Speechs 2005
Parish Church at Introd (Aosta Valley)
Monday, 25 July 2005
Your Excellency,
Dear Brothers,
I would first like to express my joy and gratitude for this opportunity to meet you. As Pope, one risks being somewhat distant from real, everyday life and especially from the priests who work on the front line in so many parishes in this very Valley, and now, as His Excellency said, with the lack of vocations, also in particularly demanding conditions of physical commitment.
It is therefore a grace for me to be able to meet the priests and presbyterate of this Valley in this beautiful church. And I would like to say "thank you" for coming; for you too, it is the vacation period.
To see you gathered together and thus to see myself united with you, being close to the priests who work day after day for the Lord as sowers of the Word, is a comfort and joy to me.
Last week, two or three times, it seems to me, we heard this Parable of the Sower, which was formerly a parable of consolation in a situation different from ours but in a certain sense also similar.
The Lord's work had begun with great enthusiasm. The sick were visibly cured, everyone listened joyfully to the statement: "The Kingdom of God is at hand". It really seemed that the changing of the world and the coming of the Kingdom of God would be approaching; that at last, the sorrow of the People of God would be changed into joy. People were expecting a messenger of God whom they supposed would take the helm of history in his hand. But they then saw that the sick were indeed cured, devils were expelled, the Gospel was proclaimed, but the world stayed as it was. Nothing changed. The Romans still dominated it. Life was difficult every day, despite these signs, these beautiful words. Thus, their enthusiasm was extinguished, and in the end, as we know from the sixth chapter of John, disciples also abandoned this Preacher who was preaching but did not change the world.
"What is this message? What does this Prophet of God bring?", everyone finally wondered. The Lord talks of the sower who sowed in the field of the world and the seed seemed like his Word, like those healings, a really tiny thing in comparison with historical and political reality. Just as the seed is tiny and can be ignored, so can the Word.
Yet, he says, the future is present in the seed because the seed carries within it the bread of the future, the life of the future. The seed appears to be almost nothing, yet the seed is the presence of the future, it is a promise already present today. And so, with this parable, he is saying: "We are living in the period of the sowing, the Word of God seems but a word, almost nothing. But take heart, this Word carries life within it! And it bears fruit!". The Parable also says that much of the seed did not bear fruit because it fell on the path, on patches of rock and so forth. But the part that fell on the rich soil bore a yield of thirty- or sixty- or a hundredfold.
This enables us to understand that we too must be courageous, even if the Word of God, the Kingdom of God, seems to have no historical or political importance. In the end, on Palm Sunday Jesus summed up, as it were, all of these teachings on the seed of the word: If the grain of wheat does not fall into the ground and die it remains single, if it falls into the earth and dies it produces an abundance of fruit. In this way he made people realize that he himself was the grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died. In the Crucifixion, everything seems to have failed, but precisely in this way, falling into the earth and dying, on the Way of the Cross, it bore fruit for each epoch, for every epoch. Here we have both the Christological interpretation, according to which Christ himself is the seed, he is the Kingdom present, and the Eucharistic dimension: this grain of wheat falls into the earth and thus the new Bread grows, the Bread of future life, the Blessed Eucharist that nourishes us and is open to the divine mysteries for new life.
It seems to me that in the Church's history, these questions that truly torment us are constantly cropping up in various forms: what should we do? People seem to have no need of us, everything we do seems pointless. Yet we learn from the Word of the Lord that this seed alone transforms the earth ever anew and opens it to true life.
I would like, as far as I can, to respond briefly to your words, Your Excellency; but I would also like to say that the Pope is not an oracle, he is infallible on the rarest of occasions, as we know. I therefore share with you these questions, these queries. I also suffer. However, let us, on the one hand, suffer all together for these problems, and let us also suffer in transforming the problems; for suffering itself is the way to transformation, and without suffering nothing is transformed.
This is also what the Parable of the Grain of Wheat that fell into the earth means: only in a process of suffering transformation does the fruit mature and the solution become clear. And if we did not suffer, the apparent ineffectiveness of our preaching would be a sign of the lack of faith, of true commitment. We must take these difficulties of our time to heart and transform them, suffering with Christ, and thereby transform ourselves. And to the extent to which we ourselves are transformed, we will also be able to respond to the question asked above, we will also be able to see the presence of the Kingdom of God and to make others see it.
The first point is a problem that exists throughout the Western world: the lack of vocations. In these past few weeks I have received ad limina visits from the Bishops of Sri Lanka and from the southern part of Africa. Vocations there are increasing; indeed, they are so numerous that it is proving impossible to build enough seminaries to accommodate all these young men who want to be priests.
Of course, this joy also carries with it a certain sadness, since at least a part of them comes in the hope of social advancement. By becoming priests, they become like tribal chiefs, they are naturally privileged, they have a different lifestyle, etc. Therefore, weeds and wheat grow together in this beautiful crop of vocations and the Bishops must be very careful in their discernment; they must not merely be content with having many future priests but must see which really are the true vocations, discerning between the weeds and the good wheat.
However, there is a certain enthusiasm of faith because they are in a specific period of history, that is, in the period in which it is clear that the traditional religions are no longer adequate. People are realizing, they are seeing that these traditional religions contain a promise within them but are waiting for something. They are awaiting a new response that purifies and, let us say, takes on all that is beautiful, setting it free from these inadequate and negative aspects. In this time of transition, in which their culture is truly reaching out to a new time in history, the two offerings - Christianity and Islam - are the possible historical responses.
Consequently, in a certain sense there is a springtime of the faith in those countries but, of course, in the context of rivalry between these two responses and also especially in the context of suffering because of the sects, who present themselves, as it were, as a Christian response that is better, easier and more accommodating. So it is that even in the history of a promise, in a springtime moment, the commitment of the one who must sow the Word with Christ and, as we say, build the Church, continues to be difficult.
The situation is different in the Western world, which is a world weary of its own culture. It is a world that has reached the time when there is no longer any evidence of the need for God, let alone Christ, and when it therefore seems that humans could build themselves on their own. In this atmosphere of a rationalism closing in on itself and that regards the model of the sciences as the only model of knowledge, everything else is subjective. Christian life too, of course, becomes a choice that is subjective, hence, arbitrary and no longer the path of life. It therefore naturally becomes difficult to believe, and if it is difficult to believe it is even more difficult to offer one's life to the Lord to be his servant.
This is certainly a form of suffering which, I would say, fits into our time in history, and in which we generally see that the so-called "great" Churches seem to be dying. This is true particularly in Australia, also in Europe, but not so much in the United States.
On the other hand, the sects that present themselves with the certainty of a minimum of faith are growing, and the human being seeks certainty. Thus, the great Churches, especially the great traditional Protestant Churches, are truly finding themselves in a very deep crisis. The sects have the upper hand because they appear with a few simple certainties and say: "This suffices".
The plight of the Catholic Church is not as bad as that of the great Protestant Churches of history, but of course, she shares the problem of our historical period. I do not think that there is any system for making a rapid change. We must go on, we must go through this tunnel, this underpass, patiently, in the certainty that Christ is the answer and that in the end, his light will appear once more.
Thus, the first answer is patience, in the certainty that the world cannot live without God, the God of Revelation - and not just any God: we see how dangerous a cruel God, an untrue God can be - the God who showed us his Face in Jesus Christ. This Face of the One who suffered for us, this loving Face of the One who transforms the world in the manner of the grain of wheat that fell into the earth.
Therefore, we ourselves have this very deep certainty that Christ is the answer and that without the concrete God, the God with the Face of Christ, the world destroys itself; and there is growing evidence that a closed rationalism, which thinks that human beings can rebuild the world better on their own, is not true. On the contrary, without the restraint of the true God, human beings destroy themselves. We see this with our own eyes.
We ourselves must have a renewed certainty: he is the Truth; only by walking in his footsteps do we go in the right direction, and it is in this direction that we must walk and lead others.
The first point of my answer is: in all this suffering, not only should we keep our certainty that Christ really is the Face of God, but we should also deepen this certainty and the joy of knowing it and thus truly be ministers of the future of the world, of the future of every person. We should deepen this certainty in a personal relationship with the Lord because certainty can also grow with rational considerations. A sincere reflection that is also rationally convincing but becomes personal, strong and demanding by virtue of a friendship lived personally, every day, with Christ, truly seems to me to be very important.
Certainty, consequently, demands this personalization of our faith, of our friendship with the Lord, and thus new vocations also grow. We see it in the new generations after the great crisis of this cultural struggle unleashed in 1968, when the historical epoch of Christianity truly seemed to be over. We see that the promises of 1968 have not been kept and, let us say, the awareness that another way exists which is more complex because it requires this transformation of our hearts but is truer, and thus new vocations are also born. And we ourselves must also find the creativity to help young people to discover this way in the future, too. This was also evident in the dialogue with the African Bishops. Despite the number of priests, many are condemned to a terrible loneliness and many do not survive morally.
And it is therefore important to live in the reality of the presbyterate, of the community of priests who help one another, who are journeying on together with solidarity in their common faith. This also seems to me to be important, for if young people see priests who are very lonely, sad and tired, they will think: "If this is my future, then it is not for me". A real communion of life that shows young people: "Yes, this can be a future for me too, it is possible to live like this", must be created.
I have gone on too long. It seems to me that I have said something on the second point, even if only on part of it. It is true: to the people, especially world leaders, the Church appears as something antiquated and our proposals seem unnecessary. People behave as though they were able to and wanted to live without our words, and they always think they have no need of us. They do not seek our words.
This is true and causes us pain, but it is also part of this historical situation of a certain anthropological vision which claims that the human being must act as Karl Marx said: "The Church has had 1,800 years to show that it could change the world and has not done anything; we will now do it on our own".
This is a very widespread idea and is also supported by philosophers. Thus, we understand the impression of so many that it is possible to live without the Church, which appears as a vestige of the past. But it is becoming ever clearer that only moral values and strong convictions, and sacrifices, make it possible to live and to build the world. It is impossible to construct it in a mechanical way, as Karl Marx proposed, with the theories concerning capital and ownership, etc.
If there is no moral force in souls, if there is no readiness to suffer for these values, a better world is not built; indeed, on the contrary, the world deteriorates every day, selfishness dominates and destroys all. On perceiving this the question arises anew: but where does the strength come from that enables us to suffer for good too, to suffer for good that hurts me first, which has no immediate usefulness? Where are the resources, the sources? From where does the strength come to preserve these values?
It can be seen that morality as such does not survive and is not effective unless it is deeply rooted in convictions that truly provide certainty and the strength to suffer for - at the same time, they are part of love - a love that grows in suffering and is the substance of life. In the end, in fact, love alone enables us to live, and love is always also suffering: it matures in suffering and provides the strength to suffer for good without taking oneself into account at the actual moment.
It seems to me that this awareness is growing because we are already seeing the effects of a condition in which the strength that comes from a love that is the substance of my life and gives me the power to carry on the struggle for good does not exist. Here too, of course, we are in need of patience, but also an active patience in the sense of making people understand: "You need this".
Even if they do not convert straightaway, at least they draw closer to the circle of those in the Church who possess this inner strength. The Church has always recognized this inwardly strong group that truly has the strength of faith and of persons who are, as it were, attached to one another, moving ahead, and so participate.
I am thinking of the Lord's Parable of the Mustard Seed which was so small and then became a tree so great that the birds of the sky build their nests in it. And I should say that these birds could be the people who are not yet converted but who at least perch on the tree of the Church. I have pondered on this: in the time of the Enlightenment, the time when faith was divided between Catholics and Protestants, people believed it was necessary to preserve the common moral values by giving them a firm foundation. They thought, "We must make the moral values independent of the religious denominations so that they can prevail "etsi Deus non daretur'".
Today, we are in an opposite situation; the situation has been reversed. There is no longer any proof of moral values. They become evident only if God exists. I have therefore suggested that lay people, the so-called laity, should think about whether the contrary might not be true for them today: We must live "quasi Deus daretur", and even if we are not strong enough to believe, we must live on this hypothesis, otherwise the world will not function; and this, it seems to me, would be a first step to approaching faith. I also see in so many contacts that, thanks be to God, dialogue with at least part of the secular world is increasing.
The third point: the plight of priests who have become scarce, who must work in as many as three, four and at times even five parishes and are exhausted. I think that the Bishop, together with his priests, is trying to discover what the best solution might be. When I was Archbishop of Munich they created this type of service solely for the Liturgy of the Word without a priest in order, let us say, to keep the community present in its own church. And they said: "Every community should stay put and wherever there is no priest let us celebrate this Liturgy of the Word".
The French found the Word suitable for these Sunday Assemblies "in the absence of a priest", but after a while they realized that this could go wrong because the meaning of the Sacrament is lost, a "Protestantization" occurs and, in the end, if it is only the Word, I can celebrate it myself in my own home.
I remember when I was a professor at Tubingen, there was the great exegete Kelemann - I do not know if you are familiar with his name -, a pupil of Bultmann, who was a great theologian. Although he was a convinced Protestant, he never went to church. He used to say: "I can also meditate at home on the Sacred Scriptures".
The French have transformed somewhat this formula of Sunday Assemblies "in the absence of a priest" into "awaiting the priest". That is, the priest must be expected, and I would say that the Liturgy of the Word should normally be an exception on Sundays, because the Lord wants to come corporally. Consequently, this must not be the solution.
Sunday was created because the Lord was raised and entered the community of the Apostles to be with them. And thus, they also understood that Saturday was no longer the liturgical day, but Sunday, on which the Lord wants to be with us physically again and again, and wants to nourish us with his Body, so that we ourselves may become his Body in the world.
We should find a way to offer many people of good will this possibility: for now I do not presume to give formulas. I always said in Munich, but I am unacquainted with the situation here which is bound to be a little different, that our people are incredibly mobile and flexible. The young travel 50 kilometres or more to go to a discothèque, why can they also not travel 50 kilometres to go to a common church? Yet, this is something very positive and practical and I do not dare to offer formulas. However, an effort should be made to give people this sentiment: "I need to be with the Church, to be with the living Church and with the Lord!".
This is how to convey this impression of importance, and if I consider it important, this also creates the premises for a solution. But I actually leave the question open, Your Excellency.
Several priests then spoke. The Holy Father answered their questions on the topics of the education of youth, the role of Catholic schools, and the consecrated life as follows:
These questions are very practical and it is far from easy to come up with equally practical answers.
First of all, I should like to thank you for having called our attention to the need to attract young people to the Church; they are easily attracted instead by other things, by a way of life that is rather remote from our convictions.
The ancient Church chose the way of creating alternative living communities, not necessarily with ruptures. I would say, therefore, that it is important that young people discover the beauty of faith, that it is beautiful to have a direction, that it is beautiful to have God as a friend who can truly tell us the essential things of life.
This intellectual factor must then be accompanied by an emotional and social factor, that is, by socialization in faith; because faith can only be fulfilled if it also has a body, and this involves human beings in their way of life. In the past, therefore, when faith was crucial to community life, teaching catechism, which continues to be important today, would have sufficed.
However, given that social life has drifted away from faith - since all too often even families do not offer a socialization of faith - we must offer ways for a socialization of faith so that faith will form communities, offer vital spaces and convince people through a way of thought, affection and lively friendship.
It seems to me that these dimensions ought to go together, for the human person has a body and is a social being. In this sense, for example, it is wonderful to see so many parish priests here who have come with groups of young people to spend their holidays together. In this way, young people share the joy of their holiday period and live it together with God and the Church, in the person of their parish priest or parochial vicar. It seems to me, in Italy too, that the Church today offers alternatives and possibilities for socialization in which young people can walk together with Christ and shape the Church. This is why they must be guided by intelligent answers to the questions of our time: Is there still a need for God? Is it still reasonable to believe in God? Is Christ merely a figure in the history of religion or is he truly the Face of God that we all need? Can we live to the full without knowing Christ?
It is necessary to understand that building life and the future also requires patience and suffering. Nor can the Cross be lacking in young peoples' lives, and getting them to understand this is far from easy. The mountaineer knows that he must face sacrifices and train if climbing is to be a beautiful experience; so too, the young person must understand that for the ascent to life's future it is essential to exercise an interior life.
Consequently, personalization and socialization are the two approaches that must penetrate the actual situations of today's challenges: the challenge of affection and the challenge of communion. Indeed, these two dimensions make it possible to open oneself to the future and also to teach that the sometimes difficult God of faith is also for my own good in the future.
With regard to Catholic schools I can say that many Bishops who have come on their ad limina visit have frequently stressed their importance. The Catholic school, in situations such as in Africa, becomes an indispensable means of cultural advancement for the first steps to literacy and for raising the cultural standard in which a new culture is formed. Thanks to the Catholic school, it is also possible to confront the challenges of technology that strive for a pro-technological culture, destroying ancient forms of tribal life and their moral content.
Where we live the situation is different, but what I feel important is a general mental discipline that Christianity is not cut off from reality today, either.
As we said earlier, in the wake of the Enlightenment and of the "Second Enlightenment" in 1968, many thought that the historical time of the Church and faith was over and that they had entered a new epoch, when it would be possible to study these things as we study classical mythology.
On the contrary, it is vital to make people understand that faith is permanently up-to-date and perfectly reasonable. Hence, an intellectual assertion is called for that makes the beauty and organic structure of the faith comprehensible.
This was one of the fundamental intentions of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which has now been condensed in the Compendium. We must not think of a pack of rules to be shouldered like a heavy backpack on our journey through life. In the end, faith is simple and rich: we believe that God exists, that God counts; but which God? A God with a face, a human face, a God who reconciles, who overcomes hatred and gives us the power of peace that no one else can give us. We must make people understand that Christianity is actually very simple and consequently very rich.
School is a cultural institution for intellectual and professional training: it is therefore necessary to make the organic and logical dimensions of the faith understood, in order to make known its important and essential elements for an understanding of what the Eucharist is, what happens on Sunday, and in Christian marriage. It is necessary, of course, to make people comprehend that nonetheless, the discipline of religion is not a purely intellectual and individualistic ideology, as perhaps happens in other disciplines: in mathematics, for example, I know how to do a specific calculation, but in the end other subjects have a practical tendency, a tendency to professionalism, to applicability in life. And so, it is necessary to understand that faith essentially creates assembly and unites.
It is precisely this essence of faith that liberates us from egoistic isolation and unites us in a great community, a very complete one - in parishes, in the Sunday gathering -, a universal community in which I become related to everyone in the world.
It is necessary to understand this Catholic dimension of the community that gathers in the parish church every Sunday. Thus, if, on the one hand, knowing the faith is one purpose, on the other, socializing in the Church or "ecclesializing" means being introduced into the great community of the Church, a living milieu, where I know that even in the important moments of my life - especially in suffering and in death - I am not alone.
