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| VISITA "AD
LIMINA APOSTOLORUM" DEI PRESULI DELLA CONFERENZA EPISCOPALE DEL
SUDAN |
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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 del Sudan, incontrati questa mattina e ricevuti
nei giorni scorsi, in separate udienze, in occasione della Visita
"ad Limina Apostolorum":
• DISCORSO DEL SANTO PADRE
Dear Brother Bishops,
1. "May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times
in all ways" (2 Th 3:16). At this decisive moment for your country,
as two decades of violent conflict and bloodshed seem poised to give
way to reconciliation and pacification, I greet you, the members of
the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, with these words of
the Apostle Paul, words of comfort and reassurance, words founded
on the Word who is "the life and the light of men" (cf.
Jn 1:4), Jesus Christ, our hope and our peace.
These days of your visit ad Limina Apostolorum are privileged moments
of grace during which we strengthen the bonds of fraternal communion
and solidarity which unite us in the task of bearing witness to the
Good News of salvation. As we reflect together on this mission received
from the Lord and on its particular implications for you and your
local communities, I wish to call to mind the figures of two intrepid
witnesses to the faith, two holy individuals whose lives are intimately
connected with your land: Saint Josephine Bakhita and Saint Daniel
Comboni. I am convinced that the example of steadfast commitment and
of Christian charity given by these two devoted servants of the Lord
can shed much light on the present realities facing the Church in
your country.
2. From her earliest years Saint Josephine Bakhita knew the cruelty
and brutality with which man can treat his fellow man. Abducted and
sold into slavery as a young child, she was all too familiar with
the suffering and victimization that still afflicts countless men
and women in her homeland and throughout Africa and the world. Her
life inspires the firm resolve to work effectively to free people
from oppression and violence, ensuring that their human dignity is
respected in the full exercise of their rights. It is this same resolve
that must guide the Church in the Sudan today as the nation makes
the transition from hostility and conflict to peace and concord. Saint
Bakhita is a shining advocate of authentic emancipation. Her life
clearly shows that tribalism and forms of discrimination based on
ethnic origin, language and culture do not belong in a civilized society
and have absolutely no place in the community of believers.
The Church in your country is acutely aware of the hardships and pain
that afflict those fleeing war and violence — especially women
and children — and she mobilizes not only her own resources
in helping to meet their needs but also draws on the generosity of
outside volunteers and benefactors. Particularly noteworthy in this
regard is the work of Sudanaid, the national relief agency overseen
by the Aid and Development Department of your Bishops’ Conference,
which rightly enjoys widespread esteem for the various charitable
projects in which it is engaged. Brothers, I would suggest that a
solid basis for seeking Church representation in the process of normalization
currently underway can be found precisely in the much-needed assistance
that she lends to the many refugees and displaced persons who have
been forced from their homes and family lands.
Moreover, the many contributions that the Church makes to your country’s
social and cultural life can help you to establish closer and more
positive relationships with national institutions. A tentative opening
on the part of civil leadership can already be seen in the presence
of Christians in the current government, and in the reactivation of
the Commission for Interreligious Dialogue. You should do all that
you can to encourage this, even as you insist that religious pluralism,
as guaranteed by the Sudanese Constitution, should be respected.
An important corollary in this regard is your duty to address significant
issues that touch upon the country’s social, economic, political
and cultural life (cf. Ecclesia in Africa, No. 110). As you know so
well, it belongs to the Church to speak out unambiguously on behalf
of those who have no voice and to be a leaven of peace and solidarity,
particularly where these ideals are most fragile and threatened. As
Bishops, your words and actions are never to be the expression of
individual political preferences but must always reflect the attitude
of Christ the Good Shepherd.
3. With this image of the Good Shepherd in mind, I turn now to the
figure of Saint Daniel Comboni, who, as a missionary priest and Bishop,
worked tirelessly to make Christ known and welcomed in Central Africa,
including the Sudan. Saint Daniel was keenly concerned that Africans
should have a key role in evangelizing the continent, and he was inspired
to draft a missionary blueprint for the region — a "plan
for the rebirth of Africa" — that enlisted the help of
native peoples themselves. In the course of his missionary activity,
he did not let the great suffering and many hardships that he endured
— privation, exhaustion, illness, mistrust — divert him
from the task of preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Bishop Comboni was moreover a strong advocate of inculturating the
faith. He took great pains to familiarize himself with the cultures
and languages of the local peoples he served. In this way, he was
able to present the Gospel in a manner and according to the customs
that his listeners readily understood. In a very real way, his life
is an example for us today, clearly demonstrating that "the evangelization
of culture and the inculturation of the Gospel are an integral part
of the new evangelization and thus a specific concern of the episcopal
office" (Pastores Gregis, No. 30).
Brothers, it is this same apostolic fervour, missionary zeal and deep
concern for the salvation of souls that must be a hallmark of your
own ministry as Bishops. Make it your first and foremost duty to care
for the flock entrusted to you, looking after its spiritual and physical
well-being, spending time with the faithful, in particular with your
priests and the religious in your Dioceses. The pastoral ministry
of the Bishop, in fact, "finds expression in his ‘being
for’ the other members of the faithful while not detracting
from his ‘being with’ them" (Pastores Gregis, No.
