The Paschal event, the foundation for the effectiveness of the sacraments of the New Alliance, which we discussed during our last meeting, is the sublime epiphany of God’s Trinitarian life.

With the complete gift of Himself, freely and gratuitously given, the Son Incarnate expressed on the Cross total obedience to the Father’s plan of love. In consigning His Son to death, God’s patient paternity is revealed with His wish to bestow His Spirit upon mankind. With reference to this the Holy Father has written: "paradoxical mystery of love: in Christ suffers a God rejected by His own creature" (John Paul II, Letter enc. Dominum et vivificantem, n. 41).

It is to this truth of Christian revelation, the truth of a God who is essentially different from the Gods of any other religions, that we refer to today, discussing during this fifth Video–conference the subject of: "Trinitarian theology from the Second Vatican Council to our days".

The entire redeeming economy proclaims: "God and the Trinity", according to Saint Augustine’s famous expression, who also added: "If you see love, in truth you see the Trinity" (The Trinity 7,6; 8,8 XII). In the Word incarnate in fact the truth of the koinonia of the Three divine Persons is revealed, the truth of that communion of charity that is the very intimate, eternal and fruitful life of a God who is personal, One and Trine.

Protology and eschatology, soteriology and trinitarian oikonomia , are united and integrated, because the entire history of redemption preserves and manifests vestiges and indelible traces of the trinitarian work of God. The work of the creation and of redemption sees the three divine Persons committed to the realization of the same redeeming project: guiding mankind to participate in Their happiness, accompanying mankind to its encounter with Their love, foundation of the reality and truthfulness of existence. All this has been said by the Fathers with the classical formula "All goodness comes from the Father, through the Son, and comes to mankind in the Holy Spirit" (Saint Atanasius, Letters to Serpion I, 24).

In this sense, the immanent Trinity and the economic Trinity represent two aspects of the same intimate life of God: all the preparations, from Adam to Abraham, from Moses to the last of the Prophets, mark the tempo and announce the moment in which God will become visible making Himself similar to mankind and mankind similar to God, realizing in the Word Incarnate the project of the Genesis: image and alikeness find in Christ their foundations, their exemplary and final cause. This is how Saint Irenaeus witnessed the ancient tradition of the Church: "The presbyters, disciples of the Apostles, say that this is the order and the rhythm of those who shall be saved, who progress through these stages, who in the Spirit rise unto the Son, and through the Son unto the Father" (Against heresies, V 36,2).

As in the past editions, today’s video-conference will also be held live with eight countries in five continents. First there will be three conferences, each lasting twenty minutes, and then the participations lasting three minutes each. The first conference, broadcast from here in Rome, will be held by Professor Monsignor Bruno Forte, the second will be held from Manila by Professor Father N. Arevalo, and the third from Madrid by Professor Alfonso Carrasco Rouco.

The three minute interventions will be broadcast as follows: from Bogotà Professor Silvio Cajiao, from Johannesburg Professpr S. Wroblewski, from Sydney Professor Father Julian Porteous, from Taiwan Professor Louis Aldrich, from New York Professor Father Michael Hull.

In conclusion, once again from Rome, from our offices of the Congregation for the Clergy, there will be speeches by Professor Jean Galot, by Professor Father Paolo Scarafoni and finally by Professor Father Georges Cottier, Theologian of the Papal Casa.

To His Excellency Monsignor Angelo Scola, recently elected Patriarch of Venice, our warmest wishes that his new ecclesial mission may be the bearer of abundant fruits of sanctity and apostolate in that noble and ancient Seat.

To His Excellency Monsignor Rino Fisichella, the new Chancellor of the Papal Lateran University, our most sincere wishes for a ministry of faithful service to that truth from which comes the "euntes in universo mundo".