Is the Pope required to proclaim Christ at all times?

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anon48198893

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Good afternoon. I have noticed that when Pope Francis addresses multifaith gatherings, he does not consistently proclaim Christ’s name. For example, please read his speech at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in 2015; not once is Christ’s name mentioned. Is this acceptable? Thank you.
 
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Shouldn’t it be normative for the Vicar of Christ to proclaim Christ and His Truth?
 
" In opposing every attempt to create a rigid uniformity, we can and must build unity on the basis of our diversity of languages, cultures and religions, and lift our voices against everything which would stand in the way of such unity. "

This quote is baffling. We build “unity” based upon, among other aspects, “our diversity… of religions.”
 
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Not proclaiming Christ’s name does not equal not proclaiming Christ. I don’t see a problem with the speech.
 
So, what did the Pope hope to accomplish with this, and other, speeches?

How did he advance the Gospel, sans mentioning the very “reason for the season,” Jesus?

I find it all troubling.
 
I’m just curious: what is the ultimate purpose of the Pope, any Pope?
 
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I think the burden of proof requires something to be proven first.
 
There’s an old adage I first read on these forums - “Preach the Gospel. When necessary, use words”. The Pope’s very presence helped to advance the Gospel. His speech acknowledging and addressing the pain people have felt helped at advance the Gospel. He spoke of wanting peace, justice, reconciliation. He prayed.
 
" Pope represents Christ’s love and concern for the world. He is the prime witness to faith who teaches and explains Christ’s message to contemporary audiences." “This includes both preaching [= announcing the message to non-Christians] and teaching [= explaining an element of Christ’s message in today’s context].” From ChurchAuthority.org, a website maintained by the Wijnggaards Institute for Catholic Research.

Is this goal of Prime Witness successfully accomplished when the Pope doesn’t even recite Christ’s name or message?
 
I’m curious if situation occurred with all post-Vatican II Pontiffs? I understand that they have greatly expanded their addresses to secular and multifaith audiences since the closing of the Council.
 
Why limit it to post-VII? Look up, if it is possible, how previous popes addressed civic, political, or multifaith assemblies. Pope Francis in this address in the presence of other religious leaders is obviously speaking from the common ground. He has chosen to set aside differences for the moment in order to plead and pray for peace. There is some wisdom in that.
 
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anon48198893 said:
Shouldn’t it be normative for the Vicar of Christ to proclaim Christ and His Truth?
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The Holy Father does proclaim Christ .

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It is what is is. One works and builds upon what there is,reality. As it is,
And if you want…there is a Vatican web page with all his speeches and there are his daily homilies, twits , and so on.
As from the other Popes.
And also, normally , at this level of conversation , when they are writing together a document like this, it is because they know about each other and what they represent and believe in.
It is an ongoing dialogue also as a whole that started long ago.
There are letters from different Popes to different brothers and sisters of different faiths.
Most you will find either in Vatican site or Vatican news or probably searching into your USSCB web page,
There is a whole lot to read, probably more than one has time to.
You will probably understand a bit more after doing a bit of that reading.
 
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BartholomewB said:
Plenty of people, and not only Catholics, are asking whether “interfaith meetings” serve any useful purpose at all.
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Sure they do. Meet people where they are. Walk with them toward the Lord.

In today’s Gospel, the apostles abandoned their boats and nets to follow Jesus. Why doesn’t the average Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist today abandon their religion and follow Jesus? Maybe it’s because they haven’t personally encountered Jesus.

Yeah, they’ve heard the name of Jesus. Perhaps they’ve been told about Jesus. What more do they need? Maybe they need that personal encounter. I think that can happen through interfaith dialogue.
 
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Doesn’t the Pope always proclaim Christ in what he says and does by nature of his station as Vicar of Christ? It seems less that we should be asking if he should proclaim Christ and more if he’s doing so well.
anon48198893 said:
This quote is baffling. We build “unity” based upon, among other aspects, “our diversity… of religions.”
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The full context of what you quoted is a call for peace and reconciliation. I doubt the Pope would say that it’s OK to not pursue peace and reconciliation just because you’re Muslim.
 
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Beryllos said:
Maybe they need that personal encounter. I think that can happen through interfaith dialogue.
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But is that the outcome that interfaith meetings achieve in practice? My concern is that they tend to reinforce the impression that our present-day culture is returning, or has returned, to the point in the history of the Roman Empire at which, according to Gibbon, all religions were seen by the population at large as equally true, by the educated classes as equally false, and by the authorities as equally useful.
 
A good point. For people today, in any of the three classes you mentioned, seeing Pope Francis on television or in the news is not a personal encounter as it was in the calling of Isaiah, Saul, and Simon.
 
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