNIVERSAL MISSION OF THE HOLY SEE AT THE SERVICE OF EVANGELIZATION, JUSTICE, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE

Speech to the special Missions present for the Mass of the beginning of the ministry as Supreme Pastor

During the celebration of yesterday, we only could address a brief greeting to you. Today we want to show you the joy, the emotion and the honour that your participation in the inauguration of our Pontificate has provided us. We are a debtor of enormous gratitude to you, to you personally, in the first place, and to the international countries or Organizations that you represent.

This tribute of so many nations is very beautiful and encouraging. It is not that our person has deserved it: yesterday, we were only a Priest and a Bishop in a province of Italy, given with all his energies and talents to the apostolate that had trusted to him. And here, today, we have been called to Apostle Peter' s See. We are heir of his great universal mission, he received by pure grace from Our Lord Jesus Christ ' s hands, who is, according to the Christian faith, Son of God and Saviour of the world. We frequently thought about this phrase of the Apostle Paul: 'We take this treasure in mud glasses, so that the excellence of the power is God' s and it does not seem ours' (2 Cor. 4, 7). Happily, we are not alone either: we act in communion with Bishops of the Catholic Church, that is spread everywhere.

So, then, it is a joy for us the fact that your tribute goes beyond the benevolence given to our person, and it becomes, before our eyes, a sign of continuous attraction and fascination that the Gospel and the things of God exert in our universe; and it also shows the esteem and confidence of almost all the people towards the Church and the Holy See, towards its many activities, as much in the properly spiritual area as in the service to justice, to the development and peace. It is necessary to add that the action of the last Popes, mainly of our venerated Predecessor, Paul VI, has contributed enormously to this international irradiation.

Regarding us and according to our possibilities, we are willing to continue this disinterested work and to support our collaborators who work in it. Although we do not know all your countries in person, and unfortunately we cannot speak to each one in your native language, our heart is totally open to all the people and to all the races, with the desire that each one can find a position in the concert of the nations and can develop the gifts that God has given them, in peace, thanks to the understanding and the solidarity of others. Nothing of which it is really human will be outside of us. It is true we do not have miraculous solutions for the big world-wide problems. But we can contribute with something very precious: a spirit who helps to resolve these problems and locates them in an approach which is essential: that one of the universal charity and that one of the opening to important values, that means, the opening to God. We will try to fulfil this service with simple, clear and trusted language.

We also want to count on your benevolent collaboration. In first place, we wish Christian communities always enjoy, in your countries, of respect and freedom to which every religious conscience has the right, and I know a right place to their collaboration by building the common good. We also are sure you will continue welcoming favourably the initiatives of the Holy See, when this one has the purpose of serving the international community, of remembering the exigencies of a healthy life in society, of defending the rights and the dignity of all men, specially of the small ones and minorities.

Thanks again for your visit. From all our heart, we invoked God' s help on you, on your families and on all and every of your countries and on the world-wide Organizations you represent. May God keep lucid our spirits and our hearts in peace, in the fulfilment of our big responsibilities.

TO KEEP THE GREAT DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH IN THE LIFE OF PRIESTS AND FAITHFUL

Speech to the clergy of Rome

I vividly thank the Cardinal Vicar for the congratulations he has addressed me in the name of all those present. I know how he has helped, faithfully and effectively, my unforgettable Predecessor; I hope he will also continue collaborating with me. I greet warmly the Archbishop Vice-regent, the Auxiliary Bishops, all who work in several centres and offices of the Vicariate; every Priest with cure of souls in the area of the diocese and its district: the parish Priests, in the first place, their collaborators, the monks and, through them, the Christian families and the faithful.

Perhaps you have noticed that when I already spoke to the Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, I alluded to the " great discipline of the Church " that had " to be kept in the Priests and in the faithful life ". My venerated Predecessor spoke frequently on this subject and I allow myself to speak very briefly to you on the same subject in this first meeting with a brother confidence.

There is a "small" discipline, which is limited to the purely external and formal observance of legal norms. But I wanted to speak about " the great " discipline. This one only exists when the external observance is fruit of deep convictions and free and joyful projection of a life lived intimately with God. It is -- Abbot Chautard writes – about the action of a soul, that reacts continuously to dominate its bad inclinations and to be acquiring little by little the custom of judging and of behaving in all the circumstances of life, according to the principles of the Gospel and Jesus' examples. " To dominate inclinations " is discipline. The sentence " little by little " indicates discipline, that requires constant effort, long, not easy. The Angels, that Jacob saw in dreams, did not fly even, but they get on the steps one by one. Let us imagine ourselves, who are poor men without wings!

The " great " discipline requires a suitable climate. First of all, the secluded life. Once, I could see a porter at Milan railway station, who was sleeping peacefully with his head on a coal bag close to a column... trains were departing while whistling and arriving while hissing with their wheels; loudspeakers incessantly gave warnings that stunned; people went and came with noise and commotion, but the man continued sleeping and seemed to say: 'Do what you want, because I am needy of quiet'. We, Priests, should do something similar: there is an incessant movement around us and people, newspapers, radio, television do not stop talking. With moderation and sacerdotal discipline, we must say: 'Beyond certain limits, for me, that I am a Priest of the Lord, you do not exist; I must keep for me a little of silence for my soul; I move away of you to be united to my God'.

To verify that their Priest is usually united to God is today the desire of many good faithful.

These ones reason as the lawyer of Lyon, when he came back after visiting the Curate of Ars. 'What has you seen at Ars?', he was asked. Answer: 'I have seen God in a man'.

