The Pope – The Center of Unity<br/><br/>

Welcome our new pope – Benedict XVI!<br/><br/>

“Just as in the Gospel, the Lord so disposing, St. Peter and the other apostles constitute one apostolic college, so in a similar way the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are joined together” (Lumen Gentium, 22).  Therefore, the Roman Pontiff, as the successor of Peter, “is the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of both the bishops and of the faithful” (Lumen Gentium, 23).<br/><br/>

Jesus established the Church to carry on His mission of teaching, sanctifying and healing.  Consecrated men and women bear the responsibility to proclaim the Gospel, sanctify the Church through prayers and Sacraments, and to manage the Church through encouragement, good deeds and examples.
  
In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as “the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy.” Chosen together, they were also sent out together, and their fraternal unity would be at the service of the fraternal communion of all the faithful: they would reflect and witness to the communion of the divine person.  (CCC 877)<br/><br/>

During his 26 years of papacy, Pope John Paul II continuously promoted unity, especially interfaith harmony.  Let us pray for our newly elected Pope Benedict XVI.  May he bring Jesus’ ideal – Let all be one – into reality.