Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Pope: "May the friendship of Jesus be with you in the New Year"

» 12/30/2009 14:34
VATICAN

At the last general audience of 2009, Benedict XVI speaks of Peter Lombard, a twelfth century theologian. His "sentences" give the Pope the opportunity to urge theologians to "keep in mind the whole vision of Christian doctrine against today's risks of fragmentation and devaluation of individual truth."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "May the friendship of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you in this New Year that is beginning”; this was Benedict XVI’s wish for 2010, addressed today to six thousand people at the last general audience of the year.

A gathering, entertained by choirs, including one of young people from Cologne, dressed as characters from the nativity scene, during which the Pope stressed the need to preserve the unity of doctrine, urging "theologians and priests to always keep the vision of the whole Christian doctrine against today's risks of fragmentation and devaluation of individual truths".

An exhortation that Benedict XVI drew by illustrating the figure of Peter Lombard, a theologian of the twelfth century, author of "sentences" which for centuries have been adopted as a textbook in all schools of theology. There is little information about the character: he was born in Novara between XI and XII, in territory then the Lombards, which explains his name. Born into a family of modest means he was able to study for free in France. "Even in the Middle Ages - commented the pope - not only the nobles or rich were able to study and gain important roles in the church and society, but also people of humble origins, such as Gregory VII, the pope who stood up to the Emperor Henry IV or Maurice de Sully, archbishop of Paris who built Notre Dame and was the son of a poor farmer”.
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See also:

From Catholic World News, "Pope speaks on Peter Lombard, sacramental realism"

From the Vancouver Province, "God created women to be men's companion: Pope"

posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 12:37 PM