VATICAN CITY (CNS) Pope Benedict XVI said the papacy is a role of authority and service in the Church, and he asked for the prayers of Catholics so that he can accomplish the tasks entrusted to him. The pope made the remarks to pilgrims at his Sunday blessing at the Vatican Feb. 22, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter. He said the chair of St. Peter "symbolizes the authority of the bishop of Rome, who is called to carry out a special service for the whole people of God."
He said the unique ministry of the pope was confirmed by the Second Vatican Council, which spoke of papal primacy as presiding over particular churches in a universal communion of charity. Part of the pope’s role is to protect legitimate differences while assuring that such differences do not hinder unity, he said.
Pope Benedict, noting the approach of Lent, also spoke of the need for penitence. He said the Gospel reading about the paralytic cured by Jesus showed that Christ had the power to forgive sins as well as effect physical healing.
"Sin is a type of paralysis of the spirit from which only the power of God’s merciful love can free us, allowing us to pick ourselves up and resume the path of good," he said. He asked Mary to open people’s hearts to conversion during this year’s Lenten season.
The pope was to celebrate an Ash Wednesday liturgy Feb. 25 in Rome, and make a weeklong Lenten retreat in early March.
