Traditional audience in the Vatican today, given by Benedict XVI to the members of Circolo san Pietro who gave the Pontiff the Peter’s Pence they collected in the parishes and in the institutes of the diocese of Rome. The Pope mentioned the activities of the association and thanked them for their help: "what you do is somehow done on the Pope’s behalf: for instance it is on the Pope’s behalf that you take care, as far as you can, of meeting the needs of so many poor people who live in the city of Rome, of which the Successor of Peter is the bishop. Thus you want to be his arms and his heart that reach, partly through you, those who are in uncertain conditions. And I know that, over the last few years you have multiplied your efforts to respond, with generous and demanding charitable initiatives, to the needs of these people in distress. By working with admirable apostolic zeal, you give a silent although telling testimony of the Gospel". As to Peter’s Pence, Benedict XVI states that it "is a concrete aid offered to the Pope, so that he many respond to the many demands he receives from every part of the world, especially from the poor countries. Thank you therefore for this service that you provide with generosity and selflessness".
