On 2nd July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI taught at the general audience held in St Peter’s Square that the world and culture in which St. Paul lived and preached is not so different from that of today.  This catechesis was the first in a series of teachings for the newly inaugurated Pauline Jubilee Year, which runs until June 29, 2009.

“In this, our first meeting,” the Holy Father said, “I would like to pause to consider the environment in which he lived and worked. Such a topic would seem to take us far from our time, given that we must insert ourselves in the world of 2,000 years ago. And yet, this is only apparently and partly true, because it can be verified that in many ways, the socio-cultural environment of today is not so different than that of back then.”