Unity is the "fundamental value of the Catholic Church". It was said by the Pope, who, in the last part of the catechesis focussed once again on the figure of Saint Gregory the Great , lingered on the "relations" that the latter cultivated with the patriarchs of Antioch, Alexandria and even Constantinople. "He always took care of acknowledging and respecting their rights recalled Benedict XVI , taking note of any interference that might limit their legitimate independence". "However, concerned about the unity of the Church went on the Pope , he did not fail to take action when the rights of the See of Rome and especially the fundamental value of the unity of the Catholic Church were at stake". "In a historical context in which one could take ecclesiastic names that could hurt the sensitivity of the different Patriarchs, he settled for the name of ‘servus servorum Dei", pointed out the Holy Father, but "this did not prevent him powerfully asserting the independence of the Church from the civil power in religious matters and to consistently and bravely claim the rights of the Successor of Peter". "With this great Pope concluded Benedict XVI , the Roman See acquired extraordinary prestige all over the Christian world. Following his example, by making a significant choice, the following Popes loved to call themselves with his beloved appellation, that of ‘servus servorum Dei’".
