Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “ The Church in your countries has made remarkable progress since the arrival of missionaries in the region over four hundred years ago, and their return to Mongolia just fifteen years ago. This growth is due in no small part to the outstanding witness of the Korean Martyrs and others throughout Asia who remained steadfastly faithful to Christ and his Church.” The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI said this in his address to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, received in audience on Monday 3 December, together with the Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), on the occasion of their five yearly ad limina visit.
The Holy Father said Bishops' reports “attest to the lure of materialism and the negative effects of a secularist mentality. When men and women are drawn away from the Lord’s dwelling place they inevitably wander in a wilderness of individual isolation and social fragmentation”. He told the Bishops that to be "effective shepherds of hope you must strive to ensure that the bond of communion which unites Christ to all the baptised is safeguarded and experienced as the heart of the mystery of the Church”. Benedict XVI then underlined that the faith is “ is sustained and nurtured by an ongoing encounter with Jesus Christ who comes to men and women through the Church… The gateway to this mystery of communion with God is of course Baptism”. Then he dwelt on the “profound importance of this sacrament” and the need for “ joyous mystagogy” for the numerous adults received into the Church in the region every year fail to maintain a commitment to "the full participation in liturgical celebrations which is … a right and obligation by reason of … Baptism”.
With regard to the Bishops' pastoral programmes highlighting the importance of Sunday Mass the Pope said the programmes “should be infused with a sound and stimulating catechesis on the Eucharist” to promote a “ renewed understanding of the authentic dynamism of Christian life". Benedict XVI then said he joined the Bishops " in urging the laity - and in a special way the young people in your region - to explore the depth and breadth of our Eucharistic communion. Gathered every Sunday in the Lord’s House, we are consumed by Christ’s love and truth and empowered to bring hope to the world.”
The Holy Father asked the Bishops to express his appreciation to men and women religious for “ the prophetic contribution they are making to ecclesial life in your nations”, and he urged the Bishops to ensure that religious are “ welcomed and supported in their efforts to contribute to the common task of spreading God’s Kingdom”. Sharing with lay Catholics the living treasures of their spirituality, religious can make an important contribution to promote “vibrancy of ecclesial life”, and help to "dispel the notion that communion means mere uniformity as they witness to the vitality of the Holy Spirit enlivening the Church in every generation”.
In the last part of his address, Pope Benedict XVI once again underlined the necessity to promote marriage and family life: “ Your efforts in this field stand at the heart of the evangelisation of culture and contribute much to the well-being of society as a whole”. The Pope said this vital apostolate, in which many priests and Religious are already engaged, rightly belongs also to the laity: “ The growing complexity of matters regarding the family raises the question of providing appropriate training for those committed to working in this are”. “ Lastly, dear Brothers, - the Pope said - I ask you to convey to your people my particular gratitude for their generosity to the universal Church. Both the growing number of missionaries and the contributions offered by the laity are an eloquent sign of their selfless spirit. I am also aware of the practical gestures of reconciliation undertaken for the well-being of those in North Korea. I encourage these initiatives and invoke Almighty God’s providential care upon all North Koreans.” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 4/12/2007; righe 45, parole 609)