St. Gregory Magnus' reasoning is similar. This one wishes that the souls shepherd has a talk with God without forgetting men, and has a talk with men without forgetting God. And he says: 'Keep away the shepherd from temptation of wanting to be loved by the faithful instead of by God, or from being too weak by fear to lose the affection of men; so that he can' t run the risk that God can reproach him like this: 'Poor of those who put cushions in the elbows' (Ez 13.18). The shepherd -- he ends up saying -- must try to be loved, of course, but in order to be listened, not looking for this affection for his own benefit' (cf. Regula pastoralis 1, II, c. VIII).

Priests are all guides and shepherds in a certain degree; but, have all they an exact concept of what it is really supposed to be a shepherd of a particular Church, that is, a Bishop?

On the other hand, Jesus, supreme Shepherd, said about Himself: 'I was given all the power in Heaven and in Earth' (Mt. 28, 18), and on another hand, He added: 'I have come to serve' (cf. Mt. 20, 28), and He washed His Apostles' feet. Therefore, power and service were simultaneously joined in Him. Something similar is said about Apostles and Bishops: Praesumas -- Augustinus said -- if prossumus (Miscellanea Augustiniana, Romae 1930, t. I, page 565).

We, Bishops, only govern if we serve: our government is exact if it becomes a service or if it is exerted looking at the service, with spirit and style of service. However, this Episcopal service would fail if the Bishop did not want to exert the received powers. St. Augustinus keeps on saying: 'the Bishop who does not serve people (preaching, guiding) is only foeneus custos, a scarecrow, placed in the vineyards so that the birds do not prick the grapes' (id. 568). For that reason, it is written in the Lumen Gentium: 'Bishops govern... with advices, exhortations, examples, but also with authority and sacred power' (Lumen Gentium, 27).

Another element of sacerdotal discipline is the love to the own position. I know it, it is not easy to love the position and stay in it when things are not going well, when oneself has the feeling of being neither understood nor encouraged, when the inevitable confrontation with the position assigned to others would take us to feel sad and discouraged. But, aren' t we working for the Lord? Ascetic teaches us: 'Don' t look at whom you are obeying, but for Whom you are obeying'.

Thinking is also a help. I have been Bishop for twenty years: many times, I have suffered for not being able to award anyone, who really deserved it; but or there was no position-prize, or I did not know how to replace the person, or adverse circumstances happened. On the other hand, St. Francis of Sales has written: 'There is no vocation that does not have its misfortunes, its bitterness and its upsets. Besides those who are totally resigned to God' s Will, each one would wish to change the own condition for the others'. Those who are Bishops would not want to be that; those who are married would not want to be it, and those who are not married would wish to marry. Where is this generalized restlessness of spirits born from?, but from a certain allergy to what it is obligation and from a no good spirit that it makes us suppose the others are better than us' (St. Francis of Sales, Oeuvres, edit. Annecy, t. XII, 348-9).

I have spoken with frankness and I apologize you for that reason. But I can assure you since I have become your Bishop I love you very much. And with the heart plenty of love, I give you the apostolic blessing.

It is real pleasure for us to meet, for the first time, a group of American Bishops making their ad limina visit. With all our heart we welcome you; we want you to feel at home, to feel the joy of being together in the family. Our great desire at this time is to confirm you all in your faith and in your service to God's people; we want to keep alive the ministry of Peter in the Church.

Since becoming Pope, we have studied with particular attention the wise teaching that our beloved predecessor Paul VI gave earlier this year to the United States' Bishops on the subjects of the Church' s Ministry of Reconciliation, on promoting life and on fostering devotion to the Eucharist. His teaching is ours; and we renew the encouragement and guidance that he gave you in those discourses.

Although we are new in the Pontificate - just a beginner - we too want to choose topics that deeply touch the life of the Church and that will be very relevant to your Episcopal ministry. We believe that the Christian family is a good place to start. The Christian family is so important, and its role is so basic in transforming the world and in building up the Kingdom of God, that the Council called it a "domestic Church".

Let us never grow tired of proclaiming the family as a community of love: conjugal love unites the couple and is procreative of new life; it mirrors the divine love, is communicated, and in the words of "Gaudium et Spes", is actually a sharing in the covenant of love of Christ and his Church. We were all given the great grace of being born into such a community of love; it will be easy for us to uphold its value.

And then we must encourage parents in their role as educators of their children - the first catechists and the best ones. What a great task and challenge they have: to teach children the love of God, to make it something real for them. And by God's grace, how easily some families can fulfil the role of being a primum seminarium: the germ of a vocation to the priesthood is nourished through family prayer, the example of faith and the support of love.

What a wonderful thing it is when families realize the power they have for the sanctification of husband and wife and the reciprocal influence between parents and children. And then, by the loving witness of their lives, families can bring Christ' s Gospel to others. A vivid realization of the sharing of the laity - and especially the family - in the salvific mission of the Church is one of the greatest legacies of the Second Vatican Council. We can never thank God enough for this gift.

It is up to us to keep this realization strong, by supporting and defending the family - each and every family. Our own ministry is so vital: to preach the world of God and to celebrate the Sacraments. It is from them that our people draw their strength and joy. Ours too is the role of encouraging families to fidelity to the law of God and the Church. We need never fear to proclaim all the exigencies of God' s word, for Christ is with us and says today as before: "He who hears you hears me". In particular, the indissolubility of Christian marriage is important; although it is a difficult part of our message, we must proclaim it faithfully as part of God's word, part of the mystery of faith. At the same time we are close to our people in their problems and difficulties. They must always know that we love them.