Your Excellency said that many people do not seem to need us, but that the sick and the suffering do. And this should be understood from the outset: I will never again be lonely as long as I live. Faith redeems me from loneliness. I will always be supported by a community, but at the same time, I must support the community and, from the first, also teach responsibility for the sick, the lonely, the suffering, and thereby the gift that I make is reciprocated. So it is necessary to reawaken an awareness of this great gift in the person in whom is hidden the readiness to love and to give himself or herself, and thus guarantee that I too will have brothers and sisters to support me in difficult situations, when I am in need of a community that does not leave me stranded.
Regarding the importance of religious life, we know that the monastic and contemplative life are attractive in the face of the stress of this world. They appear like an oasis in which we can truly live. Here too, this is a romantic view: so the discernment of vocations is essential. However, it is the contemplative rather than the active Religious life which the historical situation endows with a certain attraction.
This is more visible in the male branch, where Religious and priests are to be seen carrying out an important apostolate in education, with the sick, etc. It is unfortunately less visible for female vocations where professionalism seems to make the religious vocation superfluous. There are qualified nurses and qualified school teachers, so that it no longer appears to be a religious vocation, and that specific activity will be difficult to resume once the chain of vocations is broken.
But we see more and more that the professionalism required in order to be a good nurse is not enough. The heart must be put into it. Love for the suffering person is necessary. This has a profound religious dimension. So does teaching. We now have new forms such as secular institutes, whose communities show by their lives that there is a way of life that is good for the person, but especially necessary for the religious community, for the faith and also for the human community. I therefore think that also by changing the form - many of our active female communities began in the 19th century with the specific social challenge of that period and today the challenges are a little different - the Church is making us understand that service to the suffering and the defence of life are vocations with a deep religious dimension and that there are forms [of Religious life] in which to live such vocations. So many new forms are springing up which make us hope that the Lord will grant the necessary vocations for the life of the Church and the world today.
Pope Benedict XVI then answered the chaplain of the local District Prison, which has 260 inmates of more than 30 different nationalities, as follows:
Thank you for your very important and moving words. Shortly before my departure, I had the opportunity to talk to Cardinal Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who is working on a document on the problem of our detainees. These brothers and sisters suffer and at times feel that their human rights are barely respected; they also feel despised and live in a condition in which Christ's presence is truly necessary. And Jesus, in Matthew's Gospel, in anticipation of the Last Judgment, speaks explicitly of their plight: "I was... in prison and you did not come to comfort me", "I was... in prison and you came to visit me" (Mt 25,43 Mt 36).
I am grateful to you, therefore, for having mentioned the threats to human dignity in these circumstances, in order to learn that as priests we must also be brothers to the "least" and see in them the Lord who is waiting for us and is of the greatest importance. It is my intention, together with Cardinal Martino, to say a word in public on these particular situations that are a mandate for the Church, for the faith and for her love. Lastly, I am grateful that you said that it is not what you do that is so important but what you are in our priestly commitment. Without a doubt, we must do many things and not succumb to laziness, but all our work will only bear fruit if it is an expression of what we are.
If what we do shows that we are deeply united to Christ, that we are instruments of Christ, a mouthpiece through which Christ speaks, a hand through which Christ acts: we should be convinced and act with conviction only to the extent that this is truly the result and expression of what we are.
Another priest raised the topic of Communion for the faithful who are divorced and remarried. The Holy Father answered him as follows:
We all know that this is a particularly painful problem for people who live in situations in which they are excluded from Eucharistic Communion, and naturally for the priests who desire to help these people love the Church and love Christ. This is a problem.
None of us has a ready-made formula, also because situations always differ. I would say that those who were married in the Church for the sake of tradition but were not truly believers, and who later find themselves in a new and invalid marriage and subsequently convert, discover faith and feel excluded from the Sacrament, are in a particularly painful situation. This really is a cause of great suffering and when I was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I invited various Bishops' Conferences and experts to study this problem: a sacrament celebrated without faith. Whether, in fact, a moment of invalidity could be discovered here because the Sacrament was found to be lacking a fundamental dimension, I do not dare to say. I personally thought so, but from the discussions we had I realized that it is a highly-complex problem and ought to be studied further. But given these people's painful plight, it must be studied further.
I shall not attempt to give an answer now, but in any case two aspects are very important. The first: even if these people cannot go to sacramental Communion, they are not excluded from the love of the Church or from the love of Christ. A Eucharist without immediate sacramental Communion is not of course complete; it lacks an essential dimension. Nonetheless, it is also true that taking part in the Eucharist without Eucharistic Communion is not the same as nothing; it still means being involved in the mystery of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. It is still participating in the great Sacrament in its spiritual and pneumatic dimensions, and also in its ecclesial dimension, although this is not strictly sacramental.
And since it is the Sacrament of Christ's passion, the suffering Christ embraces these people in a special way and communicates with them in another way differently, so that they may feel embraced by the Crucified Lord who fell to the ground and died and suffered for them and with them. Consequently, they must be made to understand that even if, unfortunately, a fundamental dimension is absent, they are not excluded from the great mystery of the Eucharist or from the love of Christ who is present in it. This seems to me important, just as it is important that the parish priest and the parish community make these people realize that on the one hand they must respect the indissolubility of the Sacrament, and on the other, that we love these people who are also suffering for us. Moreover, we must suffer with them, because they are bearing an important witness and because we know that the moment when one gives in "out of love", one wrongs the Sacrament itself and the indissolubility appears less and less true.
We know the problem, not only of the Protestant Communities but also of the Orthodox Churches, which are often presented as a model for the possibility of remarriage. But only the first marriage is sacramental: the Orthodox too recognize that the other marriages are not sacramental, they are reduced and redimensioned marriages and in a penitential situation; in a certain sense, the couple can go to Communion but in the awareness that this is a concession "by economy", as they say, through mercy which, nevertheless, does not remove the fact that their marriage is not a Sacrament. The other point is that in the Eastern Churches for these marriages they have conceded the possibility of divorce too lightly, and that the principle of indissolubility, the true sacramental character of the marriage, is therefore seriously injured.
On the one hand, therefore, is the good of the community and the good of the Sacrament that we must respect, and on the other, the suffering of the people we must alleviate.
The second point that we should teach and also make credible through our own lives is that suffering, in various forms, is a necessary part of our lives. I would call this a noble suffering.
Once again, it is necessary to make it clear that pleasure is not everything. May Christianity give us joy, just as love gives joy. But love is always also a renunciation of self. The Lord himself has given us the formula of what love is: those who lose themselves find themselves; those who spare or save themselves are lost.
It is always an "Exodus", hence, painful. True joy is something different from pleasure; joy grows and continues to mature in suffering, in communion with the Cross of Christ. It is here alone that the true joy of faith is born, from which even they are not excluded if they learn to accept their suffering in communion with that of Christ.
The Holy Father answered the priests who asked him for clarification concerning the administration of the Sacrament of Baptism in special situations, and about the Compendium of the Catechism, as follows:
The first question is very difficult and I have already had an opportunity to work on it when I was Archbishop of Munich, because we had such cases.
Each individual case should first be clarified: if the obstacle to Baptism is such that it is impossible to administer it without wasting the Sacrament, or should the situation make it possible to say, even in a problematic context, "this person has truly converted, has a complete faith, wants to live the faith of the Church, desires to be baptized", I think that to issue a general formula would not correspond with the diversity of the real situations: we naturally endeavour to do our utmost to give Baptism to a person who asks for it with full faith, but let us say that the details must be examined in each individual case.
If a person proves to be truly converted and desires access to Baptism, the Church's desire must be to allow this person to be incorporated into the communion of Christ and of the Church, and to support him or her. The Church must be open as long as there are no obstacles that actually contradict Baptism. Therefore, the possibility should be sought and if the person is truly convinced and a wholehearted believer, then we are not in relativism.
The second point: We all know that in the cultural and intellectual situation of which we spoke at the start, catechesis has become far more difficult. On the one hand, it needs new contexts to be understood and contextualized, so that it may be evident that this is true and concerns the present and the future, and on the other, therefore, a necessary contextualization has been made in the Catechisms of the various Bishops' Conferences.
Besides, clear answers are necessary to make it possible to perceive what faith is and what the other contextualizations are: a simple way of making people understand. This sparked a "polemic" in the world of catechetics between catechism in the classic sense and the new instruments of catechesis. It is true on the one hand - I am now speaking only of my German experience - that many of these books did not reach their goal: they always prepared the ground but were so concerned with preparing the ground on which the person advances that in the end they did not arrive at the answer to be given. On the other, the classic catechisms appeared so formal that the true answer no longer touched the mind of the contemporary catechumen.
At last, we took on this multidimensional commitment: we compiled the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It provides, on the one hand, the necessary cultural contextualizations, but it also gives precise answers. We wrote it in the awareness that the journey from this Catechism to concrete catechesis would not be an easy one. But we understood that the linguistic, cultural and social situations are very different in the various countries, and even within the same country in different social classes; hence, it is the task of the Bishop or of the Bishops' Conference and of the catechists themselves to undertake this final stage in the journey. Our position, therefore, was: "This is the reference point for everyone; what the Church believes can be seen here". Therefore, the Bishops' Conferences should create instruments that apply to the cultural situation and cover the ground that has yet to be covered. Ultimately, the catechist himself or herself must take the last steps, and perhaps the suitable means for these last steps too are offered to him or her.
After several years we had a meeting in which catechists from across the world told us that the Catechism was going well, that it was a necessary book which helped by conveying the beauty, organic approach and fullness of the faith, but that it needed to be summarized. The Holy Father John Paul II, having taken note of the vote of that meeting, charged a Commission to compile this Compendium, that is, a synthesis of the big Catechism to which it refers, extracting the essential.
At first in the draft of the Compendium, we wanted to be even more concise, but in the end we realized that truly to convey the essential in our time, the necessary material that every catechist needed was what we had said. We also added prayers. And I think that it really is a very useful book that "sums up" everything contained in the big Catechism; in this regard, it seems to me that it corresponds in our day to the Catechism of Pius X.
The individual Bishops and Bishops' Conferences remain committed to helping priests and all catechists in their work with this book, as well as to acting as a bridge to a specific group, for the ways of speaking, thinking and understanding differ widely not only between Italy, France, Germany and Africa, but also within the same country it is received very differently. The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium, containing the essence of the Catechism, therefore continue to be instruments for the universal Church.
Moreover, we are always in need of the work of the Bishops who, in contact with the priests and catechists, help find all the necessary instruments to facilitate this sowing of the Word.
Lastly, the Holy Father said to everyone present:
I would like to thank you for your questions that help me to consider the future, and especially for this experience of communion with a great presbyterate of a most beautiful Diocese. Thank you.
The meeting ended with the hymn, "Je te salue, Marie".
Thursday, 28 July 2005
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I have just returned from the Aosta Valley where I spent two beautiful weeks in the mountains; now, though, I am happy to be with you, here in the Castello dei Papi.
I will be your fellow citizen for a little over a month, and it is a joy for me to be in this lovely little town, to live with you and to see all of the beauty situated on the outskirts of ancient Rome.
Thank you for your affection and your friendship. I impart to you my Apostolic Blessing.
After his Blessing, the Holy Father added:
Thank you for your welcome. We shall be seeing one another often. Thank you and goodbye!
August 2005
Cologne Airport
Thursday, 18 August 2005
Mr President of the Republic,
Distinguished Political and Civil Authorities,
Your Eminences and Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear Citizens of the Federal Republic,
My Dear Young People,
Today, with deep joy I find myself for the first time after my election to the Chair of Peter in my beloved Homeland, in Germany. I can only repeat what I stated at an interview with Vatican Radio. I consider it a loving gesture of reconciliation since, quite unintentionally, my first Visit outside of Italy should be to my Homeland: Here in Cologne, at a moment, in a place and on an occasion when the young people of all the world are meeting, from all the continents, in which the frontiers between the continents, cultures, races, nations disappear, in order that we may all be one thanks to the star that has shone for us: the star of faith in Jesus Christ, which unites us and shows us the way so that we can all be a great force for peace beyond all frontiers and all divisions.
I thank God for this with deep emotion, that he has enabled me to begin here in my Country and on such a propitious occasion for peace.
Therefore, as you have said, Mr President, I have come to Cologne in very deep continuity with my great and beloved Predecessor John Paul II, who had this intuition - I should say this inspiration - of the World Youth Days, in this way creating not a single event of exceptional religious and ecclesial meaning, but also human, which takes people beyond the borderlines between one and the other and contributes to building a common future.
I am sincerely grateful to all present for the warm welcome given to me. My respectful greeting goes first to the President of the Federal Republic, Mr Horst Köhler, whom I thank for the gracious words of welcome which he addressed to me with all his heart. I did not know an economist could also be a philosopher and a theologian! My heartfelt thanks.
I also express my respectful and grateful thought to the Representatives of the Government, the Members of the Diplomatic Corps and the civil and military Authorities, the Federal Chancellor, the President of Nordrhein-Westfalen, all the Authorities present here.
With fraternal affection I greet the Pastor of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Cardinal Joachim Meisner. My greeting also goes to the other Bishops, with the President of the German Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Lehmann, the priests, men and women religious, and to all those engaged in various pastoral activities in the German-speaking Dioceses.
At this moment I also wish to greet with affection all those living in the different Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany.
In these days of intense preparation for World Youth Day, the Dioceses of Germany, and the Diocese and City of Cologne in particular, have been enlivened by the presence of very many young people from different parts of the world. I thank all those who have so competently and generously helped to organize this worldwide ecclesial event.
I am grateful to the parishes, religious institutes, associations, civil organizations and private citizens who have thoughtfully offered hospitality and so friendly a welcome to the thousands of pilgrims coming here from different continents. It is a fine thing that on such occasions the virtue of hospitality, which has almost disappeared and is one of man's original virtues, should be renewed and enable people of all states of life to meet.
The Church in Germany and the People of the German Federal Republic can be proud of their long tradition of openness to the global community; among other things, this is seen in their many initiatives of solidarity, particularly on behalf of developing countries.
In this spirit of esteem and acceptance towards all those who come from different cultures and traditions, we are about to experience World Youth Day in Cologne. That so many young people have come to meet the Successor of Peter is a sign of the Church's vitality. I am happy to be with them, to confirm their faith and, God willing, to enliven their hope.
At the same time, I am sure that I will also receive something from the young people, the fact that their enthusiasm, their sensitivity and their readiness will sustain me and give me the courage to continue my journey in the service of the Church as the Successor of Peter and to face the challenges of the future.
To all of you present here, and all those who have welcomed people from other parts of the world in these event-filled days, I now express my most cordial greeting.
In addition to intense moments of prayer, reflection and celebration with them and with all those taking part in the various scheduled events, I will have an opportunity to meet the Bishops, to whom even now I extend my fraternal greeting. I will also meet the representatives of the other Churches and Ecclesial Communities. I shall be honoured to make a Visit to the Synagogue, which I have very much at heart, for a meeting with the Jewish community, and also to welcome the representatives of some Islamic communities.
These meetings are important steps to intensify the journey of dialogue and cooperation in our shared commitment to building a more just and fraternal future, a future which is truly more human. We all know how necessary it is to seek this path, how much we need this dialogue and this cooperation.
During this World Youth Day we will reflect together on the theme: "We have come to worship him" (Mt 2,2). This is a precious opportunity for thinking more deeply about the meaning of human life as a "pilgrimage", a journey guided by a "star", in search of the Lord.
Together we shall consider the Magi, who would never have thought to become pilgrims even after death, nor that one day their relics would be carried in pilgrimage to Cologne. We shall look to these personages who, coming from different lands, were among the first to recognize the promised Messiah in Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the Virgin Mary, and to bow down in worship before him (cf. Mt Mt 2,1-12).
The Ecclesial Community and the city of Cologne have a special link with these emblematic figures. Like the Magi, all believers - and young people in particular - have been called to set out on the journey of life in search of truth, justice and love. We must seek this star, we must follow it. The ultimate goal of the journey can only be found through an encounter with Christ, an encounter which cannot take place without faith.
Along this interior journey we can be guided by the many signs with which a long and rich Christian tradition has indelibly marked this Land of Germany: from great historical monuments to countless works of art found throughout the Country, from documents preserved in libraries to lively popular traditions, from philosophical inquiry to the theological reflection of her many great thinkers, from the spiritual traditions to the mystical experience of a vast array of saints.
Here we find a very rich cultural and spiritual heritage which even today, in the heart of Europe, testifies to the fruitfulness of the Christian faith and tradition which we must rekindle, because it has within it new strength for the future.
The Diocese and the region of Cologne, in particular, keep the living memory of great witnesses who, as it were, are present in the pilgrimage begun by the three Magi. I think of St Boniface, St Ursula, St Albert the Great, and, in more recent times, St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) and Bl. Adolph Kolping.
These, our illustrious brothers and sisters in the faith, who down the centuries have held high the torch of holiness, have become people who have seen the star and have shown it to others. May these figures be "models" and "patrons" of this meeting of ours, of the World Youth Day.
While to all of you here present I renew my deep gratitude for your gracious welcome, I pray to the Lord for the future of the Church and of society as a whole in this Federal Republic of Germany, so dear to me. May this Country's long history and her great social, economic and cultural attainments be an incentive to renewed commitment on your journey at a time when new problems and issues are also facing the other peoples of the Continent.
May the Virgin Mary, who presented the Child Jesus to the Magi when they arrived in Bethlehem to worship the Saviour, continue to intercede for us, just as for centuries she has kept watch over the German People from her many shrines throughout the German Länder.
May the Lord bless everyone here present, together with all the pilgrims and all who live in this Land.
May God protect the Federal Republic of Germany!
Cologne - Poller Wiesen
Thursday, 18 August 2005
Dear Young People,
I am delighted to meet you here in Cologne on the banks of the Rhine! You have come from various parts of Germany, Europe and the rest of the world as pilgrims in the footsteps of the Magi.
Following their route, you too want to find Jesus. Like them, you have begun this journey in order to contemplate, both personally and with others, the face of God revealed by the Child in the manger.
Like yourselves, I too have set out to join you in kneeling before the consecrated white Host in which the eyes of faith recognize the Real Presence of the Saviour of the world. Together, we will continue to meditate on the theme of this World Youth Day: "We have come to worship him" (Mt 2,2).
With great joy I welcome you, dear young people. You have come here from near and far, walking the streets of the world and the pathways of life. My particular greeting goes to those who, like the Magi, have come from the East. You are the representatives of so many of our brothers and sisters who are waiting, without realizing it, for the star to rise in their skies and lead them to Christ, Light of the Nations, in whom they will find the fullest response to their hearts' deepest desires.
I also greet with affection those among you who have not been baptized, and those of you who do not yet know Christ or have not yet found a home in his Church. Pope John Paul II had invited you in particular to come to this gathering; I thank you for deciding to come to Cologne.
Some of you might perhaps describe your adolescence in the words with which Edith Stein, who later lived in the Carmel in Cologne, described her own: "I consciously and deliberately lost the habit of praying". During these days, you can once again have a moving experience of prayer as dialogue with God, the God who we know loves us and whom we in turn wish to love.
