Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - The responsibility of Catholics to help build a nation and a world at peace and reconciled was one of the principal matters treated by Pope Benedict XVI in his address to Bishops from Côte d'Ivoire received in audience for their ad limina visit in the morning of Monday 3 April. “The crisis in which your country is living has sadly brought to light divisions which are a profound wound in relations among different components of society - said Pope Benedict XVI -. The ensuing violence has seriously undermined trust among people and the country’s stability, leaving suffering difficult to heal in its wake. Authentic peace can only be restored through forgiveness generously offered and reconciliation effectively achieved among the persons and groups involved”. To reach this goal it is necessary to continue courageously with dialogue to discuss the reasons which led to this situation and find solutions acceptable to all in justice and truth. “The path to peace is long and difficult but never impossible” the Holy Father said recalling that Catholics have an important role in this process, “because they can never be foreign to the building of a reconciled world”.
Then Pope Benedict XVI stressed the primary need to “restore trust among the disciples of Christ, despite any divergence of opinions there may be among them. In fact it is above all within the Church that authentic love must be lived in unity and reconciliation”. Christians must let themselves be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit in order to be “true witnesses of the Father’s love”. “In your diocesan Churches when faced with political or ethnic tensions, bishops, priests and consecrated persons must be for all examples of brotherhood and charity and help with the words and attitudes to build a united and reconciled society”.
Another “principal concern” mentioned by the Holy Father was initial and on-going formation of priests with fundamental space for the spiritual life: “the priest has a mission to help the faithful discover the mystery of God and be open to others. For this he is called to be an authentic searcher for God, while at the same time being close to human concerns”… “Moreover, living faithfully chastity in celibacy the priest shows that his entire being is a gift of self to God and to others”. Lay Catholics also need proper formation and grounding in the faith “to resist the call to return to ancient practices and the lure of sects and above all to bear witness to Christian hope in a complex world which faces serious new threats”. Especially catechists must be given “sound formation to enable them to carry out the mission entrusted to them and at the same time live their faith consistently”.
Pope Benedict XVI then stressed the need to continue the task of inculturating the faith so important for announcing the Gospel to all cultures, a task “which must never compromise the specificity and integrity of the faith but must help Christians understand better and live better the Gospel message in their own culture and to renounce practices in contradiction with baptismal promises”. Another important matter is the sacrament of matrimony because of widespread polygamy and unlawful unions: “Hence the need to continue efforts to help people, young people especially, understand the fact the marriage for a Christian is a life of holiness”.
Lastly the Pope congratulated the Bishops for the development of Church Movements, “which help to give Christian communities new missionary impulse” and he urged the members of these groups “to strive for an ever deeper personal meeting with Christ” and asked the bishops to exercise “illuminated and constant discernment” with regard to these ecclesial realities. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 4/4/2006, righe 45, parole 657)
