VATICAN - Benedict XVI encourages acceptance of the teaching of the Apostle Paul, who “compares the Church to the human body, made up of members very different one from the other but all indispensable to its correct functioning. In the same way, this orchestra and choir are formed of various instruments and voices which, in harmony together, produce a melody sweet to the ear and to the spirit.”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – In the evening of October 13, in the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls the Holy Father attended a concert given by the Fondazione pro Musica e Arte Sacra, during the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, in the Year of St. Paul. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, played the sixth symphony of Anton Bruckner. At the end of the presentation, the Holy Father gave a brief speech to those present, thanking those who “organized and promoted this beautiful evening with this musical event of such great caliber.”
“In the sixth symphony,” the Pope said in his speech, “we are revealed the faith of its composer, capable of using his compositions to transmit a religious view of life and history. We could say that Anton Bruckner, drawing from the Austrian Baroque and the Schubertian tradition of popular song, brought the romantic process of interiorisation to its extreme consequences. Listening to this famous composition in the basilica dedicated to St. Paul, we are spontaneously drawn to a passage from the First Letter to the Corinthians in which the Apostle, having spoken of the diversity and unity of charisms, compares the Church to the human body, made up of members very different one from the other but all indispensable to its correct functioning. In the same way, this orchestra and choir are formed of various instruments and voices which, in harmony together, produce a melody sweet to the ear and to the spirit. Dear brothers and sisters, let us take up this teaching which we see confirmed in the splendid performance of this music we have listened to.”
At the end, the Pope expressed “a special thought to the Synod Fathers and all those present,” especially thanking the Cardinal Archpriest Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, “for the many religious and cultural activities planned for this Year of St. Paul.” Benedict XVI later expressed hope that the “Basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, where the mortal remains of the Apostle of the Gentiles are conserved, may truly become a fulcrum for liturgical, spiritual and artistic initiatives that aim to rediscover his missionary work and theological ideas.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 14/10/2008)