Today we want to express our admiration and praise for all the efforts being made to guard and preserve the family as God made it, as God wants it. All over the world Christian families are trying to fulfil their wonderful calling and we are close to all of them. And Priests and Religious are trying to support and assist them - and all these efforts are worthy of the greatest praise. Our special support goes to those who help couples preparing for Christian marriage by offering them the full teaching of the Church and by encouraging them in the highest ideals of the Christian family. We wish to add a particular word of praise also for those, especially Priests, who work so generously and devotedly in ecclesiastical tribunals, in fidelity to the doctrine of the Church, to safeguard the marriage bond, to give witness to its indissolubility in accordance with the teaching of Jesus, and to assist families in need.

The holiness of the Christian family is indeed a most apt means for producing the serene renewal of the Church which the Council so eagerly desired. Through family prayer, the ecclesia domestica becomes an effective reality and leads to the transformation of the world. And all the efforts of parents to instil God's love into their children and to support them by the example of faith constitute a most relevant apostolate for the twentieth century. Parents with special problems are worthy of our particular pastoral care, and all our love.

Dear Brothers, we want you to know where our priorities lie. Let us do everything we can for the Christian family, so that our people may fulfil their great vocation in Christian joy and share intimately and effectively in the Church' s mission - Christ' s mission - of salvation. And be assured that you yourselves have our full support in the love of the Lord Jesus, and we give you all our Apostolic Blessing.

Most Holy Father: It is my rare privilege as the senior metropolitan of Region XII of the Church in the United States of America, and as one of forty-five American Bishops presently in Rome participating in a month-long program of theological and Scriptural renewal and enrichment, to speak for those here present, and to thank Your Holiness form the bottom of our hearts for the honour of this unique visit with you.

The Archbishops and Bishops in this audience hall represent many thousands of Priests, and many more thousands of men and women religious, as well as several millions of the Catholic faithful, from every part of the United States of America. In receiving us today Your Holiness has honoured not only us but also the members of our respective Archdioceses and Dioceses. We are most grateful to be the favoured recipients of your benevolent and gracious kindness.

The Bishops of Region XII who are here in Rome on their ad limina visit are from three ecclesiastical provinces of the North-western corner of the United States. We are here to greet you as our spiritual Father, and to assure Your Holiness that we pledge our obedience, our loyalty and our support to you as the successor of St. Peter and Vicar of Christ on earth.

Our eleven Dioceses, situated in five states, comprise an area of over one million square miles, just about one third the size of all of Europe. The geography alone suggests the futility of developing a profile that might be described as the Church of the Pacific Northwest.

Unlike the Dioceses of the eastern portion of the United States, the Dioceses of Region XII are for the most part rural in character with an industrial and agricultural economy. While the parishes in our large cities number as many as ten thousand souls, most of the parishes are large in territory but small in the number of people served.

Since our section of the country was settled only during the last century, the Church is relatively new, and does not enjoy a position of numerical or political strength. Indeed, studies of religious affiliation in our region indicate that at least half of the citizens have membership in no formal religious body, a sad situation to be sure, but one which offers great challenge to the apostolic zeal of a vigorous and dedicated Christian people. Evangelization of a largely unchurched segment of our fellow citizens must be the preoccupation and goal of the Church in Region XII.

Each of the Bishops of Region XII has submitted his Quinquennial Report to the Sacred Congregation of Bishops. Taken together the Reports Will show that there flourishes in the Northwest a Catholic people with deep faith, a people fully aware of its responsibility to act as a leaven in a society which needs the Word of God and Christian witness to enrich the private and public lives of its citizens by the insertion and promotion of Gospel values, and to find effective ways to strengthen and support a Christian family life which is being assaulted on every side by the not-too-subtle viruses of secularism and materialism.

The forty-five Bishops who are at the Casa Santa Maria following a program of studies in the Sacred Sciences under the sponsorship of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States and the North American College in Rome are serious about their role as leaders and teachers of God's people. Since August 29 they have spent many hours each day listening to and dialoguing with theologians and Scripture scholars of world renown in an earnest effort to develop a deeper and wider understanding of the Gospel message in the light of the documents of the Second Vatican Council and the official teachings of the Magisterium.

These same Bishops, all of whom are guests of Your Holiness this morning, have just returned from a week' s pilgrimage in the Holy Land, deepening their faith in the life, death and resurrection of Christ, as they retraced the footsteps of the God-Man, Jesus, from Bethlehem to Nazareth, and from the Sea of Galilee to Calvary.

Two and one half weeks ago all of us were on the steps of St. Peter's, joined in unity with Bishops throughout the world, and with numerous pilgrims and citizens of Rome, as Your Holiness celebrated Mass with the members of the College of Cardinals, and were enthroned as the Bishop of Rome and the spiritual leader of 700 million Catholics. We thanked Almighty God for giving us a new Roman Pontiff in the person of the Cardinal Archbishop and Patriarch of Venice.

Recognizing the divinely guided preparation Your Holiness has received for the high office to which you have been elected by your peers, we see in Your Holiness a Stepherd who will be "a man for all seasons", a pastoral Pontiff, who will lead the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit with the warmth and humanity of Pope John XXIII, and the wisdom and patience of Pope Paul VI of happy memory.

Each of us has visited the burial place of your courageous predecessor. We loved Pope Paul as a brother and a father. We are delighted that Your Holiness has taken his name and that of Pope John. You are our hope; you are the Rock of Peter. We pledge you our prayers and our loyalty. May God bless Your Holiness in all your undertakings in behalf of the Church and of all mankind.