To all of you I appeal: Open wide your hearts to God! Let yourselves be surprised by Christ! Let him have "the right of free speech" during these days!
Open the doors of your freedom to his merciful love! Share your joys and pains with Christ, and let him enlighten your minds with his light and touch your hearts with his grace.
In these days blessed with sharing and joy, may you have a liberating experience of the Church as the place where God's merciful love reaches out to all people. In the Church and through the Church you will meet Christ, who is waiting for you.
Today, as I arrived in Cologne to take part with you in the 20th World Youth Day, I naturally recall with deep gratitude the Servant of God so greatly loved by us all, Pope John Paul II, who had the inspired idea of calling young people from all over the world to join in celebrating Christ, the one Redeemer of the human race. Thanks to the profound dialogue which developed over more than 20 years between the Pope and young people, many of them were able to deepen their faith, forge bonds of communion, develop a love for the Good News of salvation in Christ and a desire to proclaim it throughout the world.
That great Pope understood the challenges faced by young people today, and, as a sign of his trust in them, he did not hesitate to spur them on to be courageous heralds of the Gospel and intrepid builders of the civilization of truth, love and peace.
Today, it is my turn to take up this extraordinary spiritual legacy bequeathed to us by Pope John Paul II. He loved you - you realized that and you returned his love with all your youthful enthusiasm. Now all of us together have to put his teaching into practice. It is this commitment which has brought us here to Cologne, as pilgrims in the footsteps of the Magi.
According to tradition, the names of the Magi in Greek were Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar. Matthew, in his Gospel, tells of the question which burned in the hearts of the Magi: "Where is the infant king of the Jews?" (Mt 2,2). It was in order to search for him that they set out on the long journey to Jerusalem. This was why they withstood hardships and sacrifices, and never yielded to discouragement or the temptation to give up and go home. Now that they were close to their goal, they had no other question than this.
We too have come to Cologne because in our hearts we have the same urgent question that prompted the Magi from the East to set out on their journey, even if it is differently expressed.
It is true that today we are no longer looking for a king, but we are concerned for the state of the world and we are asking: "Where do I find standards to live by, what are the criteria that govern responsible cooperation in building the present and the future of our world? On whom can I rely? To whom shall I entrust myself? Where is the One who can offer me the response capable of satisfying my heart's deepest desires?".
The fact that we ask questions like these means that we realize our journey is not over until we meet the One who has the power to establish that universal Kingdom of justice and peace to which all people aspire, but which they are unable to build by themselves. Asking such questions also means searching for Someone who can neither deceive nor be deceived, and who therefore can offer a certainty so solid that we can live for it and, if need be, even die for it.
Dear friends, when questions like these appear on the horizon of life, we must be able to make the necessary choices. It is like finding ourselves at a crossroads: which direction do we take? The one prompted by the passions or the one indicated by the star which shines in your conscience?
The Magi heard the answer: "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet" (Mt 2,5), and, enlightened by these words, they chose to press forward to the very end. From Jerusalem they went on to Bethlehem. In other words, they went from the word which showed them where to find the King of the Jews whom they were seeking, all the way to the end, to an encounter with the King who was at the same time the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Those words are also spoken for us. We too have a choice to make. If we think about it, this is precisely our experience when we share in the Eucharist. For in every Mass the liturgy of the Word introduces us to our participation in the mystery of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ and hence, introduces us to the Eucharistic Meal, to union with Christ. Present on the altar is the One whom the Magi saw lying in the manger: Christ, the living Bread who came down from heaven to give life to the world, the true Lamb who gives his own life for the salvation of humanity.
Enlightened by the Word, it is in Bethlehem - the "House of Bread" - that we can always encounter the inconceivable greatness of a God who humbled himself even to appearing in a manger, to giving himself as food on the altar.
We can imagine the awe which the Magi experienced before the Child in swaddling clothes. Only faith enabled them to recognize in the face of that Child the King whom they were seeking, the God to whom the star had guided them. In him, crossing the abyss between the finite and the infinite, the visible and the invisible, the Eternal entered time, the Mystery became known by entrusting himself to us in the frail body of a small child.
"The Magi are filled with awe by what they see; heaven on earth and earth in heaven; man in God and God in man; they see enclosed in a tiny body the One whom the entire world cannot contain" (St Peter Chrysologus, Serm. 160, n. 2).
In these days, during this "Year of the Eucharist", we will turn with the same awe to Christ present in the Tabernacle of Mercy, in the Sacrament of the Altar.
Dear young people, the happiness you are seeking, the happiness you have a right to enjoy has a name and a face: it is Jesus of Nazareth, hidden in the Eucharist. Only he gives the fullness of life to humanity! With Mary, say your own "yes" to God, for he wishes to give himself to you.
I repeat today what I said at the beginning of my Pontificate: "If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation" (Homily at the Mass of Inauguration, 24 April 2005).
Be completely convinced of this: Christ takes from you nothing that is beautiful and great, but brings everything to perfection for the glory of God, the happiness of men and women, and the salvation of the world.
In these days I encourage you to commit yourselves without reserve to serving Christ, whatever the cost. The encounter with Jesus Christ will allow you to experience in your hearts the joy of his living and life-giving presence, and enable you to bear witness to it before others. Let your presence in this city be the first sign and proclamation of the Gospel, thanks to the witness of your actions and your joy.
Let us raise our hearts in a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to the Father for the many blessings he has given us and for the gift of faith which we will celebrate together, making it manifest to the world from this land in the heart of Europe, a Europe which owes so much to the Gospel and its witnesses down the centuries.
And now I shall go as a pilgrim to the Cathedral of Cologne, to venerate the relics of the holy Magi who left everything to follow the star which was guiding them to the Saviour of the human race. You too, dear young people, have already had, or will have, the opportunity to make the same pilgrimage.
These relics are only the poor and frail sign of what those men were and what they experienced so many centuries ago. The relics direct us towards God himself: it is he who, by the power of his grace, grants to weak human beings the courage to bear witness to him before the world.
By inviting us to venerate the mortal remains of the martyrs and saints, the Church does not forget that, in the end, these are indeed just human bones, but they are bones that belonged to individuals touched by the living power of God. The relics of the saints are traces of that invisible but real presence which sheds light upon the shadows of the world and reveals the Kingdom of Heaven in our midst. They cry out with us and for us: "Maranatha!" - "Come, Lord Jesus!".
My dear friends, I make these words my farewell, and I invite you to the Saturday evening Vigil. I shall see you then!
Cologne - Roncalliplatz
Thursday, 18 August 2005
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am pleased to be with you this evening, in this city of Cologne to which I am bound by so many beautiful memories. I spent the first years of my academic career in Bonn, unforgettable years of the reawakening of youth, of hope before the Council, years in which I often came to Cologne and learned to love this Rome of the North.
Here one breathes the great history, and the flow of the river brings openness to the world. It is a meeting place, a place of culture. I have always loved the spirit, sense of humour, joyfulness and intelligence of its inhabitants. Besides, I have to say, I loved the catholicity that Cologne's inhabitants have in their blood, for Christians have existed here for almost 2,000 years, so that this catholicity has penetrated the character of the inhabitants in the sense of a joyful religiosity.
Let us rejoice in this today. Cologne can give young people something of its joyful catholicity, which is at the same time both old and young.
It was very beautiful for me that Cardinal Frings gave me his full confidence from the very first, making an authentically fatherly friendship with me. Then, despite my youth and lack of experience, he gave me the great gift of summoning me as his theologian, of bringing me to Rome so that I could take part beside him in the Second Vatican Council and live this extraordinary historical event from close at hand, making some small contribution to it.
I also became acquainted with Cardinal Höffner, then Bishop of Münster, to whom I was likewise bound by a deep and lively friendship. Thanks be to God that this chain of friendships was never broken. Cardinal Meisner has also been my friend for a very long time, so that beginning with Frings and continuing with Höffner and Meisner, I have always been able to feel at home here in Cologne.
I think the time has now come to say "thank you" to so many people with the strong, deep voice of the heart.
In the first place, let us thank the good Lord who gives us the beautiful blue sky and his tangible blessing these days. Let us thank the Mother of God, who has taken the direction of World Youth Day into her hands.
I thank Cardinal Meisner and all his collaborators; Cardinal Lehmann, President of the German Bishops' Conference, and with him, all the Bishops of the German Dioceses, in particular the planning committee in Cologne, but also the Dioceses and local communities which have welcomed the young people in recent days. I can well imagine what all of this entails in terms of energy spent and sacrifices accepted, and I pray that it will bear abundant fruit in the spiritual success of this World Youth Day.
Finally, I cannot fail to express my profound gratitude to the civil and military Authorities, the leaders of the city and region, and the police and security forces of Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia. In the person of the Mayor I thank the people of Cologne for their understanding in the face of this "invasion" by so many young people from all over the world.
The city of Cologne would not be what it is without the Magi, who have had so great an impact on its history, its culture and its faith. Here, in some sense, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany every day of the year! And so, before addressing you, dear inhabitants of Cologne, before greeting you, I wanted to pause for a few moments of prayer before the reliquary of the three Magi, giving thanks to God for their witness of faith, hope and love.
You should know that in 1164 the relics of the Magi were escorted by the Archbishop of Cologne, Reinald von Dassel, from Milan, across the Alps, all the way to Cologne, where they were received with great jubilation. On their pilgrimage across Europe these relics left visible traces behind them which still live on today, both in place names and in popular devotions.
In honour of the Magi the inhabitants of Cologne produced the most exquisite reliquary of the whole Christian world and raised above it an even greater reliquary: Cologne Cathedral. Along with Jerusalem the "Holy City", Rome the "Eternal City" and Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Cologne, thanks to the Magi, has become down the centuries one of the most important places of pilgrimage in the Christian West.
I do not want here to continue to sing the praises of Cologne, although it would be possible and meaningful to do so; it would take too long, for it would be necessary to say too many important and beautiful things about Cologne.
However, I would like to recall that we venerate St Ursula and her companions here; that in 745 the Holy Father named St Boniface Archbishop of Cologne; that St Albert the Great, one of the most learned scholars of the Middle Ages, worked here and that his relics are venerated in the Church of St Andrew; that Thomas Aquinas, the greatest theologian of the West, studied and taught here; that in the 19th century Adolph Kolping founded an important social institution; that Edith Stein, a converted Jew, lived here in Cologne at the Carmelite Convent before being forced to flee to the Convent of Echt in Holland to be deported subsequently to Auschwitz, where she died a martyr. Thanks to these and all the other figures, both known and unknown, Cologne possesses a rich legacy of saints.
I would like to add, at least as far as I know, that here in Cologne one of the Magi has been identified as a Moorish King of Africa, so that a representative of the African Continent has been seen as one of Jesus Christ's first witnesses.
I would also like to add that it was here in Cologne that important exemplary initiatives sprang up whose action has spread across the world, namely: Misereor, Adveniat and Renovabis.
Now you yourselves are here, dear young people from throughout the world. You represent those distant peoples who came to know Christ through the Magi and who were brought together as the new People of God, the Church, which gathers men and women from every culture.
Today, it is your task, dear young people, to live and breathe the Church's universality. Let yourselves be inflamed by the fire of the Spirit, so that a new Pentecost may be created among you and renew the Church.
Through you, may other young people everywhere come to recognize in Christ the true answer to their deepest aspirations, and may they open their hearts to receive the Word of God Incarnate, who died and rose so that God might dwell among us and give us the truth, love and joy for which we are all yearning.
God bless these days!
Cologne - Synagogue
Friday, 19 August 2005
Distinguished Jewish Authorities, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I greet all those who have already been mentioned. Shalom lêchém!
It has been my deep desire, during my first Visit to Germany since my election as the Successor of the Apostle Peter, to meet the Jewish community of Cologne and the representatives of Judaism in Germany. By this Visit I would like to return in spirit to the meeting that took place in Mainz on 17 November 1980 between my venerable Predecessor Pope John Paul II, then making his first Visit to this Country, and members of the Central Jewish Committee in Germany and the Rabbinic Conference.
Today, too, I wish to reaffirm that I intend to continue with great vigour on the path towards improved relations and friendship with the Jewish People, following the decisive lead given by Pope John Paul II (cf. Address to the Delegation of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, 9 June 2005).
The Jewish community in Cologne can truly feel "at home" in this city. Cologne is, in fact, the oldest site of a Jewish community on German soil, dating back to the Colonia of Roman times, as we have come to know with precision.
The history of relations between the Jewish and Christian communities has been complex and often painful. There were blessed times when the two lived together peacefully, but there was also the expulsion of the Jews from Cologne in the year 1424.
And in the 20th century, in the darkest period of German and European history, an insane racist ideology, born of neo-paganism, gave rise to the attempt, planned and systematically carried out by the regime, to exterminate European Jewry. The result has passed into history as the Shoah.
The victims of this unspeakable and previously unimaginable crime amounted to 11,000 named individuals in Cologne alone; the real figure was surely much higher. The holiness of God was no longer recognized, and consequently, contempt was shown for the sacredness of human life.
This year, 2005, marks the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, in which millions of Jews - men, women and children - were put to death in the gas chambers and ovens.
I make my own the words written by my venerable Predecessor on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and I too say: "I bow my head before all those who experienced this manifestation of the mysterium iniquitatis. " The terrible events of that time must "never cease to rouse consciences, to resolve conflicts, to inspire the building of peace" (Message for the Liberation of Auschwitz, 15 January 2005).
Together we must remember God and his wise plan for the world he created. As we read in the Book of Wisdom, he is the "lover of life" (11: 26).
This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration Nostra Aetate, which opened up new prospects for Jewish-Christian relations in terms of dialogue and solidarity. This Declaration, in the fourth chapter, recalls the common roots and the immensely rich spiritual heritage that Jews and Christians share.
Both Jews and Christians recognize in Abraham their father in faith (cf. Gal Ga 3,7 Rom 4: 11ff. ), and they look to the teachings of Moses and the prophets. Jewish spirituality, like its Christian counterpart, draws nourishment from the psalms. With St Paul, Christians are convinced that "the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable" (Rm 11,29 cf. Rm 9,6 11: 1ff. ). In considering the Jewish roots of Christianity (cf. Rom Rm 11,16-24), my venerable Predecessor, quoting a statement by the German Bishops, affirmed that "whoever meets Jesus Christ meets Judaism" (Insegnamenti, Vol. III/2, 1980, p. 1272).
The conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate therefore "deplores feelings of hatred, persecutions and demonstrations of anti-Semitism directed against the Jews at whatever time and by whomsoever" (n. 4). God created us all "in his image" (cf. Gn Gn 1,27) and thus honoured us with a transcendent dignity. Before God, all men and women have the same dignity, whatever their nation, culture or religion.
Hence, the Declaration Nostra Aetate also speaks with great esteem of Muslims (cf. n. 3) and of the followers of other religions (cf. n. 2).
On the basis of our shared human dignity the Catholic Church "condemns as foreign to the mind of Christ any kind of discrimination whatsoever between people, or harassment of them, done by reason of race or colour, class or religion" (n. 5).
The Church is conscious of her duty to transmit this teaching, in her catechesis for young people and in every aspect of her life, to the younger generations which did not witness the terrible events that took place before and during the Second World War.
It is a particularly important task, since today, sadly, we are witnessing the rise of new signs of anti-Semitism and various forms of a general hostility towards foreigners. How can we fail to see in this a reason for concern and vigilance?
The Catholic Church is committed - I reaffirm this again today - to tolerance, respect, friendship and peace between all peoples, cultures and religions.
In the 40 years that have passed since the conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate, much progress has been made, in Germany and throughout the world, towards better and closer relations between Jews and Christians. Alongside official relationships, due above all to cooperation between specialists in the biblical sciences, many friendships have been born.
In this regard, I would mention the various declarations by the German Episcopal Conference and the charitable work done by the "Society for Jewish-Christian Cooperation in Cologne", which since 1945 have enabled the Jewish community to feel once again truly "at home" here in Cologne and to establish good relations with the Christian communities.
Yet much still remains to be done. We must come to know one another much more and much better.
Consequently, I would encourage sincere and trustful dialogue between Jews and Christians, for only in this way will it be possible to arrive at a shared interpretation of disputed historical questions, and, above all, to make progress towards a theological evaluation of the relationship between Judaism and Christianity.
This dialogue, if it is to be sincere, must not gloss over or underestimate the existing differences: in those areas in which, due to our profound convictions in faith, we diverge, and indeed, precisely in those areas, we need to show respect and love for one another.
Finally, our gaze should not only be directed to the past, but should also look forward to the tasks that await us today and tomorrow. Our rich common heritage and our fraternal and more trusting relations call upon us to join in giving an ever more harmonious witness and to work together on the practical level for the defence and promotion of human rights and the sacredness of human life, for family values, for social justice and for peace in the world.
The Decalogue (cf. Ex Ex 20 Dt 5) is for us a shared legacy and commitment. The Ten Commandments are not a burden, but a signpost showing the path leading to a successful life.
This is particularly the case for the young people whom I am meeting in these days and who are so dear to me. My wish is that they may be able to recognize in the Decalogue our common foundation, a lamp for their steps, a light for their path (cf. Ps Ps 119,105).
Adults have the responsibility of handing down to young people the torch of hope that God has given to Jews and to Christians, so that "never again" will the forces of evil come to power, and that future generations, with God's help, may be able to build a more just and peaceful world, in which all people have equal rights and are equally at home.
I conclude with the words of Psalm 29, which express both a wish and a prayer: "May the Lord give strength to his people, may he bless his people with peace".
May he hear our prayer!
Cologne - Saint Pantaleon
Friday, 19 August 2005
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Dear Seminarians,
I greet all of you with great affection and gratitude for your festive welcome and particularly for the fact that you have come to this gathering from so many countries the world over. Here we are truly a spectacular image of the Catholic Church in the world.
I thank especially the seminarian, the priest and the Bishop who have given us their own personal witness. I must say that I was moved to see these paths on which the Lord has guided these men in an unexpected way and not according to their own projects.
I cordially thank you and am very pleased to have this meeting. I had asked - and this has already been said - that the programme of these days in Cologne should include a special meeting with young seminarians, so that the vocational dimension would truly emerge in all of its importance, since it plays an evermore important role in the World Youth Days. It seems to be that the rain too that is falling down from heaven is a blessing.
You are seminarians, that is to say, young people devoting an intense period of your lives to seeking a personal relationship with Christ, an encounter with him, in preparation for your important mission in the Church. This is what a seminary is: more than a place, it is a significant time in the life of a follower of Jesus.
I can imagine the echo that resounds in your hearts from the words of the theme of this 20th World Youth Day - "We have come to worship him" - and the entire moving narration of the searching and finding of the Wise Men. Each in his own way - we consider the three witnesses we have just heard - like them, they see a star, set out on their journey, they too must face what is unclear and are able to arrive at their destination under God's guidance.
