"As a genuine prophet, John gave a testimony of the truth without compromises": it was the Pope who spoke, yesterday, about the Baptist, on the day that celebrates his birth, before he introduced the Angelus in Saint Peter’s Square. John’s life, said Benedict XVI, "is all oriented to Christ, like that of His mother, Mary. John the Baptist was the forerunner, the ‘voice’ sent to announce the Word made flesh". So, "celebrating his birth means in fact celebrating Christ". As well as being "the first ‘witness’ of Jesus, as he had received such indication from Heaven", John, said the Pope, "denounced the breaches of God’s Commandments, even when it was the powerful who breached them. So, when he charged Herod and Herodias with adultery, he paid for it with his life, sealing in martyrdom his service to Christ, who is Truth in person". "We invoke his intercession along with that of the Most Holy Mary he concluded that even today may the Church remain faithful to Christ and bravely testify to His truth and His love for everyone". After the Angelus, Benedict XVI mentioned that yesterday Italy celebrated the Pope’s charity day, thanking the faithful "for the prayer and sympathetic support with which you take part in the evangelising and charitable work of the Successor of Peter all over the world".
