| Zaragoza (Fides Service) - “At this time of discernment for many hearts you the Bishops of Spain are looking towards the One who welcomed with total availability the life of God who was entering history” Pope Benedict XVI said in a letter to the Spanish bishops on the occasion of the national pilgrimage last Sunday to the shrine of Pilar de Zaragoza to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and the 50th anniversary of the consecration of Spain to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at which thousands of people led by their bishops took part (see Fides 21 May 2005).
“With this pilgrimage you contemplate the admirable mystery of Mary and reflect on its inexhaustible riches for every Christ’s vocation to holiness” the Pope wrote in his Letter. “Immaculate Mary reflects the mercifulness of the Father … May she be our Advocate in our need and intercede for us with her Son… she invites us to draw near to Christ and in this closeness to experience and see «the goodness of the Lord».”
While in Spain there is a debate on the secular nature of the state and the family is threatened by proposed amendments to the Civil Code the Pope referred to the Holy Family of Nazareth as a model for all families and he said “in domestic community the family achieves its calling to promote human and Christian life, sharing the joys and expectations in a climate of understanding and reciprocal help. Therefore the human child, who is born and grows and develops in a family, is able to undertake without uncertainty the path of goodness and will not be disoriented by modes and ideologies which alienate the human person”.
Aware that “the Catholic Church in Spain is willing to make decisive steps in its evangelising projects” the Pope asks that the real nature and mission of the Church may be understood and accepted “because the Church seeks to promote the common good of all, respect for individuals and for society. In fact the transmission of faith and religious practice of believers cannot be restricted to only private environments.”
The Holy Father concluded his message entrusting to the Blessed Virgin Mary the concerns and hopes of the Church in Spain, all human life from natural beginning to natural end, asking Mary “to preserve all families from social injustice, all that offends its dignity and restricts its freedom; and that the religious freedom and freedom of conscience of every person may be respected ." (RG) (Agenzia Fides 24/5/2005, righe 30, parole 428)
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