VATICAN - “Father Ricci is a singular case of successful synthesis of the Gospel and dialogue with the culture of the people to whom it is preached.”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – "Father Ricci is a singular case of successful synthesis of the Gospel and dialogue with the culture of the people to whom it is preached, an example of prudent balance between doctrinal clarity and prudent pastoral action," said the Holy Father Benedict XVI in addressing an audience, on May 29, of participants in the pilgrimage sponsored by the Diocese of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia and the Diocese of Marche, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the death of Father Matteo Ricci.
"The work of this missionary - said the Pope - has two sides that should not be separated: the inculturation of the Gospel and the Chinese presentation on China's culture and Western science. Often, the scientific aspects have received more interest, but we must not forget the perspective from which Fr. Ricci entered into relationship with the Chinese world and culture ... Fr. Ricci did not go to China to bring them science and Western culture, but to bring them the Gospel, to make God known ... And it was precisely as he brought the Gospel, that Fr. Ricci finds in his listeners the question of a wider confrontation, so that the meeting motivated by faith becomes a dialogue between cultures, a disinterested dialogue, free from economic or political ambition for power, lived in friendship, which makes the work of Fr. Ricci and his disciples one of the greatest and most pleasant moments in the relationship between China and the West."
The Holy Father recalled that "this great missionary” was a “true hero of proclaiming the Gospel in China in modern times after the first evangelization of Archbishop Giovanni da Montecorvino," and urged not to forget that the choices made by Father Matteo Ricci "did not depend on an abstract strategy of inculturation of the faith, but from the combined effort of the events, encounters, and experiences that he carried out, so what has been achieved was also thanks to the encounter with the Chinese. It was a meeting lived in many ways, but thoroughly through the relationship with friends and disciples, especially the four famous converts, 'pillars of the nascent Chinese Church'. "
Benedict XVI concluded his speech with these words: "May the memory of these men of God dedicated to the Gospel and the Church, their example of fidelity to Christ, their deep love for the Chinese people, the efforts of intelligence and study, their virtuous life, be an occasion for prayer for the Church in China and for the entire Chinese people, as we do every year, May 24, turning to Mary, venerated in the famous Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai. May they also serve as stimulus and encouragement to live with intensity the Christian faith in dialogue with different cultures, but in the certainty that Christ brings about true humanism that is open to God, rich in moral and spiritual values, and able to respond to the deepest desires of the human soul. Like Father Matteo Ricci, today I express my profound respect to the noble Chinese people and their ancient culture, convinced that their renewed encounter with Christianity will bring abundant fruits of good, just as it favored peaceful coexistence among peoples in the past." (SL) (Agenzia Fides 05/31/2010)