|
|
|
|
On April 15, 1959, he began lectures as a full professor of fundamental theology at the University of Bonn. From 1962-1965, he was present during all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council as a chief theological advisor, to Cardinal Josef Frings of Köln (Cologne), Germany. In 1963, he began teaching at the University of Münster. He was also a member of the International Theological Commission of the Holy See from 1969 until 1980. In 1972, he launched the Catholic theological journal Communio, a quarterly review of Catholic theology and culture. On March 24, 1977, Fr. Joseph Ratzinger was elected Archbishop of Munich by Paul VI. He was ordained to the episcopal Order on May 28, 1977, taking as his motto a phrase from 3 John 8, "Fellow Worker in the Truth." On June 27, 1977, he was elevated to Cardinal (Cardinal Priest) by Pope Paul VI. On November 25, 1981, he became the Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and ex officio the President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, and the International Theological Commission. Cardinal Ratzinger was President of the Commission for the Preparation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and after 6 years of work (1986-92) he presented the new Catechism to the Holy Father. On April 5, 1993, he was transferred to the order of Cardinal Bishops. The Holy Father approved his election as Dean of the College of Cardinals on November, 30, 2002. As Dean of the College he has presided over the College's deliberations during the Vacancy of the Holy See, after the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2005. LIKE PETER, A FISHER OF MEN”. (Pope Benedict XVI) The Church is alive because Christ is alive, because He is truly risen… My thoughts go out to all men and women of today, to believers and non-believers alike. My real program of governance is not to do my own will, not to pursue my own ideas, but to listen, together with the whole Church, to the word and the will of the Lord, to be guided by Him, so that He Himself will lead the Church at this hour of our history. I should simply like to comment on the two liturgical symbols which represent the inauguration of my Ministry: 1. The pallium, woven in lamb’s pure wool, which will be placed on my shoulders is meant to represent the lost, sick or weak sheep which the shepherd places on his shoulders and carries (from the desert) to the waters of life…There is the desert of poverty, the desert of hunger and thirst, the desert of abandonment, of loneliness, of destroyed love. There is the desert of emptiness of souls no longer aware of their dignity or the goal of human life. The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast. Therefore the earth's treasures no longer serve to build God's garden for all to live in, but they have been made to serve the powers of exploitation and destruction. The Church as a whole and all her pastors, like Christ, must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life, towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives us life, and life in abundance… When the shepherd of all humanity, the living God, Himself became a lamb, He stood on the side of the lambs, with those who are downtrodden and killed. 'I am the Good Shepherd. I lay down my life for the sheep,' Jesus says of Himself (Jn 10:14). It is not power, but love that redeems us! This is God's sign: He Himself is love. How often we wish that God would show Himself stronger, that He would strike decisively, defeating evil and creating a better world. All ideologies of power justify themselves in exactly this way, they justify the destruction of whatever would stand in the way of progress and the liberation of humanity. We suffer on account of God's patience. And yet, we need His patience. God, Who became a lamb, tells us that the world is saved by the Crucified One, not by those who crucified Him. The world is redeemed by the patience of God. It is destroyed by the impatience of man. One of the basic characteristics of a shepherd must be to love the people entrusted to him, even as he loves Christ whom he serves. 'Feed my sheep.' says Christ to Peter… Feeding means loving, and loving also means being ready to suffer. Loving means giving the sheep what is truly good, the nourishment of God's truth, of God's word, the nourishment of His presence, which He gives us in the blessed Sacrament. My dear friends , at this moment I can only say: pray for me, that I may learn to love the Lord more and more. Pray for me, that I may learn to love His flock more and more… Let us pray for one another, that the Lord will carry us and that we will learn to carry one another. 2. The second symbol used in today's liturgy… is the fisherman's ring. The Lord said to Peter: 'Do not be afraid. Henceforth you will be catching men' (Luke 5:1-11). "It is really so: the purpose of our lives is to reveal God to men. And only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him. The task of the shepherd, the task of the fisher of men, can often seem wearisome. But it is beautiful and wonderful, because it is truly a service to joy, to God's joy which longs to break into the world. Here I want to add something: both the image of the shepherd and that of the fisherman issue an explicit call to unity. “I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must lead them too, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (Jn 10:16)…Let us do all we can to pursue the path towards unity. Let us remember it in our prayer to the Lord, as we plead with Him: yes, Lord, remember Your promise. Grant that we may be one flock and one shepherd! Help us to be servants of unity! "At this point, my mind goes back to October 22, 1978, when Pope John Paul II began his ministry here in Saint Peter's Square. His words on that occasion constantly echo in my ears: 'Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!' The Pope was addressing the mighty, the powerful of this world, who feared that Christ might take away something of their power if they were to let Him in, if they were to allow the faith to be free. Yes, He would certainly have taken something away from them: the dominion of corruption, the manipulation of law and the freedom to do as they pleased. But He would not have taken away anything that pertains to human freedom or dignity, or to the building of a just society. The Pope was also speaking to everyone, especially the young. Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to Him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and He gives you everything. When we give ourselves to Him, we receive a hundred-fold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ - and you will find true life. Amen." |
|
