Pope Benedict XVI Blog

The Resurrection is crucial for understanding Paul’s teachings, Benedict explains

Vatican City, Oct 22, 2008 / 12:07 pm (CNA).- In the presence of 17,000 people at St. Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the necessity of the Resurrection “in the mystery of salvation” to understand the teaching of St. Paul.

For Paul, the Pope began, Christ "is the principle for understanding the world and discovering the path of history." Unlike the Gospel writers, Paul was “not concerned with narrating the individual episodes of Jesus' life," the Holy Father said, explaining that instead, he “sought to sustain the nascent communities” by concentrating on “announcing Jesus Christ as the 'Lord,' living and present, now among His people."

The signature mark of St. Paul’s teaching is the announcement of the “central fact of ... the death and resurrection of Jesus as the culmination of His earthly journey and as the root of the subsequent development of all Christian faith, of all the reality of the Church,” Pope Benedict explained.
more...

posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 2:25 PM