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| VISITA "AD
LIMINA APOSTOLORUM" DEI PRESULI DELLA CONFERENZA EPISCOPALE
DI INGHILTERRA E GALLES, 23.10.2003 |
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Pubblichiamo di seguito il discorso
che il Santo Padre Giovanni Paolo II ha rivolto agli Ecc.mi Presuli
della Conferenza Episcopale di Inghilterra e Galles, incontrati
questa mattina e ricevuti nei giorni scorsi, in separate udienze,
in occasione della Visita "ad Limina Apostolorum":
• DISCORSO DEL SANTO PADRE
Your Eminence,
Dear Brother Bishops,
1. "Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord" (1 Tim 1:2). With these words of greeting I
cordially welcome you, the Bishops of England and Wales. I thank
Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor for the good wishes and kind sentiments
expressed on your behalf. I warmly reciprocate them and I assure
you of my prayers for yourselves and those entrusted to your pastoral
care. In "coming to see Peter" (Gal 1:18) you strengthen
in faith, hope and charity your bonds of communion with the Bishop
of Rome. Your first visit ad Limina Apostolorum of this new millennium
is an occasion to affirm your commitment to make the face of Christ
increasingly more visible within the Church and society through
consistent witness to the Gospel that is Jesus Christ himself (cf.
Ecclesia in Europa, 6).
2. England and Wales, despite being steeped in a rich Christian
heritage, today face the pervasive advance of secularism. At the
root of this situation is the attempt to promote a vision of humanity
apart from God and removed from Christ. It is a mentality which
exaggerates individualism, sunders the essential link between freedom
and truth, and consequently destroys the mutual bonds which define
social living. This loss of a sense of God is often experienced
as "the abandonment of man" (ibid., 9). Social disintegration,
threats to family life, and the ugly spectres of racial intolerance
and war, leave many men and women, and especially the young, feeling
disoriented and at times even without hope. Consequently it is not
just the Church which encounters the disturbing effects of secularism
but civic life as well.
Jesus Christ, alive in his Church, enables us to overcome the bewilderment
of our age. As Bishops we are called to remain vigilant in our duty
to proclaim with clear and passionate certainty that Jesus Christ
is the source of hope; a hope that does not disappoint (cf. Rom
5:5). The faithful of England and Wales look to you with great expectation
to preach and teach the Gospel which dispels the darkness and illuminates
the way of life. Daily proclamation of the Gospel and a life of
holiness is the vocation of the Church in every time and place.
This mandate, which manifests the Church’s deepest identity,
requires the utmost solicitude. The phenomena of secularism and
widespread religious indifference, the decline in vocations to the
priesthood and Religious Life, and the grave difficulties experienced
by parents in their attempts to catechize their own children, all
attest to the vital need for Bishops to embrace their fundamental
mission to be authentic and authoritative heralds of the Word (cf.
Pastores Gregis, 29). For this to be achieved Bishops, called by
Christ to be teachers of the truth, "have the obligation of
fostering and safeguarding the unity of faith and of upholding the
discipline which is common to the whole Church" (Lumen Gentium,
23). It is by fidelity to the ordinary Magisterium of the Church,
by strict adherence to the discipline of the universal Church, and
by positive statements which clearly instruct the faithful, that
a Bishop preserves God’s people from deviations and defections
and guarantees them the objective possibility of professing the
true faith without error (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church,
890).
3. Dear Brothers, your reports clearly indicate that you have taken
to heart my profound conviction that the new millennium demands
a "new impetus in Christian living" (Novo Millennio Ineunte,
29). If the Church is to satisfy the thirst of men and women for
truth and authentic values upon which to build their lives no effort
can be spared in finding effective pastoral initiatives to make
Jesus Christ known.
In the midst of recurring impulses to division, suspicion and opposition,
the great challenge facing us is to make the Church the home and
school of communion (cf. ibid., 43), recognizing that she is "a
people brought into unity from the unity of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit" (Lumen Gentium, 4). Thus it is of great
importance that the catechetical and religious education programmes
which you have introduced should continue to deepen the faithful’s
understanding and love of Christ and his Church. Authentic pedagogy
on prayer, persuasive catechesis on the meaning of liturgy and the
importance of the Sunday Eucharist, and promotion of the frequent
practice of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (cf. Congregation for
the Clergy: Instruction The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish
Community, 27) will do much to meet this pastoral goal and enkindle
in the hearts of your people the joy and peace deriving from participation
in the Church’s life and mission.
