"The year that is about to end has been full of retrospective glances onto some influential dates of the recent history of the Church as well as full of events, which show us the way to go for our future progress": it was said this morning in the Vatican by the Pope, as he spoke to the prelates and the religious and lay staff of the Roman Curia, on the occasion of the traditional meeting of the end of the year, before Christmas. "Fifty years ago recalled the Pope Pope Pius XII died, fifty years ago John XXIII was appointed Pontiff. Forty years have passed since the publication of the Encyclical Humanae vitae, and thirty years since the death of its Author, Pope Paul VI". Then, Benedict XVI pointed out that, during 2008, "in the presence of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and the leaders of many other Churches and ecclesial Communities, we opened the Pauline Year, in the Basilica of S. Paolo fuori le Mura, to celebrate the birth of the Apostle of People, 2000 years ago". Among the most outstanding events of the year that is about to end, the Pope mentioned the World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, his two trips to the United States and France, and the Episcopal Synod on God’s Word".
