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POPE-AUDIENCE May-28-2008 (420 words) With photos. xxxi
Pope says despite threat of war it's possible to create peace
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Despite desperate times and the threat of war, it is possible to create real peace and have hope for the future, Pope Benedict XVI said at his weekly general audience.
During a "disastrous time, indeed, desperate," St. Gregory the Great "was a man who was immersed in God" and "knew how to create peace and give hope" to his people, Pope Benedict said.
The pope dedicated his May 28 audience talk in St. Peter's Square to this sixth-century pope and doctor of the church.
Pope Benedict said the saint's hard work, administrative abilities and fatherly concern for people's welfare meant that he often successfully faced the "grave problems" society and the church were facing, notably the constant threat of a Lombard invasion.
St. Gregory wanted to find a solution that "was truly peaceful," the pope said.
He did not share the opinion of the reigning Byzantine emperor who saw the Lombards as being "just rough individuals and predators to conquer and exterminate," the pope said.
"St. Gregory saw these people with the eyes of a good shepherd" and he brought them the Gospel message and established friendly ties with them.
The saint had a long-term vision of creating "a future peace based on reciprocal respect" and conditions in which the warring sides could live in peace and harmony, the pope said.
With his diplomatic skills, evangelizing efforts and the help of the Catholic Queen Theodelinda, the pope was able to pave the way for peace and "a stable armistice" over the years with the Lombards, he said.
Pope Benedict said the queen's indispensable help in this endeavor for peace represents "a beautiful chapter of the importance of women in church history."
The saint was "immersed in God," he said, and one could see that his yearning to be with God was "always alive deep in his soul."
This love for God was one of the reasons St. Gregory was "also always close by the people" and attended to their basic physical and spiritual needs.
He "is a guide for us in our times today," the pope said, because his love for God "shows us where the true sources of peace" spring and where true hope lies.
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Editor's Note: The Vatican's text of the pope's remarks in English is available online at: www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20080528_en.html.
The Vatican's text of the pope's remarks in Spanish is available online at: www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20080528_sp.html.
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Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
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