4. Integral to the success of your programmes of pastoral renewal
is the role of priestly ministry. The Church needs humble and holy
priests whose daily journey of conversion will inspire the entire
People of God to the holiness to which it is called (cf. Lumen Gentium,
9). Firmly grounded in a personal relationship of deep communion
and friendship with Jesus the Good Shepherd, the priest not only
will find sanctification for himself but will become a model of
holiness for the people he is called to serve. Assure your priests
that the Christian faithful – indeed society at large –
depend upon and are greatly appreciative of them. I am confident
in this regard that you will show them your special affection by
accompanying them as fathers and brothers along all the stages of
their ministerial life (cf. Pastores Gregis, 47).
Similarly, Religious Priests, Brothers and Sisters need to be encouraged
as they too seek to enrich ecclesial communion by their cooperative
presence and ministry in your Dioceses. As a gift to the Church,
the consecrated life lies at her very heart, manifesting the deep
beauty of the Christian vocation to selfless, sacrificial love.
Your recent endeavours to promote a "culture of vocation"
will certainly become a welcome sign of the treasure of the various
states of ecclesial life which together exist "that the world
may believe" (Jn 17:21).
As a priority in your response to the call for a new evangelization,
I am heartened to learn of your resolute efforts to bring further
energy to youth ministry. The growth of groups such as "Youth
2000" and the development of university chaplaincy programmes
are evidence of the desire of many young people to share in the
Church’s life. As ministers of hope, Bishops must build the
future together with those to whom the future is entrusted (cf.
Pastores Gregis, 53). Offer them an integral Christian formation
and challenge them to follow Christ. You will find their enthusiasm
and generosity exactly what is needed to promote a spirit of renewal
not just among themselves but in the entire Christian community.
5. Evangelization of culture is a central aspect of the new evangelization,
for "at the heart of every culture lies the attitude man takes
to the greatest mystery: the mystery of God" (Centesimus Annus,
24). As Bishops, you rightly seek to find ways for the truth of
Christ to be given due consideration in the public arena. In this
regard, I recognize the fine contribution of your pastoral letters
and statements on matters of concern in your society. I urge you
to continue to ensure that such statements give full and clear expression
to the whole of the Church’s magisterial teaching. Of particular
concern is the need to uphold the uniqueness of marriage as a lifelong
union between a man and a woman in which as husband and wife they
share in God’s loving work of creation. Equating marriage
with other forms of cohabitation obscures the sacredness of marriage
and violates its precious value in God’s plan for humanity
(cf. Familiaris Consortio, 3).
Without doubt a primary factor in the shaping of today’s culture
is the mass media. The fundamental moral requirement of all communication
is that it should respect and serve the truth. Your efforts to assist
those working in this field to exercise their responsibility are
commendable. Though these efforts may at times meet with resistance,
I encourage you to endeavour to work together with the men and women
of the media. Invite them to join you in breaking down barriers
of mistrust and in striving to bring peoples together in understanding
and respect.
6. Finally, within the context of the evangelization of culture,
I wish to acknowledge the fine contribution of your Catholic schools
both to enriching the faith of the Catholic community and to promoting
excellence within civic life in general. Recognizing the profound
changes that affect the world of education, I encourage teachers,
lay and Religious, in their primary mission of ensuring that those
who have been baptized "become daily more appreciative of the
gift of faith which they have received" (Gravissimum Educationis,
2). While religious education, the heart of any Catholic school,
is today a challenging and taxing apostolate, there are also many
signs of a desire among young people to learn about the faith and
to practise it with vigour. If this awakening in faith is to grow,
we need teachers with a clear and precise understanding of the specific
nature and role of Catholic education. This must be articulated
at every level if our young people and their families are to experience
the harmony between faith, life and culture (cf. Congregation for
Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools,
6). Here I would make a special appeal to your Religious not to
abandon the school apostolate (cf. Pastores Gregis 53) and indeed
to renew their commitment to serve also in schools situated in poorer
areas. In places where much exists to lure youth away from the path
of truth and genuine freedom, the consecrated person’s witness
to the evangelical counsels is an irreplaceable gift.
7. Dear Brothers, with fraternal affection I share these reflections
with you and assure you of my prayers as you seek to make the face
of Christ ever more recognizable in your communities. The message
of hope which you proclaim will not fail to evoke fresh fervour
and a renewed commitment to Christian life. United in our love of
the Lord and inspired by the example of the newly beatified Mother
Teresa of Calcutta, let us go forward in hope! With these sentiments
I commend you to Mary, Star of the New Evangelization, that she
may sustain you in pastoral wisdom, strengthen you in fortitude
and enkindle in your hearts love and compassion. To you and to the
priests, deacons, Religious, and lay faithful of your Dioceses I
cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing. |
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