‘May the horror of genocide never again be inflicted upon any people,’ says the pope
In today’s general audience, Leo XIV cited the "painful remembrance" evoked by International Holocaust Remembrance Day. He prayed to God for "a world without antisemitism and prejudice”, stressing that the community of nations should “remain ever vigilant.” In his catechesis on the relationship between Scripture and Tradition, he stressed that the Word of God “is not fossilized but [. . .] is a living and organic reality”.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – At the end of today's general audience in the Paul VI Hall, as a non-stop downpour fell on Rome, Leo XIV joined in the "painful remembrance" evoked by the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was observed yesterday, 27 January.
The horrific genocide that marked last century “brought death to millions of Jews and to many other people,” said the pontiff, who called to God for “the gift of a world without antisemitism and without prejudice, oppression, and persecution of any human creature.”
In a strong appeal, he urged the community of nations of the world to “remain ever vigilant. May the horror of genocide never again be inflicted upon any people and that a society founded on mutual respect and the common good may be built”.
The pontiff’s catechesis, given at the opening of today's audience, addressed the "relationship between Scripture and Tradition."
Pursuing the cycle inaugurated with the new year on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Leo XIV continued his in-depth analysis of the Constitution Dei Verbum, starting with two Gospel moments, namely the “discourse-testament” Jesus addressed to the disciples in the Cenacle, and the appearance of the risen Jesus to the apostles on the hills of Galilee.
“In both of these scenes, the intimate connection between the words uttered by Christ and their dissemination throughout the centuries is evident” the pontiff explained.
This is also affirmed in Dei Verbum, one of the main documents of the Second Vatican Council, whereby “the Tradition which comes from the Apostles develops in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit.”
“Ecclesial Tradition branches out throughout history through the Church, which preserves, interprets and embodies the Word of God,” Leo explained, something reiterated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
“The Word of God, then, is not fossilized, but rather it is a living and organic reality that develops and grows in Tradition,” Leo XIV noted. “Thanks to the Holy Spirit, Tradition understands it in the richness of its truth and embodies it in the shifting coordinates of history.”
Leo cited The Development of Christian Doctrine by John Henry Newman, in which the author states that, “that Christianity, both as a communal experience and as a doctrine, is a dynamic reality”.
He followed this with the words Saint Paul addressed to Timothy: “guard what has been entrusted to you,” adding that “The dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum echoes this Pauline text”.
“‘Deposit’ is a term that, in its original meaning, is juridical in nature and imposes on the depositary the duty to preserve the content, which in this case is the faith, and to transmit it intact.”
At present, the pontiff said, it “is still in the hands of the Church and all of us, in our various ecclesial ministries, must continue to preserve it in its integrity, as a lodestar for our journey through the complexity of history and existence.”
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