I am intensely thankful for those deferential and sincere expressions that you, also representing your colleagues of the Public Administration and all the Roman population, has wanted to address me during the itinerary that takes me from the Vatican residence to St. John of Lateran Cathedral.

This intermediate stop, at the foot of the Capitol hill, has a special meaning for me, not only due to the accumulation of historical memories that are interweaved here and are of interest for the civil Rome and Christian Rome together, but also because it allows me to have a first direct contact with the people in charge of the citizen life and of their right order. Therefore, it is a propitious occasion to express you my warmest greeting and my best wishes.

The problems of the city, to which with founded preoccupation you have alluded, find me particularly aware and sensible because of their urgency, their gravity and, mainly, due to frustrations and human and familiar dramas, from which not rarely they are the evident sign. As a Bishop of the City that is the primitive see of the pastoral ministry that was trusted to me, those undergone experiences arrive to my heart more deeply and I feel stimulated by them to the availability, to the collaboration and the contribution of moral and spiritual order that corresponds to the specific nature of my service, to be able, at least, to alleviate them. And I also say this, not only as a personal view, but in the name of the children of the Church of God here in Rome: of my collaborators, the Bishops, Priests and Religious persons, the members of the Catholic associations and of each one of the faithful, involved, in different ways, in pastoral, educative, welfare and scholastic activities.

Hope, whose echo I have felt with affability in your kind greeting, is for us, believers, -- as I remembered in the general audience last Wednesday -- an obligatory virtue and a precious gift of God. May it serve to wake up energies and intentions in each one of us and, I also hope, in all the fellow citizens of good will; may it serve to inspire initiatives and programs, in order that those problems have the suitable solution and Rome remains faithful, in the facts, to those unmistakably Christian ideals that are called hunger and thirst of justice, active contribution to peace, supreme dignity of the human work, respect and love towards the brothers, solidarity with the weakest.

JOHN PAUL I, BISHOP OF ROME

Homily during the taking of possession of St. John of Lateran’ s Basilica

I thank from my heart the Cardinal Vicar the delicate words with which – also in the name of the Episcopal council, of the Lateran town hall, the Clergy, the Monks, the Nuns and the faithful -- has wanted to express the devotion and the intentions of active collaboration in the diocese of Rome. First concrete testimony of this collaboration is the enormous amount gathered between the faithful of the diocese and put it to my service to provide with a temple and parochial structures to a quarter in the suburbs of the city, still lack of those essential communitarian elements of Christian life. I thank, really moved.

The Master of Ceremonies has chosen the three Biblical readings for this liturgical celebration. He has considered them suitable and I am going to try to explain them to you.

You all know that the Pope acquires his authority over all the Church as soon as he is Bishop of Rome, that means, successor of Peter, in this city.

Thanks specially to Peter, the Jerusalem of which Isaiah spoke, can be considered a figure, a pre-announcement of Rome.

Also about Rome, as the see of Peter, place of his martyrdom and centre of the Catholic Church, it is possible to say: 'The aurora of the Lord comes over you and His Glory is revealed in you. People will walk in your light' (Is . 60, 2-3). Remembering the Holy Years pilgrimages and those ones that continue taking place during normal years with constant affluence of faithful, it is possible, with the prophet, to speak emphatically to Rome like this: 'Rise your eyes around and look: your children arrive from far away... because the treasures of the sea will come to you, the wealth of people will arrive to you' (Is . 60, 4-5).

This is an honour for the Bishop of Rome and for all of you. But it is also a responsibility.

Will pilgrims find, here, a model of a true Christian community? Will we be capable, with the God’s help, Bishop and faithful, to fulfil here the words written by Isaiah followed by those mentioned before, that is to say: 'It will already be spoken no more about violence in your land... Your people will be a people of right ones'? (Is. 60, 18-21).

Some minutes ago, professor Argan, mayor of Rome, have addressed me some kind words of greeting and augury. Some of those words have made me remember one of the prayers that, as a boy, I used to say with my mother. It said like this: 'Sins that shout revenge to the eyes of God are... to oppress the poor, not to give the right payment to the workers'. On the other hand, the parish Priest asked me in the Catechism class: 'Sins that shout revenge to the eyes of God, why are they more serious and fatal? ' And I replied, according to the Catechism of Pius X: 'Because they are directly opposite to the good of human being and so detestable that they cause, more than the others, the punishment of God" (Catechism of Pius X, nr. 154).

Rome will be an authentic Christian community if God is honoured not only with the affluence of the faithful to the churches, not only with the private life lived moderately, but also with the love for the poor. These ones -- Roman Deacon Laurence said -- are the true treasures of the Church; they must, therefore, be helped, by those who can, to have more and become something else, without being humiliated and offended with ostentations of wealth, with money wasted in superfluous things, trying to be employed, whenever it is possible, in advantageous tasks for all.

The second reading (Heb. 13, 7- 8, 15 -17, 20 -21) is adapted to the faithful of Rome. It has been chosen, as I said, by the Master of ceremonies. I confess that, as it is spoken about obedience there, it puts me a little in difficult.

Today it is very difficult to convince when human person rights face those of authority and law!

On the book of Job, a battle horse is described: it jumps like a colt and snorts, scratches the field with the hoof and then it flings itself with ardour; when the trumpet sounds, it whinnies of joy; it smells the fight from far, it hears the command shouts and the formations outcry (cf. Job 39,15 -25). Symbol of freedom. Authority, however, is similar to the prudent knight, who rides the horse and, sometimes in a smooth voice, or using the spurs rightly, the reins or the riding whip, he stimulates it, or he also moderates its impetuous race, he restrains it and he stops it.

