"Only a sincere dialogue, open to the truth of the Gospel, could direct the path of the Church". It was said by the Pope, who, during today’s audience, quoted a passage from the Letter to the Romans, in which Saint Paul explains that "the kingdom of God is not a matter of food or drink, but is justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit". Then, lingering on the "incident of Antioch", in Syria, which "shows the inner freedom Paul enjoyed", Benedict XVI illustrated the two different views of Saint Peter and Saint Paul on "how to behave at communion between believers of Judaic origin and the Gentiles". In fact, pointed out the Pope, "the concerns of Paul on one side and those of Peter and Barnabas, on the other side, were different; for the latter, the separation from the pagans was a way to protect and not outrage the believers who came from Judaism; for Paul, instead, it was a risk of misunderstanding the universal salvation in Christ offered to both pagans and Judeans". "Most likely commented the Pontiff Peter’s and Paul’s prospects were different: for the former, not losing the Judeans who had joined the Gospel, for the latter not to diminish the saving value of Christ’s death for all believers". The incident of Antioch, however, "turned out to be as much of a lesson for Peter as for Paul".
