Pope: Peter, successors guard communion with Christ

Catholic News Service (www.catholicnews.com)

The pope, who was continuing a series of talks on St. Peter, made the remarks outside the prepared text he read to more than 40,000 people in St. Peter's Square.

St. Peter and his successors "must be the caretaker of communion with Christ" and also guide people toward universal communion, he said.

But steering the people toward full communion requires the same loving care of Christ "so that the net does not break" and "the great universal communion" is supported "because only together can we be with Christ who is the lord of all of us."

In his written catechesis, the pope explained the many ways Jesus considered St. Peter as head of, or first among, the apostles.

After St. Peter proclaimed his faith in Jesus as being "the Messiah, the Son of the living God," Jesus made St. Peter the rock upon which he would build his church, the pope said.

Jesus also conferred on St. Peter special authority over the church when he said, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

The terms "bound" and "loose" were juridical terms at the time, and the pope said they indicated that St. Peter was allowed to "establish or prohibit that which he deems necessary for the life of the church," which is and always will be "the church of Christ, not of Peter." Having the keys to heaven, he added, indicates St. Peter was allowed to open or close the kingdom to whomever "seemed right to him."

St. Peter's responsibility and that of his successors is to guarantee communion with Christ, "with the charity of Christ," and to help guide the church to live out this same charity every day, the pope said.

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The following is the Vatican text of Pope Benedict XVI's remarks in English at his weekly general audience June 7.

Dear brothers and sisters,

In our weekly catecheses on the mystery of the church's apostolic ministry, we have been considering the figure of the apostle Peter. The name "Peter" was given to Simon, the son of John, by Jesus himself (cf. Jn 1:42).

In the biblical tradition, a change of name often accompanied a new mission. Christ wished to give Peter a special place among his apostles, and from the beginning Peter often appears as their leader and spokesman. After he proclaimed the apostles' faith in Christ as the Son of God, Jesus made Peter the rock on which he would build his church (cf. Mt 16:18-19).

At the Last Supper the Lord prayed for Peter, that his faith would not waver and that he would confirm his brethren in faith (cf. Lk 22:31ff). Peter was the first of the apostles to see the risen Lord, and he continued to exercise a pre-eminent role in the early church, as we see in the book of Acts. The ministry which Christ entrusted to Peter is a constitutive element of the church and is closely linked to the very source of her life: the Lord's paschal mystery and its memorial in the holy Eucharist.

I greet all the English-speaking visitors, especially the many pilgrims from England, Australia, India, Japan, Canada and the United States. I also greet the delegates to the World Congress of the International Federation of Kidney Foundations. Upon all present at today's audience I cordially invoke an abundance of joy and peace in Our Lord Jesus Christ.