To agree horse and horseman, freedom and authority, has become a social problem. And also a Church problem.

During the Council, it was tried to solve it in the fourth chapter of Lumen Gentium.

Here, they are the Council indications for the 'knight': 'Sacred shepherds know very well how lay persons contribute to the all Church good. They know that they have not been put by Christ to assume by themselves all the mission of salvation that the Church has received in relation to the world, but their magnificent task is that one of feeding the faithful and of recognizing their services and their charismas, so that all of them can cooperate concordantly, everyone as far as possible, in the common work' (Lumen Gentium, 30) and it continues: may the shepherds also know 'in the decisive battles, the wiser initiatives sometimes come from the front' (Id. 37 note 7).

However, here you have a Council indication for the generous 'fighter', that is for lay persons: to the Bishop 'faithful ought to adhere as the Church to Jesus Christ and as Jesus Christ to the Father' (Id. 27) .

Let us pray to the Lord so that He helps as much the Bishop as faithful, as much the knight as the horse.

I was said that, in the diocese of Rome, there are many people who are helpful with their brothers, many catechists; many others are waiting for a single slight signal to take part and to collaborate. May the Lord help all of us to constitute in Rome a living and operating Christian community. Not in vain, I have mentioned the chapter fourth of the Lumen Gentium: it is the chapter about the 'ecclesial communion'. But what it is said there affects specially lay persons.

Priests, Monks and Nuns have a particular position, bound as they are to the vow or the promise of obedience.

I remember as one of the solemn moments of my existence that one in which, I put my hands on the Bishop' s, I said: 'I promise'. Since then, I have felt committed for all my life and I have never thought it was a ceremony without importance.

I hope that Priests of Rome think the same. To them and to the Monks, St. Francis of Sales would remember them the example of St. John the Baptist, who lived in solitude, far from the Lord, even with his great desire to be near Him. Why? By obedience. 'He knew – the Saint writes -- that to find the Lord outside obedience, it was to lose Him' (F. of Salles, Oeuvres, Annecy, 1896 page. 321).

First, it is 'to teach', proposing the Word of the Lord with fidelity as much to God as to whom are listening, with humility, but with brave frankness.

Between my holy predecessors, Bishops of Rome, there are two of them who are also Doctors of the Church: St. Leo, the defeater of Athila, and St. Gregory the Great.

In the writings of the first one, there is a highest theological line and a wonderfully constructed Latin language is shining; I don' t think I can imitate him, even from far.

The second one, in his books, is 'like a father, who instructs his children and he makes them take part of his requests for their eternal salvation' (I. SCHUSTER, Liber Sacramentorum, vol. I, Turin, 1929, page 46). I would want to try to imitate the second one, who dedicates all the third book of his Regula pastoralis to the subject 'qualiter doceat ', that is to say, how the shepherd must teach. Throughout 40 chapters, Gregory concretely indicates several ways of instruction, according to different circumstances of social condition, age, health and moral temperament of listeners. Poor and rich, glad and sad, superiors and subjects, learned and ignorant, shameless and shy, etc... all they are in that book, that is like the Josafat valley.

In the Vatican Council, it was considered like something new the denomination 'pastoral' not only on what was taught to the shepherds, but on what the shepherds made to face needs, anxieties and hope of men. Gregory had already put in practice that 'innovation' many centuries before, as much in preaching as in the government of the Church.

The second duty, expressed with the word 'to baptize', speaks about the sacraments and all the liturgy. The diocese of Rome has followed the program of the CEI 'Evangelization and Sacraments'; it already knows that evangelization, sacrament and holy life are three moments of an only way: evangelization prepares to sacrament and sacrament takes to live as Christians those who have received it. I would want that this great concept was applied every time more extendedly.

I would also want that Rome gave the good example of a liturgy celebrated piously and without 'creativities' out of place. Some abuses in liturgical matter have been able to feed, by reaction, attitudes that have taken to take untenable positions in themselves and in contrast to the Gospel. When making a call, warmly and with hope, to the sense of responsibility of each one in front of God and the Church, I wanted to be able to assure that any liturgical irregularity will be avoided diligently.

And we already are in the last Episcopal duty: 'teaching to watch'. It is deaconate, the service to guide and govern. I confess that, even when I have been Bishop for twenty years, in Vittorio Veneto and in Venice, 'I have not learned the job well, yet'. In Rome, I will study at St. Gregory the Great school, who says: 'May him (the shepherd) be near to each one of his subjects with compassion. And forgetting his degree, be considered himself equal to the good subjects, but does not be afraid of exerting the right of his authority against the bad ones. Remember that while all the subjects thank to God inasmuch as the shepherd has done of good, they do not dare to censure what he has done badly; when he represses had habits, does not let him himself to be recognized, humbly, just like the brothers to whom he has corrected and feel himself before God as much debtor as more unpunished are his actions before men'. (Reg . past. Part II, cc. 5 and 6 passim)

The explanation of the three readings finishes here. But let me add just one thing: it is God' s law that it is not possible to make the good to anybody if he is not loved before. For that reason, St. Pius X, when entering as Patriarch of Venice, exclaimed in St. Mark: 'What would it be of me, Venetian, if I don' t love you'. I tell the Romans something similar: I can assure you I love you, that I only wish to serve you and to put at your disposal all my poor forces, all the little I have and I am.

And here the text of the greeting message addressed to the Holy Father by Cardinal Ugo Poletti .

Intimately together with the Bishops of the Episcopal Council of Rome and the Lateran Chapter, I have the joy and the responsibility to reassume the feelings of faith, love, devotion, available collaboration that Clergy, Religious people and people of your Roman Diocese wish to show you today with absolute clearly and sincerity.

