The Church is "responsible for being constitutionally a sign and instrument of God’s peace for all peoples". This was said by the Pope, who, in the homily for Pentecost Mass, made reference to his recent apostolic journey to the United States. "I tried to act as an intermediary for this message recalled Benedict XVI by recently going to the UN headquarters to speak to the peoples’ representatives. But it not just such ‘top meetings’ that one should think of", because the Church "serves Christ’s peace above all through its ordinary presence and action amidst men, by preaching the Gospel and through the signs of love and mercy that go with it". Just one example: "the word uttered twice by Jesus Resurrected as He appeared amidst the disciples at the Last Supper on Easter evening: ‘Shalom peace be with you!’". The word "shalom", explained the Pope, " is not a simple greeting; it is much more than that: it is the gift of peace promised and conquered by Jesus at the cost of His blood, it is the fruit of His victory in the fight against the spirit of evil. Therefore it is a peace ‘not as the world gives it’ but as only God can give". Hence the Pontiff’s "thank you" for "the invaluable gift of peace, of His peace" and at the same time "the realisation of the responsibility that is associated with such gift".