This evangelical passage of the Wise Men who search out and find Jesus has a special meaning precisely for you, dear seminarians, because you are on an authentic journey, engaged in discerning - and this is a true journey - and confirming your call to the priesthood. Let us pause and reflect on this theme.
Why did the Magi set off from afar to go to Bethlehem? The answer has to do with the mystery of the "star" which they saw "in the East" and which they recognized as the star of the "King of the Jews", that is to say, the sign of the birth of the Messiah (cf. Mt Mt 2,2). So their journey was inspired by a powerful hope, strengthened and guided by the star, which led them towards the King of the Jews, towards the kingship of God himself. This is the meaning behind our journey: to serve the kingship of God in the world.
The Magi set out because of a deep desire which prompted them to leave everything and begin a journey. It was as though they had always been waiting for that star. It was as if the journey had always been a part of their destiny, and was finally about to begin.
Dear friends, this is the mystery of God's call, the mystery of vocation. It is part of the life of every Christian, but it is particularly evident in those whom Christ asks to leave everything in order to follow him more closely.
The seminarian experiences the beauty of that call in a moment of grace which could be defined as "falling in love". His soul is filled with amazement, which makes him ask in prayer: "Lord, why me?". But love knows no "why"; it is a free gift to which one responds with the gift of self.
The seminary years are devoted to formation and discernment. Formation, as you well know, has different strands which converge in the unity of the person: it includes human, spiritual and cultural dimensions. Its deepest goal is to bring the student to an intimate knowledge of the God who has revealed his face in Jesus Christ.
For this, in-depth study of Sacred Scripture is needed, and also of the faith and life of the Church in which the Scripture dwells as the Word of life. This must all be linked with the questions prompted by our reason and with the broader context of modern life.
Such study can at times seem arduous, but it is an indispensable part of our encounter with Christ and our vocation to proclaim him. All this is aimed at shaping a steady and balanced personality, one capable of receiving validly and fulfilling responsibly the priestly mission.
The role of formators is decisive: the quality of the presbyterate in a particular Church depends greatly on that of the seminary, and consequently on the quality of those responsible for formation.
Dear seminarians, for this very reason we pray today with genuine gratitude for your superiors, professors and educators, who are spiritually present at this meeting. Let us ask the Lord to help them carry out as well as possible the important task entrusted to them.
The seminary years are a time of journeying, of exploration, but above all of discovering Christ. It is only when a young man has had a personal experience of Christ that he can truly understand the Lord's will and consequently his own vocation.
The better you know Jesus the more his mystery attracts you. The more you discover him, the more you are moved to seek him. This is a movement of the Spirit which lasts throughout life, and which makes the seminary a time of immense promise, a true "springtime".
When the Magi came to Bethlehem, "going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him" (Mt 2,11). Here at last was the long-awaited moment: their encounter with Jesus.
"Going into the house": this house in some sense represents the Church. In order to find the Saviour, one has to enter the house, which is the Church.
During his time in the seminary, a particularly important process of maturation takes place in the consciousness of the young seminarian: he no longer sees the Church "from the outside", but rather, as it were, "from the inside", and he comes to sense that she is his "home", inasmuch as she is the home of Christ, where "Mary his mother" dwells.
It is Mary who shows him Jesus her Son; she introduces him and in a sense enables him to see and touch Jesus, and to take him into his arms. Mary teaches the seminarian to contemplate Jesus with the eyes of the heart and to make Jesus his very life.
Each moment of seminary life can be an opportunity for loving experience of the presence of Our Lady, who introduces everyone to an encounter with Christ in the silence of meditation, prayer and fraternity. Mary helps us to meet the Lord above all in the celebration of the Eucharist, when, in the Word and in the consecrated Bread, he becomes our daily spiritual nourishment.
"They fell down and worshiped him... and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh" (Mt 2,11-12). Here is the culmination of the whole journey: encounter becomes adoration; it blossoms into an act of faith and love which acknowledges in Jesus, born of Mary, the Son of God made man.
How can we fail to see prefigured in this gesture of the Magi the faith of Simon Peter and of the other Apostles, the faith of Paul and of all the saints, particularly of the many saintly seminarians and priests who have graced the 2,000 years of the Church's history?
The secret of holiness is friendship with Christ and faithful obedience to his will. St Ambrose said: "Christ is everything for us"; and St Benedict warned against putting anything before the love of Christ.
May Christ be everything for you. Dear seminarians, be the first to offer him what is most precious to you, as Pope John Paul II suggested in his Message for this World Youth Day: the gold of your freedom, the incense of your ardent prayer, the myrrh of your most profound affection (cf. n. 4).
The seminary years are a time of preparing for mission. The Magi "departed for their own country" and most certainly bore witness to their encounter with the King of the Jews.
You too, after your long, necessary programme of seminary formation, will be sent forth as ministers of Christ; indeed, each of you will return as an alter Christus.
On their homeward journey, the Magi surely had to deal with dangers, weariness, disorientation, doubts. The star was no longer there to guide them! The light was now within them. Their task was to guard and nourish it in the constant memory of Christ, of his Holy Face, of his ineffable Love.
Dear seminarians! One day, God willing, by the consecration of the Holy Spirit you too will begin your mission. Remember always the words of Jesus: "Abide in my love" (Jn 15,9). If you abide close to Christ, with Christ and in Christ, you will bear much fruit, just as he promised. You have not chosen him - we have just heard this in the witnesses given -, he has chosen you (cf. Jn Jn 15,16).
Here is the secret of your vocation and your mission! It is kept in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who watches over each one of you with a mother's love. Have recourse to Mary, often and with confidence.
I assure you of my affection and my daily prayers. And I bless all of you from my heart.
Cologne - Archbishop’s House
Friday, 19 August 2005
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Permit me to remain seated after such a strenuous day. This does not mean I wish to speak "ex cathedra". Also, excuse me for being late. Unfortunately, Vespers took longer than foreseen and the traffic was slower moving than could be imagined.
I would like now to express the joy I feel on the occasion of my Visit to Germany, in being able to meet you and offer a warm greeting to you, the Representatives of the other Churches and Ecclesial Communities.
As a native of this Country, I am quite aware of the painful situation which the rupture of unity in the profession of the faith has entailed for so many individuals and families. This was one of the reasons why, immediately following my election as Bishop of Rome, I declared, as the Successor of the Apostle Peter, my firm commitment to making the recovery of full and visible Christian unity a priority of my Pontificate.
In doing so, I wished consciously to follow in the footsteps of two of my great Predecessors: Pope Paul VI, who over 40 years ago signed the conciliar Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, and Pope John Paul II, who made that Document the inspiration for his activity.
In ecumenical dialogue Germany without a doubt has a place of particular importance. We are the Country where the Reformation began; however, Germany is also one of the countries where the ecumenical movement of the 20th century originated.
With the successive waves of immigration in the last century, Christians from the Orthodox Churches and the ancient Churches of the East also found a new homeland in this Country. This certainly favoured greater contact and exchanges so that now there is a dialogue between we three.
Together we can rejoice in the fact that the dialogue, with the passage of time, has brought about a renewed sense of our brotherhood and has created a more open and trusting climate between Christians belonging to the various Churches and Ecclesial Communities. My venerable Predecessor, in his Encyclical Ut Unum Sint (1995), saw this as an especially significant fruit of dialogue (cf. nn. 41ff.; 64).
I feel the fact that we consider one another brothers and sisters, that we love one another, that together we are witnesses of Jesus Christ, should not be taken so much for granted. I believe that this brotherhood is in itself a very important fruit of dialogue that we must rejoice in, continue to foster and to practice.
Among Christians, fraternity is not just a vague sentiment, nor is it a sign of indifference to truth. As you just said, Bishop, it is grounded in the supernatural reality of the one Baptism which makes us all members of the one Body of Christ (cf. 1Co 12,13 Ga 3,28 Col 2,12).
Together we confess that Jesus Christ is God and Lord; together we acknowledge him as the one mediator between God and man (cf. 1Tm 2,5), and we emphasize that together we are members of his Body (cf. Unitatis Redintegratio UR 22 Ut Unum Sint, n. 42).
Based on this essential foundation of Baptism, a reality comes from him which is a way of being, then of professing, believing and acting. Based on this crucial foundation, dialogue has borne its fruits and will continue to do so.
I would like to mention the re-examination of the mutual condemnations, called for by John Paul II during his first Visit to Germany. I recall with some nostalgia that first Visit. I was able to be present when we were together at Mainz in a fairly small and authentic fraternal circle. Some questions were put to the Pope and he described a broad theological vision in which reciprocity was amply treated.
That colloquium gave rise to an episcopal, that is, a Church commission, under ecclesial responsibility. Finally, with the contribution of theologians it led to the important Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999) and to an agreement on basic issues that had been a subject of controversy since the 16th century.
We should also acknowledge with gratitude the results of our common stand on important matters, such as the fundamental questions involving the defence of life and the promotion of justice and peace.
I am well aware that many Christians in Germany, and not only in this Country, expect further concrete steps to bring us closer together. I myself have the same expectation.
It is the Lord's commandment, but also the imperative of the present hour, to carry on dialogue with conviction at all levels of the Church's life. This must obviously take place with sincerity and realism, with patience and perseverance, in complete fidelity to the dictates of one's conscience in the awareness that it is the Lord who gives unity, that we do not create it, that it is he who gives it but that we must go to meet him.
I do not intend here to outline a programme for the immediate themes of dialogue - this task belongs to theologians working alongside the Bishops: the theologians, on the basis of their knowledge of the problem; the Bishops from their knowledge of the concrete situation in the Church in our Country and in the world.
May I make a small comment: now, it is said that following the clarification regarding the Doctrine of Justification, the elaboration of ecclesiological issues and the questions concerning ministry are the main obstacles still to be overcome. In short, this is true, but I must also say that I dislike this terminology, which from a certain point of view delimits the problem since it seems that we must now debate about institutions instead of the Word of God, as though we had to place our institutions in the centre and fight for them. I think that in this way the ecclesiological issue as well as that of the "Ministerium" are not dealt with correctly.
The real question is the presence of the Word in the world. In the second century the early Church primarily took a threefold decision: first, to establish the canon, thereby stressing the sovereignty of the Word and explaining that not only is the Old Testament "hai graphai", but together with the New Testament constitutes a single Scripture which is thus for us the master text.
However, at the same time the Church has formulated an Apostolic Succession, the episcopal ministry, in the awareness that the Word and the witness go together; that is, the Word is alive and present only thanks to the witness, so to speak, and receives from the witness its interpretation. But the witness is only such if he or she witnesses to the Word.
Third and last, the Church has added the "regula fidei" as a key for interpretation. I believe that this reciprocal compenetration constitutes an object of dissent between us, even though we are certainly united on fundamental things.
Therefore, when we speak of ecclesiology and of ministry we must preferably speak in this combination of Word, witness and rule of faith, and consider it as an ecclesiological matter, and therefore together as a question of the Word of God, of his sovereignty and humility inasmuch as the Lord entrusts his Word, and concedes its interpretation, to witnesses which, however, must always be compared to the "regula fidei" and the integrity of the Word. Excuse me if I have expressed a personal opinion; it seemed right to do so.
Another urgent priority in ecumenical dialogue arises from the great ethical questions of our time; in this area, contemporary man, who is searching, rightly expects a common response on the part of Christians, which, thanks be to God, in many cases has been forthcoming.
There are so many common declarations by the German Bishops' Conference and the Evangelical Churches in Germany that we can be grateful for, but unfortunately, this does not always happen. Because of contradictory positions in this area our witness to the Gospel and the ethical guidance which we owe to the faithful and to society lose their impact and often appear too vague, with the result that we fail in our duty to provide the witness that is needed in our time.
Our divisions are contrary to the will of Jesus and they disappoint peoples' expectations. I think that we must work with new energy and dedication to bring a common witness into the context of these great ethical challenges of our time.
We all know there are numerous models of unity and you know that the Catholic Church also has as her goal the full visible unity of the disciples of Christ, as defined by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council in its various Documents (cf. Lumen Gentium LG 8,13 Unitatis Redintegratio UR 2, 4, etc. ). This unity, we are convinced, indeed subsists in the Catholic Church, without the possibility of ever being lost (cf. Unitatis Redintegratio UR 4); the Church in fact has not totally disappeared from the world.
On the other hand, this unity does not mean what could be called ecumenism of the return: that is, to deny and to reject one's own faith history. Absolutely not!
It does not mean uniformity in all expressions of theology and spirituality, in liturgical forms and in discipline. Unity in multiplicity, and multiplicity in unity: in my Homily for the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul on 29 June last, I insisted that full unity and true catholicity in the original sense of the word go together. As a necessary condition for the achievement of this coexistence, the commitment to unity must be constantly purified and renewed; it must constantly grow and mature.
To this end, dialogue has its own contribution to make. More than an exchange of thoughts, an academic exercise, it is an exchange of gifts (cf. Ut Unum Sint UUS 28), in which the Churches and the Ecclesial Communities can make available their own riches (cf. Lumen Gentium LG 8,15 Unitatis Redintegratio UR 3, 14ff.; Ut Unum Sint UUS 10-14).
As a result of this commitment, the journey can move forward, step by step, as the Letter to the Ephesians says, until at last we will all "attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ep 4,13).
It is obvious that this dialogue can develop only in a context of sincere and committed spirituality. We cannot "bring about" unity by our powers alone. We can only obtain unity as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, spiritual ecumenism - prayer, conversion and the sanctification of life - constitutes the heart of the meeting and of the ecumenical movement (cf. Unitatis Redintegratio UR 8 Ut Unum Sint, 15ff., 21, etc.). It could be said that the best form of ecumenism consists in living in accordance with the Gospel.
I would also like in this context to remember the great pioneer of unity, Bro. Roger Schutz, who was so tragically snatched from life. I had known him personally for a long time and had a cordial friendship with him.
He often came to visit me and, as I already said in Rome on the day of his assassination, I received a letter from him that moved my heart, because in it he underlined his adherence to my path and announced to me that he wanted to come and see me. He is now visiting us and speaking to us from on high. I think that we must listen to him, from within we must listen to his spiritually-lived ecumenism and allow ourselves to be led by his witness towards an interiorized and spiritualized ecumenism.
I see good reason in this context for optimism in the fact that today a kind of "network" of spiritual links is developing between Catholics and Christians from the different Churches and Ecclesial Communities: each individual commits himself to prayer, to the examination of his own life, to the purification of memory, to the openness of charity.
The father of spiritual ecumenism, Paul Couturier, spoke in this regard of an "invisible cloister" which unites within its walls those souls inflamed with love for Christ and his Church. I am convinced that if more and more people unite themselves interiorly to the Lord's prayer "that all may be one" (Jn 17,21), then this prayer, made in the Name of Jesus, will not go unheard (cf. Jn Jn 14,13 Jn 15,7, 16, etc. ).
With the help that comes from on high, we will also find practical solutions to the different questions which remain open, and in the end our desire for unity will come to fulfilment, whenever and however the Lord wills.
Now let us all go along this path in the awareness that walking together is a form of unity. Let us thank God for this and pray that he will continue to guide us all.
Cologne
Saturday, 20 August 2005
Dear Muslim Friends,
It gives me great joy to be able to be with you and to offer you my heartfelt greetings.
As you know, I have come here to meet young people from every part of Europe and the world. Young people are the future of humanity and the hope of the nations. My beloved Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, once said to the young Muslims assembled in the stadium at Casablanca, Morocco: "The young can build a better future if they first put their faith in God and if they pledge themselves to build this new world in accordance with God's plan, with wisdom and trust" (Insegnamenti, VIII/2, 1985, p. 500).
It is in this spirit that I turn to you, dear and esteemed Muslim friends, to share my hopes with you and to let you know of my concerns at these particularly difficult times in our history.
I am certain that I echo your own thoughts when I bring up one of our concerns as we notice the spread of terrorism. I know that many of you have firmly rejected, also publicly, in particular any connection between your faith and terrorism and have condemned it. I am grateful to you for this, for it contributes to the climate of trust that we need.
Terrorist activity is continually recurring in various parts of the world, plunging people into grief and despair. Those who instigate and plan these attacks evidently wish to poison our relations and destroy trust, making use of all means, including religion, to oppose every attempt to build a peaceful and serene life together.
Thanks be to God, we agree on the fact that terrorism of any kind is a perverse and cruel choice which shows contempt for the sacred right to life and undermines the very foundations of all civil coexistence.
If together we can succeed in eliminating from hearts any trace of rancour, in resisting every form of intolerance and in opposing every manifestation of violence, we will turn back the wave of cruel fanaticism that endangers the lives of so many people and hinders progress towards world peace.
The task is difficult but not impossible. The believer - and all of us, as Christians and Muslims, are believers - knows that, despite his weakness, he can count on the spiritual power of prayer.
Dear friends, I am profoundly convinced that we must not yield to the negative pressures in our midst, but must affirm the values of mutual respect, solidarity and peace. The life of every human being is sacred, both for Christians and for Muslims. There is plenty of scope for us to act together in the service of fundamental moral values.
The dignity of the person and the defence of the rights which that dignity confers must represent the goal of every social endeavour and of every effort to bring it to fruition. This message is conveyed to us unmistakably by the quiet but clear voice of conscience. It is a message which must be heeded and communicated to others: should it ever cease to find an echo in peoples' hearts, the world would be exposed to the darkness of a new barbarism.
Only through recognition of the centrality of the person can a common basis for understanding be found, one which enables us to move beyond cultural conflicts and which neutralizes the disruptive power of ideologies.
During my Meeting last April with the delegates of Churches and Christian Communities and with representatives of the various religious traditions, I affirmed that "the Church wants to continue building bridges of friendship with the followers of all religions, in order to seek the true good of every person and of society as a whole" (L'Osservatore Romano, 25 April 2005, p. 4).
Past experience teaches us that, unfortunately, relations between Christians and Muslims have not always been marked by mutual respect and understanding. How many pages of history record battles and wars that have been waged, with both sides invoking the Name of God, as if fighting and killing, the enemy could be pleasing to him. The recollection of these sad events should fill us with shame, for we know only too well what atrocities have been committed in the name of religion.
The lessons of the past must help us to avoid repeating the same mistakes. We must seek paths of reconciliation and learn to live with respect for each other's identity. The defence of religious freedom, in this sense, is a permanent imperative, and respect for minorities is a clear sign of true civilization. In this regard, it is always right to recall what the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council said about relations with Muslims.
"The Church looks upon Muslims with respect. They worship the one God living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to humanity and to whose decrees, even the hidden ones, they seek to submit themselves whole-heartedly, just as Abraham, to whom the Islamic faith readily relates itself, submitted to God.... Although considerable dissensions and enmities between Christians and Muslims may have arisen in the course of the centuries, the Council urges all parties that, forgetting past things, they train themselves towards sincere mutual understanding and together maintain and promote social justice and moral values as well as peace and freedom for all people" (Declaration Nostra Aetate NAE 3).
