- Carol Glatz, Vatican City, CNS. Archbishops throughout the world can provide by their example the fraternity and unity in diversity that the entire Catholic Church needs today, Pope Leo XIV said this Sunday, June 29.
"The whole church needs fraternity, which must be present in all our relationships. Whether it is between laity and priests, priests and bishops, bishops and the pope," he said during his homily at Mass on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29.
"Fraternity is also necessary in the pastoral care, ecumenical dialogue and friendly relations that the church wishes to maintain with the world," the Pope said.
"Let us make an effort, then, to turn our differences into a workshop of unity and communion, of fraternity and reconciliation. So that everyone in the church, each with his or her personal history, can learn to walk side by side," he said.
Caring for the flock entrusted to you by the Pope
The feast day celebration in St. Peter's Basilica included the traditional blessing of the pallium, the woolen band that the heads of archdioceses wear around their shoulders over their Mass vestments. And it symbolizes an archbishop's unity with the pope and his authority and responsibility to care for the flock entrusted to him by the pope.
Pope Leo revived a tradition begun by St. John Paul II in 1983 by personally placing the pallium around the shoulders of newly appointed archbishops.
Pope Francis had changed the ceremony beginning in 2015. The late pope had invited the new archbishops to concelebrate Mass with him and be present for the blessing of the palliums, as a way of underlining their bond of unity and communion with him. But the actual imposition of the pallium was done by the nuncio and took place in the archdiocese of the archbishop in the presence of his faithful and bishops from neighboring dioceses.
Leo XIV again imposed the palliums. This time to 54 archbishops
The Office for Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff issued a formal notification on June 11 that Pope Leo would preside at the Eucharistic celebration on June 29. In addition, he would bless the palliums and impose them on the new metropolitan archbishops.
According to the Vatican, 54 archbishops from more than two dozen countries who were appointed in the past 12 months received the palliums. Eight of them were from the United States: Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington and Archbishop W. Shawn McKnight of Kansas City, Kansas. Archbishop Michael G. McGovern of Omaha, Nebraska, and Archbishop Robert G. Casey of Cincinnati. Archbishop Joe S. Vasquez of Galveston-Houston, and Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob of Milwaukee. Archbishop Richard G. Henning of Boston; and Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger of Detroit.
The Pope blessed the palliums after they were brought from the crypt over the tomb of St. Peter. Each archbishop then approached Pope Leo by the altar and knelt or bowed his head as the Pope placed the pallium on his shoulders. Each shared an embrace with the Pope and a few words.
St. Peter and St. Paul: ecclesial communion and vitality in faith
In his homily, the Pope reflected on St. Peter and St. Paul: two saints who were martyred on different days and yet share the same feast day.
St. Peter and St. Paul were two very different people with different backgrounds, faith journeys and ways of evangelizing, Pope Leo said. They disagreed on "the proper way to deal with Gentile converts," and would debate the issue.
And yet they were brothers in the Holy Spirit, and both shared "a single destiny, that of martyrdom, which united them definitively to Christ," he said.
Their stories have "much to say to us, the community of the Lord's disciples," he said, especially regarding the importance of "ecclesial communion and the vitality of faith.
"The story of Peter and Paul shows us that the communion to which the Lord calls us is a unison of voices and personalities that does not eliminate anyone's freedom," Pope Leo said.
"Concordia apostolorum'"
"Our patron saints followed different paths, had different ideas and sometimes argued among themselves with evangelical frankness. However, this did not prevent them from living the 'concordia apostolorum,' that is, a living communion in the Spirit, a fruitful harmony in diversity," he said.
"It is important that we learn to experience communion in this way, as unity within diversity, so that the diverse gifts, united in the one confession of faith, can advance the preaching of the Gospel," Pope Leo said.
St. Peter and St. Paul challenge Catholics to follow his example of fraternity and to think about "the vitality of our faith," he said. "As disciples, we can always risk falling into a routine, a rut, a tendency to follow the same old pastoral plans without experiencing inner renewal and a willingness to respond to new challenges."
"Does our life of faith retain energy and vitality?"
The two apostles were open to change, to new events, encounters and concrete situations in the life of their communities, the Pope said, and were always ready "to consider new approaches to evangelization in response to the problems and difficulties raised by our brothers and sisters in the faith."
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" and he continues to ask them today, "challenging us to examine whether our life of faith retains its energy and vitality, and whether the flame of our relationship with the Lord continues to burn brightly," the Pope said.
"If we want to prevent our identity as Christians from being reduced to a relic of the past, as Pope Francis often reminded us, it is important to go beyond a tired and stagnant faith," he said. And he asked, "Who is Jesus Christ for us today? What place does he have in our lives and in the life of the church? How can we witness to this hope in our daily lives and proclaim it to those we meet?"
"Brothers and sisters, the exercise of discernment born of these questions can allow our faith and the faith of the church to be constantly renewed and to find new ways and new approaches to preach the Gospel. This, together with communion, must be our greatest desire," he said.
Ministry at the service of unity
Following a long tradition, a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, led by Orthodox metalpolitan Emmanuel Adamakis of Chalcedon, was present at the Mass. Also present were members of the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
The Pope and the Orthodox Metropolitan also descended the stairs below the main altar to pray at the tomb of St. Peter.
"I would like to confirm on this solemn feast that my episcopal ministry is at the service of unity, and that the Church of Rome is committed by the blood shed by Saints Peter and Paul to lovingly serve the communion of all the churches," Pope Leo said before praying the Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square.
"Jesus never calls just once."
"The New Testament does not hide the errors, conflicts and sins of those whom we revere as the greatest apostles. Their greatness was shaped by forgiveness," he said. "The risen Lord came to them more than once, to put them back on the right path. Jesus never calls only once. That's why we can always wait. The Jubilee is itself a reminder of this."
Indeed, "those who follow Jesus must walk the path of the beatitudes, where poverty of spirit, meekness, hunger and thirst for righteousness and peacemaking are often met with opposition and even persecution," he said. "Yet God's glory shines on his friends and continues to mold them along the way, moving from conversion to conversion."
At the Angelus: "there is an ecumenism of blood".
In the prayer of the AngelusPope Leo XIV noted: "Today is the great feast of the Church of Rome, born of the witness of the apostles Peter and Paul and made fruitful by their blood and that of many martyrs".
"Today there are still Christians throughout the world whom the Gospel makes generous and daring even at the cost of their lives," he added. "There is thus an ecumenism of blood, an invisible and profound unity among the Christian Churches, which in spite of this do not yet live full and visible communion. I wish therefore to confirm on this solemn feast that my episcopal service is service to unity and that the Church of Rome is committed by the blood of Saints Peter and Paul to serve, in love, communion among all the Churches."
"May the Church be a home and a school of communion in this wounded world".
Further on, the Pope added that "the unity of the Church and among the Churches, sisters and brothers, is nourished by forgiveness and mutual trust, which begins with our families and our communities. Indeed, if Jesus trusts us, we too can trust one another in his name. To apostles Peter and Paultogether with the Virgin Mary, intercede for us, so that, in this wounded world, the Church may be a home and a school of communion".
In conclusion, he assured his prayers for the community of the Lycée 'Barthélémy Boganda' of Bangui, in the Central African Republic, which is in mourning for the tragic accident that has caused numerous deaths and injuries among the students. May the Lord comfort the families and the entire community".
