Homily

I once heard a bishop talking about spending time in Rome, visiting some of the ruins of the Forum, the Circus Maximus, the Palatine hill, the Coliseum and thinking about the powerful empire that dominated the Mediterranean world for several centuries. And it was here, that a fisherman from Galilee was executed by crucifixion in 64 A.D., during the reign of Emperor Nero, but it was a death that pointed to a greater King, the King of the Universe, Jesus Christ. Peter asked to be crucified upside down because he was not worthy to die in the same way as his Lord. Killed on Vatican Hill, he was also buried there.

The bishop went on to say that he thought about the Roman empire, which was so powerful 2,000 years ago, but nothing is left of it today. Where are the successors of Nero? There are none. And as is true of many other mighty empires, they have their time but then they fade away. But not the empire of St. Peter. That empire is everywhere, on every continent of this planet, alive and praying and working and building up the Kingdom of God.

Nero may not have a successor, but Peter does. His name is Leo XIV. After Peter’s profession of faith in Jesus, the Lord declared him to be “rock” and on that rock He would build His Church. With that promise, Peter would become the first visible head of Christ’s Church after the descent of the Holy Spirit and all those who took on the duties of the Bishop of Rome after him would share in that same office, right down to today. Many of the first popes were martyrs. Some of the popes were horrible, terrible sinners. Their personal lives were disgusting. Some of them were great saints. Their personal lives are inspiring. But all of them, bottom line, fulfilled their duties as the representatives of the headship of Jesus Christ over the Church.

It is our belief in the special role given to Peter by Christ our Lord that distinguishes us from all other Christian Churches and sects. It is our belief in this special divinely appointed ministry, given also to all the successors of Peter that mark us apart from the rest of the Christian world. We don't have to look far to see how terribly divided the followers of Christ are today. Just as an example there are today, in Ukraine, two different Orthodox groups that claim to be the true Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Which one is the true Church? Which group has the real jurisdiction in Ukraine? There is no mechanism to decide, there are no means in place to make a decision or help them come to an agreement, there is no one voice with special authority to help work it out. So the problem goes on and on with no unity in Orthodoxy in Ukraine and no one can absolutely claim that this or that group has genuine authority.

The modern world presents many new problems in the field of ethics and morality which did not threaten the faith of people in times past. Sometimes one Orthodox group says this thing is morally acceptable, while another group says it is not. They attempted to have a big ecumenical council several years ago to settle such issues, but a number of the Orthodox Churches refused to attend, showing how easy it is for division to damage the Church. And it also shows why Christ gave us this special office of the papacy founded on the ministry of St. Peter, to serve as a point of unity for all believers.

Many Catholics hold today views of the office of the papacy that are understandable, but incorrect. They see their pastor as the local boss, the bishop as the pastor's boss, and the pope as the bishop's boss, in a kind of hierarchy that resembles a Fortune 500 company more than the Body of Christ. Surprisingly, but maybe understandably, there are many Catholics who think the pope can make up doctrines of belief, or change the teaching of the Church because, after all, he is the top guy. This is the attitude you find in the media many times, where they speculate whether or not a pope will change the Church's teachings. The pope cannot change the teachings of Christ. His job is to teach, preach and proclaim Christ's truth, not to change or alter it, God forbid, and we thank God who promised us protection from that ever happening.

Every bishop has the fullness of the priesthood. The pope is no more a bishop than any other bishop. He's not more of a bishop than our own Bishop Benedict. But is in his function as pope, in his duties as pope to be a bishop not only for the people of the Patriarchate of Rome in Italy, but also to serve as bishop for all the Catholic bishops of the world; to help them, to support them, and, if it is necessary, to step in and take action if there is a need to do so, in order that the faith and unity of the Church is protected.

The pope is not at the head of the Church in order to tell everybody what to do and to make up all the rules. His job is to teach, support, guide and pray for not only the people of his own diocese, but all the members of the Church around the world. He represents the unity of the Church because he represents Christ as head of the Church. When you ask a Catholic who is head of the Church they will usually answer—what? But remember Christ is the head of the Catholic Church, and the pope's job is to be a visible sign of Christ's headship of the Church in the way he carries out his mission to teach, govern and sanctify the faithful.

We see how division has damaged the mission of the Church over time and how quickly and easily people and groups of people strike out on their own out of pride, or lack of understanding, or misguided faith. The Lord predicted this would happen and from the very beginnings of the Church there have been those who have tried to assert a different gospel from the one given to us by our Lord, from the gospel preached by Peter and Paul. Let us be grateful that we stand with the successor of Saint Peter, the Rock, who proclaimed Christ as Lord as did his brother in faith, Saint Paul. And let us pray for the Pope of Rome, Leo, that he might be an effective witness to the need for unity among all Christian people, and that he may serve his office in health and in faith for many, many years.

One more thought: We would not be standing here today in this church if it were not for the fearless and most charitable preaching of Saints Peter and Paul and all the other apostles.

Let us be grateful for them, and to all who have guided us in the faith.