Announcing this, Your visit to the Patriarchal Arch-Basilica of the SS. Saviour of Lateran, Bishop of Rome Chair guard, I have dared to say it was a meeting totally Roman, not only by lack of kindness or consideration to the Curia Members of the Holy See who, in addition, is called Roman, or to the illustrious Representatives of so many twin towns here present to honour You, but rather to remember to us ourselves a particular dimension of ecclesial life and a consequent responsibility, that derives from our bond to Your person.

We are Your children, like all the members of the Catholic Church, but with a peculiarity that it is unique: this Saint Diocesan Church only belongs to You and no Brother in the Episcopate can share with You the paternity.

We are Your personal portion and Your heritage, represented by that Chair of Peter, of which Lateran is spiritually its guard, but with which you have also inherited the paternity and the Universal Teaching in the Catholic Church.

We have a personal title to receive from You nutrition and support with the Word of God, with the exercise of paternal charity and patience, with the attention and the immediate request, so that our Faith does not diminish and our Christian life does not languish.

If we still stopped in these single considerations, we would be inert, stingy children: we would not be certainly Your crown and joy.

We are thankful to You for this meeting, in the taking of possession of Your Episcopal Chair, because you give the joy to notice more deeply and filially some of our active, serious and stimulating responsibilities.

We advice that, because of the intimate communion of the People of God with their Bishop, we also are, somehow, contributors of Your serious duty to build the Holy Church in the world. Not only in Rome we must give space and body, visible everywhere, to Your pastoral action and to Your charity; not only, like children who live at home, we must help the Father welcoming the brothers who come from far, but by Your same presence and mission we are helped, like no other, to grow in a dimension of truly Catholic Faith, in a testimony of charity towards the poor, the humble, the small, the marginalized, that can evidently be perceived by the other Churches-sisters.

They are duties that Your presence here, today remembers us with a unique authority.

Deeply conscious of our weaknesses, limitations and contradictions that, in the ecclesial City life, are mixed together with its singular capacities of good or and with Christian dynamic forces operating in all cultural, popular level, of leadership or community, we noticed another responsibility of the 'ecclesial communion' with You, our Bishop and Father: we constituted for You the space of verification of all the good and the pain that, in different expressions and dimensions, moves and extends in the world. In order to use a modern technical term, the Diocese of Rome constitutes for the Pope the ' sample investigation', immediate, living, joyful and painful, of human and Christian life spread in the world.

Perhaps for this the operative tensions, aspirations, possibilities; social, moral, religious compensations and imbalances that inevitably exist in every city, perhaps also in higher proportions still in Rome, assume a singular and world-wide echo, that immediately is perceived. So, as You know intimately Your diocesan Church, You will mysteriously notice the pulse of the world heart.

Thinking on this situation, we are determined to give You a contribution, the truest and more authentic possible, to facilitate Your mission of Shepherd and Universal Father.

Are we presumptuous? Have mercy of us, Holy Father, like weak creatures; understand us like willing people; love us and support us like sincere children, who want to be faithful to You.

To the edge of these considerations, the explosive joy of Your Church in the meeting with its Bishop becomes more reflective and conscious. Joy cannot replace duty, but from the advised and fulfiled duty, the joy that brings new fruits is consolidated.

You - continuing the work of the venerated Pope Paul VI, become so human and sensible in the last years - You have already given us a lot in confidence, in a kind paternity and, still more, You will give us in spiritual strength and magisterial and moral assistance.

We, small, what can we offer You? A gift that can be in collaboration of faith and charity, in helping the poorest.

Parishes, Religious and faithful Institutes have answered generously to the invitation, sent by me, by offering You the possibility of building a 'house of God and fraternal charity' in a modest district of Rome: at Castelgiubileo in Salaria St., where the parish of St. Crisante and St. Daria is still lack of all the parish structures.

Until now, more than one hundred million have been gathered; the first paternal gift that Pope John Paul offers to His Diocese of Rome.

Bless, Holy Father, the Cardinal Vicar and the Bishops, Your collaborators, the Venerable Chapter and the Lateran Clergy, the diocesan Presbytery with the Seminaries and Institutes; but, mainly, the City of Rome, with all its religious and civil people in charge and, specially, with its children, particularly the poorest and the sick, with the auspice of Mary "Salus Populi Romani".

In welcoming you with deep affection, we wish to recall a passage found in the Breviary. This passage has struck us forcefully. It concerns Christ, and was spoken by Paul VI on his visit to the Philippines: "I must bear witness to his name: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God... he is the king of the new world; he is the secret of history; he is the key to our destiny".

On our part we hope to sustain you, support you, and encourage you in the great mission of the Episcopate: to proclaim Jesus Christ and to evangelize his people.

Among the rights of the faithful, one of the greatest is the right to receive God' s word in all its entirety and purity, with all its exigencies and power. A great challenge of our day is the full evangelization of all those who have been baptized. In this, the Bishops of the Church have a prime responsibility. Our message must be a clear proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ. With Peter we must say to Christ, in the presence of our people: "You have the words of eternal life".

For us, evangelization involves an explicit teaching about the name of Jesus, his identity, his teaching, his Kingdom and his promises. And his chief promise is eternal life. Jesus truly has words that lead us to eternal life.

Just recently at a general audience, we spoke to the faithful about eternal life. We are convinced that it is necessary for us to emphasize this element, in order to complete our message and to model our teaching on that of Jesus.