For us, these words of the Second Vatican Council remain the Magna Carta of the dialogue with you, dear Muslim friends, and I am glad that you have spoken to us in the same spirit and have confirmed these intentions.
You, my esteemed friends, represent some Muslim communities from this Country where I was born, where I studied and where I lived for a good part of my life. That is why I wanted to meet you. You guide Muslim believers and train them in the Islamic faith.
Teaching is the vehicle through which ideas and convictions are transmitted. Words are highly influential in the education of the mind. You, therefore, have a great responsibility for the formation of the younger generation. I learn with gratitude of the spirit in which you assume responsibility.
Christians and Muslims, we must face together the many challenges of our time. There is no room for apathy and disengagement, and even less for partiality and sectarianism. We must not yield to fear or pessimism. Rather, we must cultivate optimism and hope.
Interreligious and intercultural dialogue between Christians and Muslims cannot be reduced to an optional extra. It is in fact a vital necessity, on which in large measure our future depends.
The young people from many parts of the world are here in Cologne as living witnesses of solidarity, brotherhood and love.
I pray with all my heart, dear and esteemed Muslim friends, that the merciful and compassionate God may protect you, bless you and enlighten you always.
May the God of peace lift up our hearts, nourish our hope and guide our steps on the paths of the world.
Thank you!
Cologne - Marienfeld
Saturday, 20 August 2005
Dear young friends,
In our pilgrimage with the mysterious Magi from the East, we have arrived at the moment which St Matthew describes in his Gospel with these words: "Going into the house (over which the star had halted), they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him" (Mt 2,11). Outwardly, their journey was now over. They had reached their goal.
But at this point a new journey began for them, an inner pilgrimage which changed their whole lives. Their mental picture of the infant King they were expecting to find must have been very different. They had stopped at Jerusalem specifically in order to ask the King who lived there for news of the promised King who had been born. They knew that the world was in disorder, and for that reason their hearts were troubled.
They were sure that God existed and that he was a just and gentle God. And perhaps they also knew of the great prophecies of Israel foretelling a King who would be intimately united with God, a King who would restore order to the world, acting for God and in his Name.
It was in order to seek this King that they had set off on their journey: deep within themselves they felt prompted to go in search of the true justice that can only come from God, and they wanted to serve this King, to fall prostrate at his feet and so play their part in the renewal of the world. They were among those "who hunger and thirst for justice" (Mt 5,6). This hunger and thirst had spurred them on in their pilgrimage - they had become pilgrims in search of the justice that they expected from God, intending to devote themselves to its service.
Even if those who had stayed at home may have considered them Utopian dreamers, they were actually people with their feet on the ground, and they knew that in order to change the world it is necessary to have power. Hence, they were hardly likely to seek the promised child anywhere but in the King's palace. Yet now they were bowing down before the child of poor people, and they soon came to realize that Herod, the King they had consulted, intended to use his power to lay a trap for him, forcing the family to flee into exile.
The new King, to whom they now paid homage, was quite unlike what they were expecting. In this way they had to learn that God is not as we usually imagine him to be. This was where their inner journey began. It started at the very moment when they knelt down before this child and recognized him as the promised King. But they still had to assimilate these joyful gestures internally.
They had to change their ideas about power, about God and about man, and in so doing, they also had to change themselves. Now they were able to see that God's power is not like that of the powerful of this world. God's ways are not as we imagine them or as we might wish them to be.
God does not enter into competition with earthly powers in this world. He does not marshal his divisions alongside other divisions. God did not send 12 legions of angels to assist Jesus in the Garden of Olives (cf. Mt Mt 26,53). He contrasts the noisy and ostentatious power of this world with the defenceless power of love, which succumbs to death on the Cross and dies ever anew throughout history; yet it is this same love which constitutes the new divine intervention that opposes injustice and ushers in the Kingdom of God.
God is different - this is what they now come to realize. And it means that they themselves must now become different, they must learn God's ways.
They had come to place themselves at the service of this King, to model their own kingship on his. That was the meaning of their act of homage, their adoration. Included in this were their gifts - gold, frankincense and myrrh - gifts offered to a King held to be divine. Adoration has a content and it involves giving. Through this act of adoration, these men from the East wished to recognize the child as their King and to place their own power and potential at his disposal, and in this they were certainly on the right path.
By serving and following him, they wanted, together with him, to serve the cause of good and the cause of justice in the world. In this they were right.
Now, though, they have to learn that this cannot be achieved simply through issuing commands from a throne on high. Now they have to learn to give themselves - no lesser gift would be sufficient for this King. Now they have to learn that their lives must be conformed to this divine way of exercising power, to God's own way of being.
They must become men of truth, of justice, of goodness, of forgiveness, of mercy. They will no longer ask: how can this serve me? Instead, they will have to ask: How can I serve God's presence in the world? They must learn to lose their life and in this way to find it. Having left Jerusalem behind, they must not deviate from the path marked out by the true King, as they follow Jesus.
Dear friends, what does all this mean for us?
What we have just been saying about the nature of God being different, and about the way our lives must be shaped accordingly, sounds very fine, but remains rather vague and unfocused. That is why God has given us examples. The Magi from the East are just the first in a long procession of men and women who have constantly tried to gaze upon God's star in their lives, going in search of the God who has drawn close to us and shows us the way.
It is the great multitude of the saints - both known and unknown - in whose lives the Lord has opened up the Gospel before us and turned over the pages; he has done this throughout history and he still does so today. In their lives, as if in a great picture-book, the riches of the Gospel are revealed. They are the shining path which God himself has traced throughout history and is still tracing today.
My venerable Predecessor Pope John Paul II, who is with us at this moment, beatified and canonized a great many people from both the distant and the recent past. Through these individuals he wanted to show us how to be Christian: how to live life as it should be lived - according to God's way. The saints and the blesseds did not doggedly seek their own happiness, but simply wanted to give themselves, because the light of Christ had shone upon them.
They show us the way to attain happiness, they show us how to be truly human. Through all the ups and downs of history, they were the true reformers who constantly rescued it from plunging into the valley of darkness; it was they who constantly shed upon it the light that was needed to make sense - even in the midst of suffering - of God's words spoken at the end of the work of creation: "It is very good".
One need only think of such figures as St Benedict, St Francis of Assisi, St Teresa of Avila, St Ignatius of Loyola, St Charles Borromeo, the founders of 19-century religious orders who inspired and guided the social movement, or the saints of our own day - Maximilian Kolbe, Edith Stein, Mother Teresa, Padre Pio. In contemplating these figures we learn what it means "to adore" and what it means to live according to the measure of the Child of Bethlehem, by the measure of Jesus Christ and of God himself.
The saints, as we said, are the true reformers. Now I want to express this in an even more radical way: only from the saints, only from God does true revolution come, the definitive way to change the world.
In the last century we experienced revolutions with a common programme - expecting nothing more from God, they assumed total responsibility for the cause of the world in order to change it. And this, as we saw, meant that a human and partial point of view was always taken as an absolute guiding principle. Absolutizing what is not absolute but relative is called totalitarianism. It does not liberate man, but takes away his dignity and enslaves him.
It is not ideologies that save the world, but only a return to the living God, our Creator, the guarantor of our freedom, the guarantor of what is really good and true. True revolution consists in simply turning to God who is the measure of what is right and who at the same time is everlasting love. And what could ever save us apart from love?
Dear friends! Allow me to add just two brief thoughts.
There are many who speak of God; some even preach hatred and perpetrate violence in God's Name. So it is important to discover the true face of God. The Magi from the East found it when they knelt down before the Child of Bethlehem. "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father", said Jesus to Philip (Jn 14,9). In Jesus Christ, who allowed his heart to be pierced for us, the true face of God is seen. We will follow him together with the great multitude of those who went before us. Then we will be travelling along the right path.
This means that we are not constructing a private God, we are not constructing a private Jesus, but that we believe and worship the Jesus who is manifested to us by the Sacred Scriptures and who reveals himself to be alive in the great procession of the faithful called the Church, always alongside us and always before us.
There is much that could be criticized in the Church. We know this and the Lord himself told us so: it is a net with good fish and bad fish, a field with wheat and darnel.
Pope John Paul II, as well as revealing the true face of the Church in the many saints that he canonized, also asked pardon for the wrong that was done in the course of history through the words and deeds of members of the Church. In this way he showed us our own true image and urged us to take our place, with all our faults and weaknesses, in the procession of the saints that began with the Magi from the East.
It is actually consoling to realize that there is darnel in the Church. In this way, despite all our defects, we can still hope to be counted among the disciples of Jesus, who came to call sinners.
The Church is like a human family, but at the same time it is also the great family of God, through which he establishes an overarching communion and unity that embraces every continent, culture and nation. So we are glad to belong to this great family that we see here; we are glad to have brothers and friends all over the world.
Here in Cologne we discover the joy of belonging to a family as vast as the world, including Heaven and earth, the past, the present, the future and every part of the earth. In this great band of pilgrims we walk side by side with Christ, we walk with the star that enlightens our history.
"Going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him" (Mt 2,11). Dear friends, this is not a distant story that took place long ago. It is with us now. Here in the Sacred Host he is present before us and in our midst. As at that time, so now he is mysteriously veiled in a sacred silence; as at that time, it is here that the true face of God is revealed. For us he became a grain of wheat that falls on the ground and dies and bears fruit until the end of the world (cf. Jn Jn 12,24).
He is present now as he was then in Bethlehem. He invites us to that inner pilgrimage which is called adoration. Let us set off on this pilgrimage of the spirit and let us ask him to be our guide. Amen.
Cologne - Archbishop’s House
Sunday, 21 August 2005
Venerable and Dear Brothers,
First of all, I would like to express my great happiness at once again having the opportunity to see one another and be together after beautiful and likewise demanding days, and therefore, of having the joy of meeting. Although I am in fact only a former member of the German Bishops' Conference, I still feel bound to you all in a fraternal union that cannot weaken.
I would like next to thank Cardinal Lehmann for his cordial words and emphasize them in the spirit of what I too said today at the end of this Eucharistic celebration: that is, I want to express once again the great "thank you" that we all have in our hearts.
We all know that the immense work of preparation, the great things achieved, do not suffice to make all this possible. We know, consequently, that it must necessarily be a gift. Since no one can simply create the enthusiasm of the young, no one can create to last for days this union in faith and in the joy of faith.
Everything, moreover, even the weather, has truly been a gift for which we thank the Lord. We also interpret it as a duty to do our part to ensure that this enthusiasm continues and develops into strength for the life of the Church in our Country.
I would like once again to thank Cardinal Meisner and his collaborators for all their preparatory work. I also want to thank Cardinal Lehmann, his collaborators and all of you, for all the Dioceses have cooperated in the organization of this event. The whole of Germany has offered hospitality to the guests and has set out with Our Lady and the Cross; it has thus been able to receive this gift.
I am deeply grateful for this statue that still needs a little time, so to speak, to acquire its definitive form. Yet I find it very beautiful that St Boniface will also be in my house and will thus visibly express to me too what he held particularly dear: the union between the Church in Germany and in Rome. Just as he led the Church in Germany to unity with the Successor of Peter, he is also guiding me to lasting fraternal communion with the Bishops of Germany, with the Church in Germany.
The Holy Father John Paul II, the brilliant founder of the World Youth Days - an insight that I consider an inspiration - has shown that both parties give and receive. Not only have we done our part in the best possible way, but the young people, with their questions, their hope, their joy in faith, their enthusiasm in renewing the Church, have given something to us.
Let us give thanks for this reciprocity and let us hope that it will endure, that is, that the young people with their questions, faith and joy in faith will continue to challenge us to get the better of our faint-heartedness and weariness and urge us, in turn, with the experience of the faith that is given to us, with the experience of pastoral ministry, with the grace of the Sacrament in which we find ourselves, to point out the way to them, so that their enthusiasm may be properly directed. Just as a spring must be channelled so that its waters may be useful, this ever new enthusiasm must likewise be, as it were, moulded into its ecclesial form.
Here in Germany we are accustomed primarily, and I as a Professor in particular, to see especially the problems. However, I believe we should admit that all this has been possible because in Germany, despite all the Church's problems, despite all possible questionable things, a living Church truly exists.
She is a Church with many positive aspects in which so many people are ready to work hard for their own faith and to use their free time, even giving money and some of their possessions simply to contribute to her with their own lives. It seems to me that this has become newly visible to us.
How many people in Germany, in spite of all the difficulties we complain about, are still believers today, constitute a living Church and hence, make it possible for an event like World Youth Day to have its own context, its own humus, in which to grow and take shape!
I believe we must remember the many priests, Religious and lay people who, faithful to their service, work in difficult pastoral conditions. And there is no need for me to emphasize the generosity of German Catholics, truly well known throughout the world; it is not only a material generosity, since there are many German Fidei donum priests.
I see it during the Ad limina visits: German priests are working, even in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and regions beyond the wildest imagination, scattering the seed of the Word, identifying with people. Thus, they imbue this threatened world, invaded by so many negative things from the West, with the great power of faith and with it, all that is positive in what we are given.
Misereor, Adveniat, Missio, Renovabis as well as the diocesan and parish branches of Caritas do an enormous amount of work. Then the educational work of Catholic schools and other Catholic institutions and organizations for youth is equally vast. In saying this, I do not intend to be exhaustive about everything positive there is to say, but merely to mention it to you so that these aspects are not forgotten and will always inspire courage and joy.
Besides the positive aspects that I believe are important not to forget and for which it is always necessary to be grateful, we also have to admit that on the face of the universal Church and also on that of the Church in Germany there are unfortunately also wrinkles and shadows that obscure her splendour. We should lovingly keep these before us too, at this moment of festivity and thanksgiving.
We know that secularism and dechristianization are gaining ground, that relativism is growing and that the influence of Catholic ethics and morals is in constant decline. Many people abandon the Church or, if they stay, accept only a part of Catholic teaching, picking and choosing between only certain aspects of Christianity.
The religious situation in the East continues to be worrying. Here, as we know, the majority of the population is not baptized, has no contact with the Church and has often not even heard of either Christ or the Church. We should recognize these realities as challenges.
Dear Brothers, as you yourselves said in your Pastoral Letter of 21 September 2004, on the occasion of the Jubilee of St Boniface: "We have become a mission land". This is true for large parts of Germany.
I therefore believe that throughout Europe, and likewise in France, Spain and elsewhere, we should give serious thought as to how to achieve a true evangelization in this day and age, not only a new evangelization, but often a true and proper first evangelization.
People do not know God, they do not know Christ. There is a new form of paganism and it is not enough for us to strive to preserve the existing flock, although this is very important: we must ask the important question: what really is life?
I believe we must all try together to find new ways of bringing the Gospel to the contemporary world, of proclaiming Christ anew and of implanting the faith.
This scene, that the World Youth Day is unfolding before us and that I have described with only a few brief comments, invites us to turn our gaze to the future. For the Church and especially for us Pastors, for parents and for educators, young people constitute a living appeal to faith.
I would like to say once again that in my opinion Pope John Paul II was tremendously inspired in choosing for this World Youth Day the motto: "We have come to worship him" (Mt 2,2). We are often so oppressed, understandably oppressed, by the immense social needs of the world and by all the organizational and structural problems that exist that we set aside worship as something for later. Fr Delp once said that nothing is more important than worship. He said so in the context of his time, when it was evident that to destroy worship, destroyed man.
Nonetheless, in our new context in which worship, and thus also the face of human dignity, has been lost, it is once again up to us to understand the priority of worship. We must make youth, ourselves and our communities, aware of the fact that it is not a luxury of our confused epoch that we cannot permit ourselves but a priority. Wherever worship is no longer, wherever it is not a priority to pay honour to God, human realities can make no headway.
We must therefore endeavour to make the face of Christ visible, the face of the living God, so that like the Magi we may spontaneously fall to our knees and adore him. Two things certainly happened in the Magi: first they sought; then they found and worshipped him.
Today, many people are searching. We too are searching. Basically, in a different dialectic, both these things must always exist within us. We must respect each one's own search. We must sustain it and make them feel that faith is not merely a dogmatism complete in itself that puts an end to seeking, that extinguishes man's great thirst, but that it directs the great pilgrimage towards the infinite; we, as believers, are always simultaneously seekers and finders.
In his Commentary on the Psalms, St Augustine interprets so splendidly the expression "Quaerite faciem eius semper", "constantly seek his face", that ever since my student days his words have lived on in my heart. This is not only true for this life, but for eternity; his face will be one to ceaselessly rediscover. The more deeply we penetrate the splendour of divine love, the greater will be our discoveries and the more beautiful it will be to travel on and know that our seeking has no end, hence, finding has no end and is thus eternity - the joy of seeking and at the same time of finding.
We must support people in their search as fellow-seekers, and at the same time we must also give them the certainty that God has found us and, consequently, that we can find him. We want to be a Church open to the future, rich in promises for the new generations.
It is not a matter of pandering to youth, which is basically ridiculous, but of a true youthfulness that flows from the wellsprings of eternity, that is ever new, that derives from the transparency of Christ in his Church: this is how he gives us the light to continue. In this light we can find the courage to face confidently the most difficult questions asked in the Church in Germany today.
As I have already said, on the one hand, we must accept the challenges of youth, but on the other, we in turn must inculcate in young people patience, without which nothing can be found; we must teach them discernment, a healthy realism, the capacity to be decisive. A Head of State who paid me a visit recently told me that his main concern was the widespread inability to make definitive decisions for fear of losing personal freedom.
In fact, men and women become free when they bind themselves, when they find roots, for it is then that they can grow and mature. We must teach patience, discernment, realism, but without false compromises, so as not to water down the Gospel!
The experience of these past 20 years has taught us that every World Youth Day is in a certain sense a new beginning for the pastoral care of young people in the country that hosts it. Preparing for the event mobilizes people and resources. We have seen it right here in Germany: how a true "mobilization" has pervaded the Country, prompting a surge of energy.
Lastly, the celebration itself brings a gust of enthusiasm that must be sustained and, so to speak, rendered definitive. This enormous potential energy can further increase, spreading across the territory. I am thinking of the parishes, associations and movements. I am thinking of the priests, Religious, catechists and animators involved with young people. I believe that in Germany the large number of people involved in this event is well known. I am praying that each one of those who collaborated may genuinely grow in love for Christ and for the Church, and I encourage them all to carry on their pastoral work among the new generations together, with a renewed spirit of service. We must relearn willingness to serve, and transmit it.
The majority of young Germans live in comfortable social and financial conditions. Yet we know well that difficult situations are not lacking.
In all social strata, especially those that are better off, the number of young people from broken families is on the rise. Unfortunately, unemployment among young people in Germany has increased.
