HUM 325 Week 6

The Pope starts his Easter and Christmas Papal address with “To Rome and to the World…” The blog for this week is, how, and why, is the Church both Roman and Universal? I think that this concept goes along with how Italians think that everything is and/but, while Americans think everything is either/or.

Would it really be fair to Catholics around the world if the Pope addressed just the Roman Catholics in religious ceremonies, while there are tons of Catholics around the world? I think not. I feel that part of the reason why the Pope addresses things to Rome and the world is because of this concept of and/but.

Barzini tells us that “Rome was also God’s seat on earth, the rock on which Christ has established His Church, the centre of a vast spiritual Empire of which all Christians had been subjects…” The way I look at this statement is that Rome is where God established ‘His Church,’ clearly, but at the same time, it is for all of his Christian followers. ‘His Church’ is not only for the Roman Christians, but also for the Christians around the world who follow, and believe in him.

Not only that, but as Peter was traveling spreading the word or Christianity, he came to find that Rome was the center of the world at that time being, as well as “God’s seat on earth,” as mentioned earlier. Therefore, seeing as the Church was started in Rome, and Rome is the home of the Church and the Pope, it is only proper for him to start his East and Christmas Papal address with “To Rome and to the World.”