On 22 February the liturgical calendar celebrates the feast of the Chair of St Peter, to remind us of the mission as shepherd of the universal Church that Jesus entrusted to Peter and his successors. The Chair is the embodiment of the sense of unity and solidity of the Church, founded on Christ's truth and love.

Today celebrating the Chair of St Peter has a particular significance. In an age when fundamentalism and intolerance are heralded by disturbing and alarming events worldwide, it is even more important to ask ourselves what it is on which we base the values that guide our actions. Faced with the madness and ugliness being pushed into our homes and our lives every day by the media, it is no surprise that we feel disoriented and frightened by a world that seems to have lost all sense of its values. But the Lord has clearly shown us a basis for our values, by giving us the Chair of St Peter, a certain anchor of truth and peace. A chair from which His Holiness the Pope, but also the faithful, can draw strength and inspiration to act in the light of Christ by serving the Church and our brothers and sisters in the best and most effective way.