Moreover, many young men and women are bewildered and have no real answers to their questions about the meaning of life and death, about their present and their future. Many of the ideas put forward by modern society lead nowhere and unfortunately, very many young people end by sinking into the quicksand of alcohol and drugs, or caught in the clutches of extremist groups.
Some young Germans, especially in the East, have never become personally acquainted with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Even in the traditionally Catholic regions, the teaching of religion and catechesis do not always manage to forge lasting bonds between young people and the Church community.
For this reason you are all committed together - I know it - to seeking new ways to reach out to young people, and the World Youth Days have been - as Pope John Paul II used to say - a sort of "laboratory" for this.
I think we are all reflecting - and in the other Western countries it is just the same - on how to make catechesis more effective. I read in the HERDER-Korrespondenz that you have published a new catechetical document that I have unfortunately not yet had an opportunity to see, but I am grateful to note that you are taking this problem to heart.
Indeed, it is worrying to us all that despite the age-old teaching of religion, the knowledge of religion is meagre, and many people often do not even know the most basic, elementary things. What can we do?
I do not know. Perhaps on the one hand, heathens should have access to a sort of pre-catechesis that opens them to the faith - and this is also the content of many catechetical endeavours - but on the other, it is always necessary to have the courage to transmit the mystery itself, in its beauty and greatness, and pave the way to the impulse to contemplate, love and recognize it: ah, this is it!
Today, in my Homily I noted that Pope John Paul II gave us two exceptional instruments: the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its Compendium, which he also wanted. We made sure that the German translation was ready for World Youth Day. In Italy, half a million copies have already been sold. It is on sale at the newsstands and rouses peoples' curiosity. What is in it? What does the Catholic Church say?
I believe we too must have the courage to sustain this curiosity and to attempt to make these books that represent the content of the mystery a part of catechesis, so that by increasing the knowledge of our faith the joy that stems from it will also increase.
I have two other aspects very much at heart. One is the pastoral care of vocations.
I feel that the recitation of Vespers in the Church of St Pantaleon has also given us the courage to help young people and to do so in the right way, so that the Lord's call may reach them and they ask themselves: "Does he want me?"; and so that once again the willingness to be called and to hear such a call may increase.
The other aspect very dear to me is the pastoral care of families. We see the threat to families; in the meantime even lay bodies recognize how important it is that the family live as the primary cell of society, that children be able to grow in an atmosphere of communion between the generations, so that continuity between the present, past and future will endure and that the continuity of values will be lasting: this is what makes it possible to build communion in a country.
I wanted to deal precisely with these three aspects: catechesis, the pastoral care of vocations and the pastoral care of families.
As we have seen, associations and movements, which are undoubtedly a source of enrichment, play an important role in the world of youth. The Church must make the most of these realities, and at the same time she must guide them with pastoral wisdom, so that with the variety of their different gifts they may contribute in the best possible way to building up the community without ever entering into competition - each one building, so to speak, its own little church -, but respecting one another and working together for the one Church - for the one parish as the local Church - to awaken in young people the joy of faith, love for the Church and passion for the Kingdom of God.
I think that precisely this is another important aspect: this authentic communion on the one hand between the various movements whose forms of exclusivism should be eliminated, and on the other, between the local Churches and the movements, so that the local Churches recognize this particularity, which seems strange to many, and welcome it in itself as a treasure, understanding that in the Church there are many ways and that all together they converge in a symphony of faith. The local Churches and movements are not in opposition to one another, but constitute the living structure of the Church.
Dear Brothers, please God, there will be other occasions on which to go deeply into the issues that challenge our common pastoral solicitude. This time I wanted, very briefly and not exhaustively, of course, to convey the message that the great pilgrimage of young people has left us. It seems to me that at the end of this event, the young people's request to us might be summed up as: "Yes, we came to worship him. We met him. Now help us to become his disciples and witnesses". It is a demanding appeal, but especially comforting to a Pastor's heart.
May the memory of the days spent in Cologne under the banner of hope sustain our common service!
I leave you with my affectionate encouragement, which at the same time is a heartfelt brotherly request: always proceed and work in agreement, on the basis of a communion of which the Eucharist is the summit and the source.
I entrust you all to Mary, the Mother of Christ and of the Church, and I impart my Apostolic Blessing to each one of you and to your communities. Thank you.
Cologne Airport
Sunday, 21 August 2005
Distinguished Mr President,
Dear Young Friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the conclusion of this, my first Visit to Germany as the Bishop of Rome and the Successor of Peter, I must express once again my heartfelt gratitude for the welcome given to me, to my collaborators and especially to the many young people who came to Cologne from every continent for this World Youth Day.
The Lord has called me to succeed our beloved Pope John Paul II, whose inspired idea it was to initiate the series of World Youth Days. I have taken up this legacy with awe and also with joy, and I give thanks to God for giving me the opportunity to experience in the company of so many young people this further step along their spiritual pilgrimage from continent to continent, following the Cross of Christ.
I am grateful to all those who have so effectively ensured that every phase of this extraordinary gathering could take place in an orderly and serene fashion. These days spent together have given many young men and women from the whole world the opportunity to become better acquainted with Germany.
We are all well aware of the evil that emerged from our Homeland during the 20th century, and we acknowledge it with shame and suffering.
During these days, thanks be to God, it has become quite evident that there was and is another Germany, a Land of singular human, cultural and spiritual resources. I hope and pray that these resources, thanks, not least, to the events of recent days, may once more spread throughout the world!
Now young people from all over the world can return home enriched by their contacts and their experiences of dialogue and fellowship in the different regions of our Homeland. I am certain that their stay, marked by their youthful enthusiasm, will remain as a pleasant memory with the people who have offered them such generous hospitality, and that it will also be a sign of hope for Germany.
Indeed, one can say that during these days Germany has been the centre of the Catholic world.
Young people from every continent and culture, gathered in faith around their Pastors and the Successor of Peter, have shown us a young Church, one that seeks with imagination and courage to shape the face of a more just and generous humanity.
Following the example of the Magi, these young men and women set out to encounter Christ, in accordance with the theme of this World Youth Day. Now they are returning to their own regions and cities to testify to the light, the beauty and the power of the Gospel which they have experienced anew.
Before leaving, I must also express thanks to all who have opened their hearts and their homes to the countless young pilgrims. I am grateful to the Government Authorities, to the political leaders and the various civil and military departments, as well as the security services and the many volunteer organizations which have put so much effort into the preparation and realization of each of the initiatives and events of this World Youth Day.
A special word of thanks goes to all who planned the moments of prayer and reflection, as well as the liturgical celebrations, eloquent examples of the joyful vitality of the faith that animates the younger generation in our time.
I would also like to express my gratitude to the leaders of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, and to the representatives of other religions who wished to be present at this important meeting. I express my hope that we can strengthen our common commitment to train the younger generation in the human and spiritual values which are indispensable for building a future of true freedom and peace.
My deep gratitude goes to Cardinal Joachim Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne, the Diocese that hosted this international meeting, to the Bishops of Germany, led by the President of the Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, to the priests, to men and women religious, and to the parish communities, lay associations and movements who have devoted such energy to helping the young people present to reap the spiritual fruits of their stay.
I offer a special word of thanks to the young people from Germany, who in a variety of ways have helped to welcome other young people and to share with them moments of faith that have been truly memorable. I hope that this event will remain impressed on the life of Germany's Catholics and will be an incentive for a renewed spiritual and apostolic outreach!
May the Gospel be received in its integrity and witnessed with profound conviction by all Christ's disciples, so that it becomes a source of authentic renewal for all of German society, thanks also to dialogue with the different Christian communities and the followers of other religions.
Finally, my respectful and cordial greetings go to the political, civil and diplomatic Authorities present at this Departure Ceremony. In particular, I thank you, Mr President, for your courtesy in desiring to welcome me in person at the beginning of my Visit and for having desired to be present once again at my Farewell Ceremony. Thank you with all my heart!
Through you, I thank the Government Members and the entire German People, whose numerous representatives have shown me such liking in these intense hours of communion.
Filled with the emotions and memories of these days, I now return to Rome. Upon all of you I invoke God's abundant Blessings for a future of serene prosperity, harmony and peace.
Thursday 25 August 2005
Mr Ambassador,
I am pleased to receive the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the Holy See. The occasion also affords me a happy opportunity to offer you my most cordial welcome as you are assuming the duties assigned to you by your Government.
I would also like to express to you my sincere appreciation for your kind words, and for the respectful greeting from President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías which you, as his spokesman, have conveyed to me. I ask you to reciprocate, expressing my appreciation to him together with my sincere sentiments of closeness and affection for the Venezuelan People. I pray to the Almighty for them that they will persevere today, in their social and economic life, in seeking the most suitable solutions to attain ever higher goals of justice, solidarity and progress, in accordance with the Christian spirit that has contributed so much to forging their national identity.
Your Country, as you mentioned, has an ancient and deep Catholic tradition - as the liberator Simón Bolívar emphasized - and it is characterized by profound esteem and veneration for the Successor of Peter. Thus, one can hardly be surprised by the prominence that the Government gave to mourning the death of my venerable Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, and the delegations it sent to his funeral and to the solemn inauguration of my own Pontificate.
For its part, the Holy See follows the events of this "land of grace" very closely, as it has shown on numerous occasions.
For all these reasons, I express my best wishes to you that during the exercise of your important mission, the former traditional and historical relations between Venezuela and the Holy See will be reinforced in a spirit of loyal and constructive collaboration.
Venezuela has been wonderfully endowed by the Creator with natural resources. This brings with it the responsibility to cultivate and care for the gifts received (cf. Gn Gn 2,15), so that all its inhabitants may have the possibility of living with the dignity that befits human beings.
In this task, no one may feel exempt from active collaboration, especially in cases of poverty or social marginalization. The Church's constant work in Venezuela, which she has sometimes had to carry out with very limited human and material means, has focused on many activities of human advancement, promoting life from its conception and the family, and on projects of social assistance in order to strengthen fundamental social institutions such as education, medical aid and charitable structures. The Church has done this both in the urban context, with considerable action among the poorest of the poor, as well as in the more geographically remote areas of the Nation, among the indigenous populations.
The Church's educational action and social assistance, therefore, continue to benefit the whole of society. This is particularly evident in the case of Catholic schools, which have always made and continue to make an enormous contribution to the education of Venezuelan children and young people, inspiring the human and spiritual values in them, in accordance with the desires and the free choice of the parents. Parents are the first educators of their children and enjoy the natural and legal right to choose the kind of education they desire for them.
In this regard, I am aware of the importance that the Venezuelan public Authorities attach to these areas, which are vital for the harmonious development of the Country, through its various programmes for literacy, education and health-care training. These activities require a generous and concerted contribution on behalf of all citizens and various institutions in order to foster widespread attitudes of solidarity which, together with a fairer and more balanced social order, will be the best guarantee of lasting results and not end up being partial or transient.
Thus, loyal and respectful dialogue between all the social parties is indispensable as a means for agreement on aspects that concern the common good.
The Catholic Church, which has been present and has accompanied the Venezuelan People through all the stages of its history, currently shares Venezuela's worries and hopes for a better future.
In fulfilling her proper mission, the Church announces the Gospel and proclaims forgiveness and reconciliation. Sincerely offered and received, this is the only way to achieve a harmony that endures and to prevent legitimate discrepancies from degenerating into aggressive confrontations.
She invites people to nurture the basic values of every society, such as love of truth, respect for justice, honesty in carrying out one's responsibilities and generous readiness to serve the good of all the citizens before partisan interests.
Moreover, it is well known that the social situation does not improve with the application of technological means alone; it is also necessary to pay special attention to promoting values, with respect for the ethical dimension proper to the person, the family and social life. In this way it will be easier to assure the integral development of all members of the national community based on respect for their fundamental rights and freedoms, as is proper for a State of rights.
The Church cannot cease to proclaim and defend the dignity of the human person in his or her full integrity and openness to divine transcendence. She asks to have constantly at her disposal the indispensable space and necessary means to carry out her mission and her humanizing service.
In this regard, and with respect for the specific competencies of the Church and the State, there are many areas in which it would be desirable to establish various forms of fruitful collaboration between them. This would enable them to render a better service to the people's development and to foster a spirit of coexistence in freedom and solidarity that would be beneficial to all.
Mr Ambassador, you recalled the unquestionable value of freedom, a great good that enables human beings to fulfil themselves totally. The Church needs this freedom to exercise her mission, to choose her Pastors and to guide her faithful. The Successors of Peter have always striven to defend this freedom. Moreover, State Governments need have no fears regarding the Church's action, for in exercising her freedom she seeks only to carry out her religious mission and to contribute to the spiritual progress of each country.
At the beginning of the year, John Paul II affirmed in his Address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See: "There need be no fear that legitimate religious freedom would limit other freedoms or be injurious to the life of civil society. On the contrary: together with religious freedom, all other freedoms develop and thrive, inasmuch as freedom is an indivisible good, the prerogative of the human person and his dignity....
"The Church is able carefully to distinguish, as she must, what belongs to Caesar from what belongs to God (cf. Mt Mt 22,21). She actively cooperates in promoting the common good of society, inasmuch as she repudiates falsehood and educates to truth, she condemns hatred and contempt, and she calls for a spirit of brotherhood; always and everywhere she encourages - as history clearly shows - works of charity, science and the arts. She asks only for freedom, so that she can effectively cooperate with all public and private institutions concerned with the good of mankind" (Address to Diplomats Accredited to the Holy See, 10 January 2005, n. 8; L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 12 January 2005, p. 3).
In making these words my own, I deeply hope that the current difficulties in Church-State relations dissipate and that a fruitful collaboration in continuity with the noble Venezuelan tradition will be restored.
Mr Ambassador, at the end of this meeting, I once again express to you my cordial greetings and welcome, together with my very best wishes for the accomplishment of the lofty mission you have begun. I earnestly hope that Venezuela's relations with the Holy See will be strengthened and improved. You can count on the acceptance and support necessary to make this important goal a reality.
I also hope that your stay in Rome will be an enrichment to you and your family, and that it will thereby contribute to increasing the sensitivity of many Venezuelans, who deeply love their Homeland and who, at the same time, can also feel like citizens of the world and much loved children of the Church.
I entrust all these sentiments and hopes to Our Lady of Coromoto, whom I fervently invoke so that she may intercede with her divine Son for the Venezuelan People, upon whom I implore an abundance of Blessings from the Most High.
Friday 26 August 2005
Mr Ambassador,
I am pleased to welcome you at this ceremony for the presentation of the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Paraguay to the Holy See.
I am grateful for your kind words and for the cordial greeting you have brought me from H.E. Mr Nicanor Duarte Frutos, President of the Republic. I ask you at the same time to convey to him my very best wishes for his peace and well-being and for the prosperity and development of the beloved Paraguayan Nation.
I also ask you to express my deepest gratitude for the heartfelt gesture of respect and closeness that he showed to my venerable Predecessor by sending high Representatives of State institutions to his funeral; and also to me, by his presence as Supreme Mandatary at the solemn liturgical celebration inaugurating my Pontificate as Successor of Peter.
A few years after the celebration of the bicentenary of Paraguay's Independence and its creation as a sovereign Nation, today - as you have clearly pointed out - the Nation has a great opportunity to advance in dialogue and serene coexistence among its own citizens and with other countries, in order to overcome any form of conflict or tension. What better moment could there be than the present, when the legitimacy of the Supreme Magistrature of the State has been re-established, as happened at the last general elections, and when foundations have been laid that promise hopes of greater institutional stability?
I therefore encourage the citizens to practise true democracy, in other words, that of a Nation inspired by the supreme and immutable values, which enables the cultural wealth of people and the gradual development of society to respond to the needs of human dignity. In this regard, it is right to reassert that peace "is the first and supreme good of a society; it implies justice, freedom and order and makes every other good of human life possible" (Paul VI, Christmas Message, 23 December 1965).
On this topic, John Paul II stated in his Encyclical Centesimus Annus: "A democracy without values easily turns into open or thinly-disguised totalitarianism" (n. 46), for without an ultimate truth to guide and direct political action, "ideas and convictions can easily be manipulated for reasons of power" (ibid.).
As I said to the Diplomatic Corps on 12 May, the Church ceaselessly proclaims and defends her fundamental rights, which unfortunately are violated in various parts of the world, and strives for recognition of the rights of every human person to life from conception, to food, a home, employment, health-care assistance, the protection of the family and the promotion of social development with full respect for the dignity of men and women, created in God's image.
Government leaders who have received the responsibility to protect and defend these same rights must not falter, however great the difficulties may be, in their commitment to put them into practice. It is necessary for every member of their nation.
Through my Brother Bishops, the Church in Paraguay is aware of the need to respond faithfully to Christ's call so that everyone may live in an atmosphere of hope and peace, with the experience of God's love as the badge of every believing community.
To this end, a national consultation is being promoted whose theme is: Speak Lord, that your Church may listen. Its intention is to establish some common lines for pastoral action as well as to spread awareness that the construction of the Homeland is the duty of every citizen. All must feel involved in this marvellous project of building their Homeland and turning it into a people of brothers and sisters.
The Church, therefore, with the experience she has gained from humanity and without in any way wishing to interfere in the politics of States, "is interested in one thing only - to carry on the work of Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for he came into the world to bear witness to the truth, to save and not to judge, to serve and not to be served" (Gaudium et Spes GS 3).
At the end of this agreeable meeting, Mr Ambassador, may I congratulate you. I also offer you my very best wishes that you will have a pleasant stay in Rome and that your diplomatic mission will produce abundant fruits of mutual understanding and close collaboration, strengthening the good relations that already exist between your Country and the Holy See.
With these hopes, which I extend to your distinguished family and collaborators, I ask you kindly to convey my cordial greeting to the Government of Paraguay and especially to the President.
Please express my closeness and affection to the Paraguayan People, for whom I implore the motherly protection of Our Lady of Caacupé as I invoke upon everyone an abundance of divine Blessings.
Monday, 29 August 2005
Mr Ambassador,
I am pleased to receive from your hands the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ecuador to the Holy See. While I sincerely thank you for the kind words you have deigned to address to me, I offer you my most cordial welcome at this solemn ceremony which marks the beginning of the mission entrusted to you by your Government, and which you formerly exercised with significant success from 1984 to 1988.
I particularly appreciate the trust placed in you by H.E. Mr Alfredo Palacio González, President of the Republic. I kindly ask you to convey to him my best wishes for peace, well-being and prosperity for the integral development of this beloved Nation.
In receiving you, I cannot omit to recall the pleasant visit I paid to your Country in 1978, when I was Archbishop of Munich and Freising, as Extraordinary Envoy to preside at the Third National Marian Congress in Guayaquil. On that occasion, I was also able to visit the Ecclesiastical Circumscriptions of Cuenca, Ambato and, briefly, Quito. It was a very positive experience; and it enabled me to value the wealth of faith and attachment to the Catholic Church that are characteristic of the Ecuadoran People, who received me as the Pope's representative with great demonstrations of fervour and respect.