From the days of the Gospel, and in imitation of the Lord, who "went about doing good", the Church is irrevocably committed to contributing to the relief of physical misery and need. But her pastoral charity would be incomplete if she did not point out even "higher needs". In the Philippines Paul VI did precisely this. At a moment when he chose to speak about the poor, about justice and peace, about human rights, about economic and social liberation - at a moment when he also effectively committed the Church to the alleviation of misery - he did not and could not remain silent about the "higher good", the fullness of life in the Kingdom of heaven.

More than ever before, we must help our people to realize just how much they need Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Mary. He is their Saviour, the key to their destiny and to the destiny of all humanity.

Dear Brothers, we are spiritually close to you in all the efforts you are making on behalf of evangelization: as you train catechists, as you promote the biblical apostolate, as you assist and encourage all your priests in their great mission at the service of God's word, and as you lead all your faithful to understand and to fulfil the requirements of justice and Christian love. We greatly esteem these and all your endeavours on behalf of the Kingdom of God. In particular, we fully support the affirmation of the missionary vocation, and earnestly hope that it will flourish among your youth.

We aware that the Philippines has a great vocation in being the light of Christ in the Far East: to proclaim his truth, his love, his justice and salvation by word and example before its neighbours, the peoples of Asia. We know that you have a privileged instrument in this regard: Radio Veritas. It is our hope that the Philippines will use this great means and every other means to proclaim with the entire Church that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Saviour of the world.

Our greetings go to all your local Churches, especially to the Priests and Religious. We encourage them to ever greater holiness of life as a condition for the supernatural effectiveness of their apostolate. We love and bless the families of your Dioceses and all the laity. We ask the sick and the handicapped to understand their important part in God' s plan, and to realize just how much evangelization depends on them.

To all of you, Brothers, we impart our special Apostolic Blessing, invoking upon you joy and strength in Jesus Christ.

TO THE JESUITS

Message (post-mortem) that the Pontiff had to address during the audience to the representatives of the Company of Jesus on September 30th, 1978.

Three years ago since the conclusion of the XXXII General Congregation, you have come from all the Provinces of the Order to Rome to reflect together, to consult each other, to make a conscience examination, together with your General Superior, about life and apostolate of the Company, according to whatever the Constitutions prescribe.

I wish to show you, mainly, my joy for this my first meeting with a so qualified group of St. Ignatius' children and, besides, to show you and, in you, to all your brothers spread in the world, the Church appreciation for all the good that your Order, since its foundation, has built in the Church: a united and compact group, almost a company of luck, willing to put itself, not at the mercy of big sirs of he Earth political ambitions, but 'sub crucis vexillo Deo will militate, et soli Domino et Ecclesiae Ipsius Sponsae, sub Romano Pontifice, Christi in terris Vicario, servire'. The small initial group, reunited around Ignatius of Loyola, did not let itself be discouraged by any difficulty, but, expanding its own horizons, it was sent, 'ad maiorem Dei gloriam', to different ways of apostleship, as they have already been described in the 'Formula Instituti', approved by my Predecessor Paul III, in 1540, and confirmed by Jules III, in 1550.

The Company of Jesus, open from its origins, to the complex spiritual problematic that comes from the Renaissance culture, appeared solidly compact and united with a special bond to the Roman Pontiff and obeying him “sine ulla tergiversatione aut excusatione illico” to all disposition that concerns the spiritual progress of the souls, the propagation of the faith and the missions.

The Popes have constantly and punctually wanted to show their confidence. I cannot, at this moment, not to remember my immediate and venerated Predecessor, the late Paul VI, who has loved so much, has prayed so much, has worked so much, has suffered so much for the Company of Jesus. I mention, between his several documents, testimonies of his paternal solicitude for your Order - the Letter of September 15^th, 1973, written in view of the convocation of the XXXII General Congregation; the admirable speech of December 3^rd, 1974, just at the beginning of the same General Congregation, in which, also speaking in his quality of 'Supreme Superior of the Company', he gave some precious instructions as an expression of his hope in the works that were about to begin; and, finally, the Letter of February 15^th, 1975, in which, supporting his deep respected and his enthusiastic love towards the Company, he reaffirmed that it had a spirituality, a doctrine, a discipline, an obedience, a service, an example to be kept, that to be attested. I have proved a calm consolation in knowing that, between the subjects you will have to treat in your reflections in common, it will also be what it talks about to the application of the observations made by Paul VI.

I am joined to my Predecessors, too, when I tell you about the love I feel for your Order, among other things, also for the long relationship that has bound me to Father Felice Cappello, my countryman and a far relative, whose memory is always blessed, but because you, in these days of retreat and prayer, must come to an examination about the state of the Company, by means of a sincere evaluation, realistic and brave about the objective situation, making an analysis, if it is necessary, on deficiencies, lagoons, zones of shade, I want to trust to your responsible meditation, some points that are particularly in my heart. In your apostolic work, always remember the own aim of the Company, 'mainly created in defence and propagation of the faith and for the benefit of the souls in the life and Christian doctrine. (Rules of the Institute). Every other activity is subordinated to this spiritual and supernatural aim and it will have to be exercised in an proper way for a religious and priestly Institute. You know well and you worry rightly about the big financial and social problems that today are afflicting humanity and they are very connected with Christian life. But, in the solution of these problems, may you always know to distinguish the tasks of religious Priests from those that belong to lay people. Priests must inspire and animate lay people to fulfil their duties, but they does not have to replace them, putting aside their own specific task in the evangelization action.