10).
In all this, yours must be an invitation, gentle yet insistent, to
conversion, the conversion of hearts and minds. Faith grows to maturity
as Christ’s disciples are educated and formed in a thorough
and systematic knowledge of his person and message (cf. Catechesi
Tradendae, No. 19). Thus, the continuing formation of the laity is
a priority in your mission as preachers and teachers. Spiritual and
doctrinal formation should aim at helping the lay faithful to carry
out their prophetic role in a society which does not always recognize
or accept the truth and values of the Gospel. This is especially the
case for your catechists: these dedicated servants of the Word require
proper formation, both spiritual and intellectual, as well as moral
and material support (cf. Ecclesia in Africa, No. 91).
It would also prove helpful if a simple catechism in the language
of the people were prepared and made available. Similarly, suitable
texts in local languages could be prepared and distributed as a means
of presenting Jesus to those who are unfamiliar with the Christian
message and as a tool for interreligious dialogue. This could be especially
helpful in those areas exempt from Shari‘ah law, particularly
in the Federal Capital of Khartoum. Here too I would like to encourage
you to rekindle your efforts to establish a Catholic University in
Khartoum. Such an institution would allow the priceless contribution
that the Church makes in elementary and secondary education to be
brought to bear also in the area of higher education. A Catholic University
would also be of great assistance in helping you to fulfil your duty
of seeing that properly trained teachers are available to impart Christian
instruction in the public schools.
4. Turning to those who assist you most closely in your pastoral ministry,
I urge you always to cherish your priests with a special love and
to regard them as precious co-workers and friends (cf. Christus Dominus,
No. 16). Their formation must be such that they are ready to put aside
all earthly ambition in order to act in the person of Christ. They
are called to be detached from material things and to devote themselves
to the service of others through the complete gift of self in celibacy.
Scandalous behaviour must at all times be investigated, confronted
and corrected. With your friendship and fraternal support, as well
as that of their brother priests, it will be easier for your clergy
to be wholly devoted, in chastity and simplicity, to their ministry
of service.
Of course, the attitudes and dispositions of a true shepherd must
be nurtured in the hearts of future priests long before their ordination.
This is the purpose of the human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral
formation provided in the seminary. The guidelines contained in my
Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis will prove
invaluable for evaluating candidates and improving their training.
At the same time, steps should be taken to ensure that proper priestly
formation continues after ordination, especially during the early
years of ministry.
In the faith life of your communities Religious and Missionary Institutes
continue to play a decisive role. While respecting the legitimate
internal autonomy established for religious communities, the Bishop
is to help them fulfil — within the local Church — their
obligation to bear witness to the reality of God’s love for
his people. As Pastors of Christ’s flock, you should urge careful
discernment of the suitability of candidates to the religious life
and help superiors to provide a solid spiritual and intellectual formation,
both before and after profession.
5. In the fulfilment of your many duties, you and your priests must
always be attentive to the human and spiritual needs of your people.
Time and resources should never be spent on diocesan or parochial
structures or on development projects at the expense of people; nor
should such structures or projects impede personal contact with those
whom God has called us to serve. Equity and transparency must be the
indispensable traits characterizing all financial matters, with every
effort being made to see that contributions are truly used for the
purposes intended. The Church’s pastoral mission and the duty
of her ministers "not to be served but to serve" (Mt 20:28)
must always be the overriding concern.
The concepts of service and solidarity can also do much to foster
greater ecumenical and interreligious cooperation. A specific initiative
that could help to spur progress in this area is the establishment
of an agency for coordinating the various programmes aimed at lending
assistance and humanitarian aid throughout the various regions of
the country. Such coordination would undoubtedly serve to increase
the effectiveness of these programmes and could even prove helpful
in making contacts for the issue of the government permits necessary
for travel to certain areas. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Sudan could actively sponsor and promote such a coordinating
agency. On the model of the understanding already present in Southern
Sudan with members of the Anglican Communion, the agency would be
open to representatives of other Christian denominations and other
religions, including Islam, thus fostering a climate of mutual trust
through joint cooperation in the areas of educational and humanitarian
assistance.
6. Dear Brother Bishops, my words to you today are meant to offer
encouragement in the Lord. I am aware of your daily toils and of the
great pain and suffering that your people still endure: I assure you
and them once more of my prayers and solidarity. With all of you I
beseech the God of peace to grant success to the process of dialogue
and negotiation now underway, so that truth, justice and reconciliation
may again reign in the Sudan. I commend you and your Dioceses to the
loving care of Mary, Queen of Apostles, and to the heavenly intercession
of Saints Josephine Bakhita and Daniel Comboni. During this season
of Advent, as we prepare to celebrate our Saviour’s birth, may
you and the priests, Religious and lay faithful of your local Churches
be renewed in the hope that springs from the "glad tidings of
great joy" proclaimed in Bethlehem. To all of you I cordially
impart my Apostolic Blessing. |
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