Pontiff Gives Thanks for Chance to Do Charity

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 27, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is expressing his gratitude for a donation to the Holy See, by which he is able to carry out "concrete and active charity."

The Pope affirmed this today in a brief address to members of the "Pro Petri Sede" and "Etrennes Pontificales" charitable associations. The groups hail from Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. They make an annual contribution to the Holy See.

"The Pauline year," the Holy Father said, "offers us the occasion, through meditation on the word of the Apostles to the Gentiles, to be acutely conscious that the Church is a Body, through which the very life of Jesus circulates -- hence the fact that every member of the ecclesial body is united in a very profound way to all the others, and cannot ignore their needs."

He affirmed that "nourished by the same Eucharistic Bread, the baptized cannot be indifferent when bread is lacking on men's tables."

The Pontiff thanked the charitable groups for entrusting their collection to the Successor of Peter, saying that in this way, "you enable him to exercise concrete and active charity, which is the sign of his solicitude for all the Churches, for all the baptized, and for all men."

"I sincerely thank you on behalf of all those persons who will be sustained by your generosity in the struggle against the evils that threaten their dignity," he continued. "By combating poverty we give greater possibility to peace so that it will enter and take root in hearts."

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