By this evangelization action, St. Ignatius demands to his children a solid doctrine, acquired by means of a long and careful preparation. And it has been a characteristic of the Company, the attentive care of introducing in the preach and the spiritual direction, in the education and publication of books and magazines, a solid and sure doctrine, totally according to the Church teaching, by which the abbreviation of the Company constituted a guarantee for Christian people and deserved the particular confidence to you from the Episcopate.

Try to keep this commendable characteristic; don' t let Jesuit teachings and publications can cause confusion and disorientation in the middle of the faithful; remember that the mission the Vicar of Christ has trusted to you is to proclaim, in a way rather according to the present mentality, but in its integrity and purity, the Christian message, contained in the deposit of revelation, of which authentic interpreter is the Teaching of the Church.

This, naturally, means that in the institutes and faculties where Jesuit young people are trained, a solid and safe doctrine can also be taught, according to directives contained in the Council decrees and in successive documents of the Holy See that talk about the doctrinal training of the candidates to Priesthood. And that is as much more necessary as your schools are open to numerous seminarians, religious people and lay people, who go there just for the hardness and sureness of doctrine that they hope to pick up there.

Together with doctrine, religious discipline must be particularly in your heart, which has also constituted a characteristic of the Company and has been indicated by someone as the secret of its force. Acquired through the severe Ignatian ascetics, fed by an intense spiritual life, supported by the exercise of a mature and virile obedience, it naturally showed itself in the austerity of life and in the exemplarity of religious behaviour.

Don' t let these praiseworthy traditions fall down; don' t let secularizing tendencies be going to penetrate and disturb your communities, to dissipate that retreat and prayer atmosphere in which the apostle tempers, and to introduce secular positions and behaviours, that are not suitable for Religious men. The due apostolic contact with the world does not mean assimilation to the world; rather, it demands that differentiation that safeguards the apostle identity, in such a way that he really can be salt of the world and leavening capable of making the mass ferment.

Be faithful for that reason to the wise norms contained in your Institute; be equally faithful to the Church prescriptions that talk about religious life, the Priestly ministry, the liturgical celebrations, giving the example of that loving docility to our Holy Mother hierarchic Church – as St. Ignatius has written on the 'Rules for the right feeling with the Church' – because it is the true Wife of Christ, Our Lord. (cf. Exerc. Spirit., nr. 353). This, St. Ignatius' position towards the Church, must also be typical of its children; and I like, with this intention, to remember the same Saint' s letter to St. Francis Borja, on September 20^th, 1548, in which he recommended: 'Humility and reverence towards our Holy Mother Church and towards those who have the task of governing it and teaching it'. ( Epist. et Instruct., 11, 236).

Take these my paternal recommendations with the same spirit of sincere charity with which I address them to you, only wishing that yours and my Company still today totally corresponds to the Founder' s intentions and to the hope of the Church and the world. May Superiors precede with their example 'Forma facti gregis ex animo' (1 Pe. 5, 3) and with their paternal action, but steady and in agreement, conscious of their responsibility in front of God and the Church. May they cooperate, all the Fathers and Brothers, remembering the sacred duties that have assumed with their religious profession in this Order, together with the Vicar of Christ with a special bond of love and service.

It is the Vicar of Christ who is speaking to you; it is the new Pope who is expecting so much and expects from the Company, from its big and brave apostolate, and he repeats with confidence to the present General Superior that saying, attributed – if I remember well - to Pope Marcel II and addressed to St. Ignatius: 'Tu milites collige et bellatores instrue; nos utemur'. (N. Orlandini, History Societatis Iesu, p. I, I. XV, n. 3)

The Church today is also needing faithful and generous apostles who, as so many children of the Company, know to undertake and support the most serious and urgent apostolic enterprises. Everywhere in the Church - as my venerated Predecessor Paul VI said - even in the most difficult and advanced fields, in the crossings of ideologies, in social trenches, it has been and it is the confrontation between the ardent exigencies of man and the perennial message of the Gospel, there have been and there are the Jesuits. (Speech on December 3^rd, 1974).

But the most arduous and most difficult are the apostolic enterprises to which you are called, as much greater is the necessity of intense inner life and constant union with God, of which St. Ignatius has left you a so luminous example. As a simple Bishop, how many times I have taken St. Ignatius to my Priests as a model to imitate! 'May each one of you be like Ignatius: in contemplatione activus et in actione contemplativus', I said. And I emphasized St. Augustinus had already written: 'Nobody has to be neither so contemplative not to think about the utility of the others; nor so active not to look for the contemplation of God ( From Civ. Dei , Xix , 19; PL 41, 647).

In order to fulfil this ideal, it is necessary to live intimately the own consecration to God, to observe in fullness the religious vows, to be faithfully in accordance with the rules of the own Institute, as the Saints of your Company have done. Just in the day of his religious profession, the Jesuit St. Peter Claver subscribed the document with the words: 'Peter, slave of the black for ever', giving himself, during his last forty years of life, to the black-slave trader ships holds, to the port and the cabins of Cartagena, real brother of all the miserable ones who were taken to work as slaves in America from Africa. But also him, in this colossal work, as St. Ignatius, was 'in actione contemplativus', very faithful, in the letter and in the spirit, to the Company Rules.

In this way, the fervour of works, together with the holiness of the authentically religious life, will make effective and fecund your apostolic action and will be a magnificent example, that will have a beneficial influence in the Church and specially in many religious institutes, that watch the Company of Jesus like a constant point of reference.

With these wishes, I invoke on your workings, a wide effusion of the Holy Spirit light and in all sincerity I give you and all the Fathers and Brothers of the Company spread world wide, my Paternal Apostolic Blessing.

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GCM 2001