Vatican
City, 16 March 2013
(VIS) – This morning in the the Paul VI Audience Hall, the Holy
Father greeted over 6,000 journalists and those working in the media
as well as for the Holy See, accredited either permanently or
temporarily, to cover the events related to the Conclave. He
addressed them with the following words:
“Dear
friends, I am pleased, at the beginning of my ministry in the See of
Peter, to meet with you who have worked here in Rome at this very
intense period that began with the surprising announcement of my
venerated predecessor Benedict XVI, this past 11 February. I warmly
greet each of you.”
“The
role of the mass media has been continuously growing in recent
times,” he said, “so much so that it has become essential to
narrate the events of contemporary history to the world. I therefore
especially thank you for your distinguished service these past few
days—you have had a bit of work to do, haven't you?—when the eyes
of the Catholic world, and not only, were turned toward the Eternal
City, in particular to this area that has St. Peter's tomb as its
focal point. In these past few weeks you've gotten a chance to talk
about the Holy See, the Church, her rites and traditions, her faith,
and, in particular, the role of the Pope and his ministry.”
“A
particularly heart-felt thanks goes to those who have been able to
observe and present these events in the Church's history while
keeping in mind the most just perspective in which they must be read,
that of faith. Historical events almost always require a complex
reading that, at times, can also include the dimension of faith.
Ecclesial events are certainly not more complicated than political or
economic ones. But they have one particularly fundamental
characteristic: they answer to a logic that is not mainly that of, so
to speak, worldly categories, and this is precisely why it is not
easy to interpret and communicate them to a wide and varied audience.
In fact, the Church, although it is certainly also a human,
historical institution with all that that entails, does not have a
political nature but is essentially spiritual: it is the people of
God, the holy people of God who walk toward the encounter with Jesus
Christ. Only by putting oneself in this perspective can one fully
explain how the Catholic Church works.”
“Christ
is the Church's Shepherd, but His presence in history moves through
human freedom. Among these, one is chosen to serve as his Vicar,
Successor of the Apostle Peter, but Christ is the centre, the
fundamental reference, the heart of the Church! Without Him, neither
Peter nor the Church would exist or have a reason for being. As
Benedict XVI repeated often, Christ is present and leads His Church.
In everything that has happened, the protagonist is, ultimately, the
Holy Spirit. He has inspired Benedict XVI's decision for the good of
the Church; He has guided the cardinals in their prayers and in their
election. Dear friends, it is important to take due account of this
interpretive horizon, this hermeneutic, to bring the heart of the
events of these days into focus.”
“From
this is born, above all, a renewed and sincere thanks for your
efforts in these particularly challenging days, but also an
invitation to always seek to know more the Church's true nature and
the spiritual motivations that guide her and that are the most
authentic for understanding her. Rest assured that the Church, for
her part, is very attentive to your precious work. You have the
ability to gather and express the expectations and needs of our
times, to provide the elements necessary to read reality. Like many
other professions, your job requires study, sensitivity, and
experience but it bears with it a particular attention to truth,
goodness, and beauty. This makes us particularly close because the
Church exists to communicate Truth, Goodness, and Beauty 'in person'.
It should be clear that we are all called, not to communicate
ourselves, but rather this existential triad that shapes truth,
goodness, and beauty.”
“I
wish the best for you, I thank you for everything that you have done.
And I think of your work: I wish you to work fruitfully and with
serenity and to always know better the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the
reality of the Church. I entrust you to the intercession of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of evangelization. I I wish the best for
you and your families, for each of your families, and I
wholeheartedly impart to all of you the blessing.”
After
personally greeting some of the journalists present, Pope Francis, in
Spanish, concluded: “I told you I wholeheartedly imparted my
blessing. Many of you don't belong to the Catholic Church, others are
not believers. From my heart I impart this blessing, in silence, to
each of you, respecting the conscience of each one, but knowing that
each of you is a child of God: May God bless you.”