Ecuador, like many other countries, is troubled by financial, social and political problems. The search for the means with which to solve them is an arduous task that always requires the good will and collaboration of all citizens of the different social classes, and especially of the leaders of the various political and socio-economic institutions.
Moreover, this union of intentions and wishes is urgently needed. It will enable the continuous action of Government leaders in the face of the challenges presented by a globalized world, which must be confronted with authentic solidarity.
This virtue, as my Predecessor John Paul II of venerable memory used to say, must inspire the action of individuals, governments and international organizations and institutions, as well as that of all members of civil society. It must involve them in working for a just growth of peoples and nations, whose objective is the good of one and all (cf. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis SRS 40).
In your address, Mr Ambassador, you referred to your Government's desire to fight corruption in all its forms, to reduce the inequality between those who possess everything and those who lack such basic goods as education, health care and housing. With these, you mentioned projects for continuing to build a better Nation.
Actually, transparency and honesty in a government foster an atmosphere of credibility and the citizens' confidence in their authorities. They are also the basis of an appropriate and equitable development.
I also know of the initiatives being taken, starting with the teaching of the Church's social doctrine, that call on the administrative bodies to put the principle of subsidiarity into practice as an effective means of dealing with so many concrete needs.
In these tasks, those in charge of the official institutions will find in the Church in Ecuador, poor in her resources yet strong in her firm convictions, a satisfactory collaborator in the quest for just solutions. They will recognize her endeavours to increase the citizens' awareness and responsibility and will foster the participation of all.
The effort to meet the needs of the most destitute must be considered a fundamental priority. Among those who suffer great hardship are the indigenous peoples, the majority of whom are immersed in poverty and marginalization.
Mr Ambassador, you know well that the Catholic Church offers her assiduous collaboration without reserve in the deplorable problem of emigration. The recognition and respect that the Government offers in this area deserves gratitude.
Moreover, the distance of emigrants from their Homeland, due to their legitimate desire to find better living conditions, brings with it a whole series of uncertainties, difficulties and suffering for families, especially when they leave behind children of a tender age.
For this reason, in addition to helping improve the financial situation of emigrants, it is necessary to preserve and increase the rich cultural and religious values that form part of the baggage they will one day bring.
Among these values, devotion to the Mother of God is very deeply rooted in the hearts of Ecuadoran faithful. Precisely as you recalled, the centenary of the "miracle" of the image of the Dolorosa del Colegio in Quito will be celebrated next year. Throughout the years, various figures from the worlds of politics, culture and art have publicly expressed their devotion to the Virgin under this title.
I would also like to mention here the love of your fellow citizens for Mariana de Jesús, the first Ecuadoran saint. A marble statue of her is soon to be set up in St Peter's Basilica, in a place that has already been chosen, as an expression of Ecuador's steadfast loyalty to this Apostolic See.
Mr Ambassador, at the end of this ceremony, I would like to offer you my very best wishes for the success of your mission. Please convey my greeting to the President of the Republic and the assurance of my prayers to the Ecuadoran People for their calm and peaceful progress.
I ask the Most High to assist you always in your mission which is beginning today, as I invoke an abundance of Blessings upon you, upon your distinguished family and collaborators, and upon the leaders and citizens of Ecuador.
September 2005
Thursday, 8 September 2005
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
I express to you my deep joy at receiving you during your ad limina visit, in order to venerate the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul and to strengthen your bonds of communion with the Successor of Peter. I am grateful for the words of Archbishop José Fernández Arteaga of Chihuahua on behalf of you all, Pastors of the Ecclesiastical Provinces of Chihuahua, Durango, Guadalajara and Hermosillo. I would now like to consider certain points of special interest for the pilgrim Church in Mexico.
The times when Bishops meet are a precious opportunity to live and deepen their unity. In this regard, the Mexican Bishops' Conference is also called to be a living sign of ecclesial communion, directed to facilitating the Bishops' ministry and strengthening their collegiality.
Today, it is more necessary than ever to join forces and exchange experiences, because, as the Second Vatican Council emphasized, "it is often impossible, nowadays especially, for Bishops to exercise their office suitably and fruitfully unless they establish closer understanding and cooperation with other Bishops" (Christus Dominus CD 37).
I therefore encourage you to continue on this path of communion with a view to an increasingly effective and fruitful action.
The Mexican Nation has emerged as an encounter of peoples and cultures whose features have been marked by the living presence of Jesus Christ and the mediation of Mary, "Mother of the True God through whom we live" (Nican Mopohua). The riches of the Acontecimiento Guadalupano (event of Guadalupe) brought together different people, histories and cultures in a new situation, through which Mexico has continued to develop its identity and mission.
Today, Mexico is living through a process of transition, characterized by the appearance of groups which are seeking, in a more or less orderly way, new areas for participation and representation. Many of them in particular are forcefully advocating the option for the poor and for those excluded from development, especially the indigenous peoples. The deep longing to consolidate a culture and the democratic, economic and social institutions that recognize the human rights and cultural values of the people must find an echo and an enlightening response in the Church's pastoral action.
The preparation for the Great Jubilee has helped Mexican Catholics to know, accept and love their history as a people and a community of believers. Here, I would like to recall my Predecessor's exhortation: "Individuals and peoples need a sort of "healing of memories', so that past evils will not come back again. This does not mean forgetting past events; it means re-examining them with a new attitude and learning precisely from the experience of suffering that only love can build up, whereas hatred produces devastation and ruin" (John Paul II, Message for the World Day of Peace on 1 January 1997, n. 3; L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 18/25 December 1996, p. 3).
This challenge requires an integral formation in all Church contexts that will help the faithful, each and every one, to live the Gospel in life's different dimensions. Only in this way will they be able to account for the hope that is in them (cf. 1P 3,15). The traditional ways of living the faith, passed on sincerely and naturally through family customs and teaching, must mature in personal and community choices.
This formation is particularly necessary for young people; when they cease to participate in the Ecclesial Community through the sacraments of initiation, they find themselves facing a society marked by growing cultural and religious pluralism. Furthermore, sometimes very lonely and bewildered, they come up against currents of thought which hold that men and women, without the need for God and even opposed to God, achieve fulfilment through technological, political and economic power.
It is thus necessary to accompany the young, engaging them with enthusiasm, so that on returning to the Ecclesial Community, they will take on the commitment to transform society as a priority for following Christ.
Likewise, families require proper guidance if they are to discover and live their dimension as a "domestic church".
Parents need to receive a formation that will help them to be the "first evangelizers" of their children; only in this way will parents manage to become their first school of life and faith.
Knowledge of the content of faith alone, however, is never a substitute for the experience of a personal encounter with the Lord.
Catechesis in the parishes and the teaching of religion and morals in schools with a Christian ethic, as well as the living witness of those who have encountered Christ and transmit the faith so as to arouse peoples' aspiration to serve and follow him totally, heart and soul, must favour this experience of recognizing and meeting Christ.
One expression of the Church's wealth is the existence of more than 400 Institutes of Consecrated Life, especially female. Many of these, founded in Mexico, evangelize throughout the Country and in the different cultural milieus and localities.
A large number of them are dedicated to all levels of education, especially in some universities; others work with the poorest of the poor, combining evangelization and human promotion; in hospitals; in the media; in the field of art and the humanities; guiding those who work in the world of economics and business in their spiritual and professional formation.
In addition to all this must be added the wider participation of the lay faithful through various initiatives that reveal their vocation and mission in society. There is also a growing number of national and international lay movements which promote the renewal of married and family life as well as a greater community experience.
The Church in Mexico reflects the pluralism of society itself which has been shaped by many different realities, some good and very promising, others more complex. In the face of this pluralism, Bishops must encourage some systematic pastoral processes that give fuller meaning to manifestations that derived casually from tradition or custom. These processes must aim first of all to integrate the directives of the Council with the pastoral challenges presented by the different concrete situations.
Contemporary society is questioning and observing the Church, demanding consistency and daring in the faith. Visible signs of credibility will be the witness of life, the unity of believers, service to the poor and the tireless promotion of their dignity.
The task of evangelization requires us to be creative but ever faithful to the Tradition of the Church and her Magisterium. Because we live in a new culture marked by the social communications media, the Church in Mexico must make the most, in this respect, of the collaboration of her faithful, the training of many cultured people and the opportunities that the public institutions concede in this area (cf. John Paul II, Ecclesia in America, n. 72).
Revealing the face of Christ in the context of the media demands a serious formative and apostolic effort that cannot be postponed and moreover, needs the contribution of all.
Dear Brothers, today we are celebrating the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. United in one heart and one mind, I entrust you to her motherly care, together with the priests, Religious communities and faithful of your Dioceses. Take back to all of them the Pope's greeting and love, while I impart my Apostolic Blessing with affection to you all.
Saturday, 10 September 2005
Dear Members of the 31st Squadron of the Italian Air Force,
Our meeting today is my first opportunity to meet your whole group. I am truly delighted and thank you for your visit as well as for your service. I also cordially greet your relatives who have accompanied you.
I am grateful to the outgoing Commander, Colonel Giuseppe Coco, for his courteous words, and I would like to express to him my warm gratitude for the appreciated work he has done.
I greet Colonel Giuseppe Gimondo, who is preparing to take over the command of the Squadron, and offer him my very best wishes for his new assignment. I am also grateful for the courteous tribute of an interesting picture.
Since the Lord called me to carry out my ministry as Bishop of Rome, I have already been able to benefit from many of your services and have become aware of the professionalism with which you work, and at the same time, of the Christian spirit that motivates you.
As believers, you are given the possibility of sharing in the same Gospel ideals that are at the root of the Pope's mission. In carrying out your work, you put your competence, experience and acquired skills at the service of the Church, thereby cooperating in your own way with the ministry of the Successor of Peter.
I would like to express my gratitude and also that of my collaborators by awarding to you certain signs of distinction that I have the joy of investing you with on this occasion.
Above all, however, I would like to assure you that I am close to you with prayer, and I entrust to God all your intentions and projects.
My meeting today with you and your loved ones prompts me to remember the families of each one of you to the Lord, so that he will illumine with his grace both favourable and difficult moments and enrich them all with supernatural value.
From this moment, I entrust this intention and all the special intentions you carry in your hearts to the Virgin Mary. I hope your work will be peaceful.
I cordially impart my Blessing to all of you who are present here, and gladly extend it to those who are dear to you and were unable to be with you on this occasion.
Thursday, 15 September 2005
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
I am filled with deep joy to receive you on the occasion of your ad limina visit with which you express your communion and love for the Successor of Peter.
I thank Archbishop Alberto Suárez Inda of Morelia for his cordial greeting on your behalf, Pastors of the Ecclesiastical Circumscriptions of Monterrey, Morelia and San Luis Potosí.
Mexico is facing the challenge of transforming its social structures to make them conform better to the dignity of the person and to his or her fundamental rights. Catholics, who still represent the majority of the population, are called to collaborate in this task as they discover their commitment of faith and the unifying significance of their presence in the world.
The opposite would be "one of the gravest errors of our time... the dichotomy between the faith which many profess and the practice of their daily lives" (Gaudium et Spes GS 43).
It is a cause of serious concern that in certain circles, greed for power has led to the deterioration of healthy forms of coexistence and of government as well as to phenomena of corruption, impunity, the infiltration of the drug trade and organized crime. All this paves the way to various forms of violence, to indifference and to contempt for the inviolable value of life.
In this regard, the "social sins" of our epoch are clearly denounced in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America. These sins express "a deep crisis caused by the loss of a sense of God and the absence of those moral principles which should guide the life of every human person. In the absence of moral points of reference, an unbridled greed for wealth and power takes over, obscuring any Gospel-based vision of social reality" (n. 56).
In Mexico too, many people live in a situation of poverty. However, the faith in God and the religious sense of many of the faithful go hand in hand with a wealth of humanity, hospitality, brotherliness and solidarity.
These values are threatened by emigration abroad, where many work in precarious conditions, in a vulnerable state, and thus have difficulty in coming to grips with a cultural context different from their own social and religious identity.
Wherever immigrants meet with a warm welcome from an Ecclesial Community that helps them to settle into the new reality, this phenomenon is in a certain way positive and encourages the evangelization of other cultures.
With its in-depth examination of migration, the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for America contributed to the discovery that, over and above social and financial factors, an appreciable unity stems from a common faith and fosters fraternal communion and solidarity. It is the result of the presence of the living Jesus Christ and the encounter with him in various forms that were and are present in America's history.
Human mobility, therefore, is a pastoral priority in relations of cooperation with the Churches of North America.
Many of the baptized, influenced by countless trends in thought and behaviour, become indifferent to the Gospel values. Moreover, they are even induced to behave in ways opposed to the Christian vision of life which makes membership in an Ecclesial Community difficult.
Although they claim to be Catholic, they in fact live far from the faith; they are giving up religious practices and little by little are losing their own identity as believers, with moral and spiritual consequences of a different kind.
This pastoral challenge has impelled you, dear Brothers, not only to seek solutions in order to point out the errors in these trends and to defend the content of the faith, but also and above all to point out the transcendental richness of the Christian event as an event that gives life true meaning and makes it possible to talk to, listen to and cooperate with everyone.
Far from leaving you indifferent, all this, combined with the activity of the sects and new religious groups in America, must be an incentive to your particular Churches to offer the faithful more personalized religious attention, to consolidate structures of communion and to propose a purified popular religiosity so as to give new life to every Catholic's faith (cf. ibid., n. 73).
The responsible formation of Catholics in the faith is an urgent obligation in order to help them live in the world with joy and courage. "All pastoral initiatives must be set in relation to holiness" (Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 30). This is a priority task in the ongoing evangelization of the baptized.
Catechesis together with the teaching of religion and morals must therefore be founded increasingly on the experience and knowledge of Jesus Christ through the living witness of those who have encountered him, in order to awaken the desire to follow him and serve him with all one's heart and mind.
"It is important, however, that what we propose, with the help of God, should be profoundly rooted in contemplation and prayer. Ours is a time of continual movement which often leads to restlessness, with the risk of "doing for the sake of doing'" (ibid., n. 15).
In pastoral practice, all this implies the need to revise our mindset, our attitudes and our conduct, as well as to broaden our horizons, striving to share and to work with enthusiasm to respond to the great questions of men and women today.
As a missionary Church, we are all called to understand the challenges that our postmodern culture poses to the new evangelization of the Continent. The Church's dialogue with the culture of our time is vital, to the Church herself and to the world.
Before concluding, I pray the Lord that this meeting of ours will strengthen your unity as Pastors of the Church in Mexico.
At the same time, I ask you to convey my affectionate greeting to the priests, the religious communities, the pastoral agents and all the diocesan faithful, and to encourage them always to bear an authentic witness of Christian life in contemporary society.
I entrust your pastoral work to Our Lady, Mother of Guadalupe, and at the same time I joyfully impart my Apostolic Blessing to you all.
Friday, 15 September 2005
Distinguished Gentlemen,
With an open heart I welcome you here today, and express my appreciation of the fact that your visit intends to emphasize the positive results that have come from the Second Vatican Council's declaration Nostra Aetate, the fortieth anniversary of which we are commemorating this year. I see your visit as a further step forward in the process of building deeper religious relations between Catholics and Jews, a course which has received new impulse and energy from Nostra Aetate and from the many forms of contact, dialogue and co-operation that have their origin in the principles and spirit of that document. The Church continues to make every effort to implement the Council's vision of a new era of better mutual understanding, respect and solidarity between us.
Nostra Aetate has proven to be a milestone on the road towards reconciliation of Christians with the Jewish people. It makes clear that "God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; he does not repent of the gifts he makes or of the calls he issues” (N° 4).
Today, we must continue to seek ways to fulfil that responsibility of which I spoke during my recent visit to the Synagogue in Cologne: "of handing down to young people the torch of hope that God has given to Jews and to Christians, so that never again will the forces of evil come to power, and that future generations, with God's help, may be able to build a more just and peaceful world, in which all people have equal rights and are equally at home".
The eyes of the world constantly turn to the Holy Land, the Land that is considered holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Unfortunately our attention is too often drawn by acts of violence and terror, a cause of immense sorrow to everyone living there. We must continue to insist that religion and peace go together.
On this occasion my thoughts turn also to the Christian communities in the Holy Land, a living presence and witness there since the dawn of Christianity through all the vicissitudes of history. Today these brothers and sisters in the faith face new and increasing challenges. While we are pleased that diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel have led to more solid and stable forms of co-operation, we eagerly await the fulfilment of the Fundamental Agreement on issues still outstanding.
Dear Chief Rabbis, as religious leaders we stand before God with a serious responsibility for the teaching we give and the decisions we make. May the Lord sustain us in serving the great cause of promoting the sacredness of human life and defending the human dignity of every person, so that justice and peace may flourish in the world.
Castel Gandolfo
Friday, 16 September 2005
Your Eminences,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I offer my most cordial greeting to all of you who are taking part in the Congress on Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church, an event organized by the Catholic Biblical Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. I congratulate you on this initiative, connected with one of the most important Documents of the Second Vatican Council.
I greet the Cardinals and Bishops, who are the first witnesses of the Word of God, the theologians who investigate, explain and translate it into today's language, the Pastors who seek in it appropriate solutions for the problems of our time.
I warmly thank all who work in the service of the translation and circulation of the Bible, providing the means for explaining, teaching and interpreting its message. In this regard, my special thanks go to the Catholic Biblical Federation for its activity, the biblical ministry it promotes and its faithful support of the directives of the Magisterium as well as to its spirit of openness to ecumenical collaboration in the biblical context.
I express my deepest joy at the presence at this Congress of "Fraternal Delegates" of the Churches and Ecclesial Communities of East and West, and I greet with cordial respect the representatives who have spoken on behalf of the great world Religions.
The Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, whose drafting I personally witnessed as a young theologian, taking part in the lively discussions that went with it, begins with a deeply meaningful sentence: "Dei Verbum religiose audiens et fidenter proclamans, Sacrosancta Synodus..." ["Hearing the Word of God with reverence, and proclaiming it with faith, the Sacred Synod..."] (n. 1).
With these words the Council points out a descriptive aspect of the Church: she is a community that listens to and proclaims the Word of God.
The Church does not live on herself but on the Gospel, and in the Gospel always and ever anew finds the directions for her journey. This is a point that every Christian must understand and apply to himself or herself: only those who first listen to the Word can become preachers of it.
Indeed, they must not teach their own wisdom but the wisdom of God, which often appears to be foolishness in the eyes of the world (cf. 1Co 1,23).
The Church knows well that Christ lives in the Sacred Scriptures. For this very reason - as the Constitution stresses - she has always venerated the divine Scriptures in the same way as she venerates the Body of the Lord (cf. Dei Verbum DV 21).
In view of this, St Jerome, cited by the conciliar Document, said that ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ (cf. Dei Verbum DV 25).
