Vatican City, Oct 1, 2008 / 08:54 am
Continuing his reflections on St. Paul, Pope Benedict XVI dedicated today's audience to two episodes that demonstrate Paul's respect and freedom in his relations with Peter and the other Apostles. The Holy Father reminded the faithful that only sincere dialogue, open to the truth of the Gospel, was able to guide the Church's way.
Speaking to the 20,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict began his speech by noting that every Council and Synod of the Church is an "event of the Holy Spirit." St. Luke, shows us this reality when he recounts the first Council of the Church by introducing the Apostles' letter to the Christian communities: "It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us."
The assembly of Jerusalem, the Pope explained, was a response to the problem of pagan followers of Jesus Christ and whether they were free from the Mosaic Law, that is, from the observance of the necessary norms to be just men. On that occasion, Paul laid out for the Twelve Apostles his gospel of freedom from the Law. "Christ is our justice and all those who conform to him are 'just,'" Pope Benedict summarized.
"If," he went on, "for Luke the Council of Jerusalem expressed the action of the Spirit, for Paul it represented the decisive recognition of the freedom that all the participants shared: freedom from the obligations arising from circumcision and from the Law."