The Church and the Word of God are inseparably linked. The Church lives on the Word of God and the Word of God echoes through the Church, in her teaching and throughout her life (cf. Dei Verbum DV 8). The Apostle Peter, therefore, reminds us that no prophecy contained in Scripture can be subjected to a personal interpretation. "Prophecy has never been put forward by man's willing it. It is rather that men impelled by the Holy Spirit have spoken under God's influence" (II PT 1,20).
We are grateful to God that in recent times, and thanks to the impact made by the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, the fundamental importance of the Word of God has been deeply re-evaluated. From this has derived a renewal of the Church's life, especially in her preaching, catechesis, theology and spirituality, and even in the ecumenical process. The Church must be constantly renewed and rejuvenated and the Word of God, which never ages and is never depleted, is a privileged means to achieve this goal. Indeed, it is the Word of God, through the Holy Spirit, which always guides us to the whole truth (cf. Jn 16: 13).
In this context, I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of Lectio divina: the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart (cf. Dei Verbum DV 25). If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church - I am convinced of it - a new spiritual springtime.
As a strong point of biblical ministry, Lectio divina should therefore be increasingly encouraged, also through the use of new methods, carefully thought through and in step with the times. It should never be forgotten that the Word of God is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path (cf. Ps 119[118]: 105).
In invoking God's Blessing upon your work, your projects and the Congress in which you are taking part, I join in the hope that enlivens you: May the Word of the Lord make progress (cf. II Thes 3: 1) to the very ends of the earth, so that through the proclamation of salvation the whole world through hearing it may believe, through belief it may hope, and through hope it may come to love (cf. Dei Verbum DV 1). I thank you with all my heart!
Monday, 19 September 2005
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
I greet you with affection and with Christ's greeting to the Apostles: "Peace be with you!".
At the beginning of your episcopal ministry you have come on pilgrimage to the Tomb of St Peter to renew your faith, to think about your responsibilities as successors of the Apostles and to express your communion with the Pope.
The study days organized for recently-appointed Bishops are now a traditional event and give you the opportunity to consider certain important aspects of the episcopal ministry in a brotherly exchange of thoughts and experiences.
This meeting is one of the projects in the continuing formation of the Bishop recommended in the Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Gregis. Although there are many reasons that require the Bishop to keep up-to-date, it is especially useful for a Bishop at the beginning of his mission to have an adequate period to reflect on the challenges and problems that await him.
These days also enable you to become personally acquainted with one another and give you a practical experience of the collegial affection that must animate your ministry.
I thank Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re for having interpreted your sentiments. I cordially greet Archbishop Antonio Vegliò, Secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. I am glad that the Eastern-rite Bishops took part in this event together with their Latin-rite confreres, as well as planning some special meetings in the above-mentioned Dicastery for the Oriental Churches.
As you take your first steps in the episcopal office, you have already realized the great need for humble trust in God and for the apostolic courage that is born from the faith and from the Bishop's sense of responsibility.
The Apostle Paul knew this; in setting about his pastoral work he placed his hope in the Lord alone, recognizing that his power came only from the Lord. Indeed, he said: "In him who is the source of my strength I have strength for everything" (Ph 4,13).
Each one of you, dear Brothers, must have the assurance that in carrying out your ministry you are never alone, for the Lord is close to you with his grace and his presence, as we are reminded by the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, in which Christ the Saviour's presence is reaffirmed in the person and ministerial action of the Bishop (cf. n. 21).
Among your tasks, I would like to stress your duty to be Teachers of the faith.
The proclamation of the Gospel is at the origin of the Church and her development throughout the world and also of the growth in faith of the faithful. The Apostles were fully aware of the priority of this service of theirs: in order to be fully available for the ministry of the Word, they chose deacons whom they delegated for charitable service (Ac 6,2-4).
As successors of the Apostles, dear Brothers, you are doctores fidei, authentic doctors who with Christ's own authority proclaim to the people the faith they must believe and live. You must help those entrusted to your pastoral care to rediscover the joy of faith, the delight of being personally loved by God, who gave his Son Jesus for our salvation.
Indeed, as you well know, believing consists in entrusting ourselves to God, who knows and loves us personally, and in accepting the Truth he has revealed in Christ with the confidence that leads us to trust in him, the Revealer of the Father. He loves us despite our shortcomings and sins and his love gives meaning to our lives and to the life of the world.
Answering God requires the believer to make that inner journey which leads him or her to an encounter with the Lord. The encounter is only possible if the person can open his or her heart to God, who speaks in the depths of the conscience.
This requires interiority, silence, and watchfulness, dispositions that I ask you to propose to your faithful too, as well as living them yourselves, seeking to arrange initiatives at suitable times and places that will help them discover the primacy of the spiritual life.
On the last Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, I presented to the Church the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a faithful and reliable synthesis of the full earlier text.
Today, I present in spirit to each one of you these two fundamental Documents of the Church's faith. They will serve as a reference point for your teaching and as a sign of the communion of faith that we live.
The dialogical style of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the use of images are intended to help each member of the faithful respond directly to God's call which echoes in their consciences, in order to establish an intimate and personal conversation with him.
This dialogue is extended to the community in liturgical prayer, expressed in formulas and rites that have a beauty of their own which encourages the contemplation of God's mysteries. Thus, the lex credendi becomes the lex orandi.
I urge you to be close to your priests and also to the many catechists in your Dioceses who help you in your ministry: please convey my greeting and encouragement to each one of them.
Do your utmost to make the Year of the Eucharist, now drawing to a close, leave in the hearts of the faithful a desire to root their lives ever more deeply in the Eucharist.
May the Eucharist also be for you the inspiring force of your pastoral ministry. The very way in which the Bishop celebrates Mass nourishes the faith and devotion of his priests and faithful. And every Bishop, as "the first steward of God's mysteries", is responsible for the Eucharist in his Diocese: that is, it is his task to ensure that the celebration of the Eucharist is dignified and decorous, and to promote Eucharistic worship.
Every Bishop, then, must take special care concerning the participation of the faithful in Sunday Mass, in which the Word of life rings out and Christ makes himself present under the species of bread and wine. The Mass, in addition, enables the faithful to nourish the community sense of faith.
Dear Brothers, may you have deep confidence in grace and be able to imbue this confidence in those who work with you, so that the precious pearl of the faith may always be shining, safeguarded, protected and passed on with its purity.
I invoke Mary's protection upon each one of you and upon your Dioceses, as I impart my heartfelt Blessing to each and every one.
December 2005
Thursday 1 December 2005
Your Excellency,
I am pleased to welcome you today as you present the Letters appointing you Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Republic of Tanzania to the Holy See. I offer the assurance of my prayers for the well-being and prosperity of your nation and I ask that you thank President Benjamin Mkapa for his warm greetings.
Tanzania, like so much of Africa, is known for its natural beauty and has been blessed with a rich variety of cultures and traditions. These are customs which emphasize the importance of community, mutual respect and human dignity and can offer much to humanity as a whole. Diplomatic relations between Tanzania and the Holy See express our shared conviction that these qualities are essential for fostering understanding between peoples and peace in the world. At the same time, the Holy See’s diplomatic role is distinguished from others in the international community in that it is marked by its dedication to serving the advancement of individuals and society through the affirmation of the values of peace, solidarity, justice and liberty (cf. Pope John Paul II, Address to the Fiftieth General Assembly of the United Nations, New York 5 October 1995, 18).
These central values, founded on the intrinsic dignity of every human being, are also the keys to developing and sustaining vibrant and successful democracies. In this regard, I wish to encourage your Government in its efforts to ensure that the country remains open to the richness that political diversity offers. Genuine democracies require that self-interest and efforts to reinforce positions of dominance be resisted, so that every citizen will enjoy the right to choose leaders through free and transparent multiparty elections. Respect for human dignity demands that "public administration at any level - national, regional, community - is oriented toward the service of its citizens" who, in turn, make a valuable contribution to the nation as true partners in governance (cf. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 412).
Along these same lines, I am pleased to note that your nation, as a founding member of the East Africa Community, is committed to working with other nations in the area for the creation of a common market. The adoption of a single customs union for the member nations is indeed a positive sign of the progress being made in this important undertaking. Communal solidarity at this level not only assists in the integral development of the region, but also develops a level of rapport and mutual concern which can be most helpful in addressing any differences which may arise. Moreover, the generosity that your country has shown by taking in nearly a million refugees fleeing the violence and bloodshed of wars in their homelands is most praiseworthy. The nation can certainly be proud of these instances of concern for the greater good of all; they represent significant gestures that make Tanzania an example for Africa and the world. I am also aware of the great material burden which this generosity has placed on your country, and I encourage the international community to continue to support you in your efforts to assist marginalized and displaced peoples.
Mr Ambassador, I wish to assure you that the Catholic Church will continue to help your country address its many needs. Indeed, she has much to offer in her social teaching which seeks to increase moral awareness of the demands of justice and solidarity, demands which are predicated on the incomparable worth and centrality of the human person. This is the motivation behind her attempts to comfort the poor and the suffering and to promote solidarity and cooperation among the people of Tanzania. In fact, initiatives sponsored by the Catholic Bishops have focused attention on the mobilization of the poor themselves in the fight to eradicate poverty and to foster development. The Bishops’ endeavours are more than an eloquent expression of the Church’s concern for the poor. They are an example of her keen desire to work with governmental authorities for the spiritual and material well-being of every citizen, regardless of race, religion or social affiliation.
Your Excellency, during your term as Tanzania’s Representative to the Holy See the various departments of the Roman Curia will do all they can to assist you in the discharge of your duties. I offer my good wishes for the success of your efforts to build further on the positive relations already existing between us, and I pray that Almighty God will bestow abundant blessings upon yourself and the beloved people of Tanzania.
Thursday, 1 December 2005
Mr Ambassador,
I extend a warm welcome to you as I accept the Letters of Credence appointing you Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Nepal to the Holy See. Most grateful for the greetings and good wishes which you bring from His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, I gladly reciprocate his kind sentiments, and I ask you to convey to him and to the Government and people of Nepal the expression of my esteem and the assurance of my prayers for the well-being and prosperity of your nation.
Your country and the Holy See enjoy bonds of friendship and cooperation which are made ever stronger by a shared commitment to working for peace and security among peoples at every level of society. This joint task involves all men and women of good will, and is intended to foster and promote international solidarity. In fact, without such there can be no true peace. Both the poor and the rich have a right to share in the material goods of the earth and to exercise their God-given capacity to work. My illustrious predecessor, Pope John Paul II, taught that we have a solemn duty to create a world that is more just and prosperous for all, stating in his Encyclical Centesimus Annus that "the advancement of the poor constitutes a great opportunity for the moral, cultural and even economic growth of all humanity" (No. 28).
While this appeal for greater solidarity is made to the international community as a whole, it has particular relevance for the countries of Asia. As you are well aware, the nations of your continent will need to continue to work closely together if they are to resolve the difficulties brought about by conflict and poverty. Undeniably, your region is blessed with many men and women who have the human and intellectual skills necessary to meet the challenges of our time. Every attempt to mobilize such talent in a constructive way helps to foster the cooperation needed to support countries in difficulty. I urge you, therefore, to continue to work with your neighbours to ensure that problems on the continent are effectively addressed. Further international cooperation in the analysis and evaluation of political and social options and the promotion of peace and reconciliation will enhance your region’s influence in the eyes of the rest of the world. It will also lead to increased assistance to poorer nations and greater respect for their sovereignty.
I wish to express my concern over the violent acts which have taken a devastating toll on your country. I pray that all parties will end the bloodshed which continues to cause so much suffering for the nation and instead embrace the path of dialogue and negotiation. This alone can enable all the people of Nepal to enjoy justice, tranquility and harmony. Indeed, it is only through dialogue that we can overcome the forms of conflict and tension which impede our efforts to build a firm groundwork for peace and fraternity (cf. Address to the Diplomatic Corps, 12 May 2005). The use of violence as a tool for political change must always be avoided, while the building of mutual understanding and the constructive exchange of ideas is at all times to be upheld. Opposing factions must let the blessing of forgiveness bring about the hope of future peace thereby taking away the pain and wiping away the tears of the past. By insisting on the greatness and dignity of the human person and by spreading a clearer sense of the oneness of the human family, we can together eradicate the causes of violence and injustice.
For her part, the Catholic Church also draws inspiration from the lofty principle of solidarity in her own commitment to serving the integral good of the human person. Although few in number, the Catholics of Nepal have focused attention on the need to support the poor in the fight against poverty. The Church’s endeavours are not just an expression of her concern for the less-fortunate but illustrate her keen desire to work with government authorities for the spiritual and material well-being of every citizen.
The Church is actively involved in advancing human development in Nepal through her presence in schools, orphanages, clinics and hospitals. I am confident that ongoing support for the legal guarantee of religious freedom will enable Christians to continue to fulfil their mission to preach the Good News of salvation and to bear witness to it through practical deeds of love and compassion. The Catholic community remains committed to the principles of inter-religious dialogue and promises her continued cooperation with civil authorities in their attempts to promote this essential exchange of ideas.
Mr Ambassador, I am sure that your mission will further strengthen the bonds of understanding and friendship between us. You can be assured that the Holy See will continue to be a committed partner with Nepal as it seeks to promote its own development and to be a force for stability and peace in Asia and within the wider community of nations. Upon yourself and the beloved people of Nepal I cordially invoke the abundant blessings of peace and harmony.
Thursday, 1 December 2005
Mr Ambassador,
I am delighted to welcome you at this solemn ceremony for the presentation of the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Finland to the Holy See, and I thank you for your cordial words. At the same time I ask you to convey my gratitude to Mrs Tarja Halonen, President of the Republic, for her greetings to me. I too send my best wishes to her and to the Finnish People.
Mr Ambassador, I am pleased at the good relations that have long existed between your Country and the Holy See. They have certainly made an edifying collaboration possible at the international level, which pursues multiple targets such as the safeguard and defence of human rights, the encouragement of an equitable and lasting development and the effort for peace. Your esteemed Country, proud of its independence, drew close to the European Union (EU) in the past and has now been a fully-fledged member of it for 10 years.
Thus, it can also carry out an active and valuable role in expanding the Union, particularly in view of the annexation of the Baltic States. As you know, the Holy See has favoured this opening of the European Union to Eastern European States since the last century; it was they that helped to overcome the arbitrary division of Europe which was contrary to the authentic identity of the Continent.
Today, it is important to guarantee and deepen this rediscovered unity. It must not be limited to creating a great common economic space; it must also aim specifically to develop a European initiative through constant, dynamic endeavour, drawing from its age-old history and its cultural, philosophical and religious roots both for its own future and for its service to the world.
Europe represents a space of well-being in our fragile world fraught with dangers. Consequently, from an economic point of view, it is a rich Continent that will also attract in the future numerous poor people who come above all from the underprivileged regions of the Southern Hemisphere.
The European Union can correctly claim the right to be a union of democratic States that are associated with one another in a newly conceived form. For other groups of States it is a model to imitate because it is becoming ever more necessary to constructively join forces in order to satisfy the demands of globalization. Finland, which has always aimed at multilateral international relations in the heart of the European Union, can help the Union carry out its responsibilities in the global family of nations.
The Holy See, for its part, will endeavour to take a path of dialogue, both with international organizations and in places of tension between peoples and States, and thereby cooperate in solving the problems that arise between human groups and States.
Likewise, only an authentic development policy based on equitable relations between rich and poor countries will be able to remedy the innumerable and alarming injustices which cause suffering to many of our peers and can very easily spawn violence and terrorism.
Interreligious dialogue, as I pointed out with determination at the beginning of my Pontificate, is an irreversible venture for the Catholic Church, which "wants to continue building bridges of friendship with the followers of all religions in order to seek the true good of every person and of society as a whole" (Address to Delegates of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, and of other Religious Traditions, 25 April 2005; L'Osservatore Romano English edition [ORE], 4 May, p. 3).
In the course of my Apostolic Visit on the occasion of the 20th World Youth Day in Cologne, I repeated and deepened these reflections with Representatives of Islam: "Interreligious and intercultural dialogue between Christians and Muslims cannot be reduced to an optional extra. It is in fact a vital necessity, on which in large measure our future depends" (Address to Muslim Communities in Germany, 20 August 2005; ORE, 24 August, p. 9).
It is very important that all the faithful oppose with determination and clarity the exploitation of religion as a pretext to justify violence, which violates human dignity and is therefore also in opposition to the Creator of all life. I assure you, Mr Ambassador, that the Holy See will spare no effort in its commitment at all levels for peace and the dignity of every human being created in the image of God.
I am pleased through you to be able to also greet the Catholic believers in Finland, who recently celebrated the 850th year of the proclamation of Christianity in the Country thanks to St Henry's evangelizing activity, as well as the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Catholic Diocese of Helsinki. The small Catholic Community, which is nevertheless well integrated in Finnish society, will pursue ecumenical dialogue for unity with Christians of other denomination, and at the same time will encourage interreligious dialogue, an important factor for achieving peace in our modern societies.
In this regard, the Holy See has observed with pleasure the promulgation in Finland of a new law on religious freedom, which guarantees real freedom of religion and gives religions greater autonomy and equality under the law, especially in the area of formation. Hence, the contribution that each one of them can make to the well-being of the whole people is being promoted.
I am sure that, with all other people of good will, Catholics too will witness to the dignity and greatness of human life that must be protected from its beginning until its natural end.
Through their behaviour and commitment, Christians in Finland also desire to witness to the value of married couples and the family, so that the whole of society may recognize the family as the primary cell of every human community which should be protected and supported. Thus, also for the future, the family will constitute the way to a happy and satisfying life!
Dear Mr Ambassador, at the beginning of your honourable mandate I wish you a successful mission, and at the same time, I assure you of the support and help of my collaborators.
Upon you, Mr Ambassador, your family, collaborators in the Embassy and the entire People of Finland, I wholeheartedly implore the constant protection of God and his abundant Blessings.
Thursday 1 December 2005
Your Excellency,
It is with pleasure that I welcome you to the Vatican today and accept the Letters of Credence by which you are appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Saint Lucia to the Holy See. I ask you kindly to convey to the Governor-General, Dame Pearlette Louisy, and the Prime Minister, Mr Kenny Anthony, my appreciation of their good wishes. I warmly reciprocate them and offer the Government and people of Saint Lucia the assurance of my prayers for the prosperity of the nation.
The Church’s diplomatic relations, fruitfully exercised with your country for over twenty years, form part of her mission of service to the international community. They are specifically intended to promote the dignity of the human person and to encourage peace and harmony among the world’s peoples. These essential conditions for progress in attaining the integral development of individuals and nations find their deepest meaning in the moral order established by God the Creator who seeks to draw all men and women into the fullness of his life. For this reason the Holy See speaks so insistently and fervently about respect for human dignity and about the fundamental importance of supporting the family as "the primary vital cell of society" (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity Apostolicam Actuositatem AA 11).
Mr Ambassador, the sacred institution of marriage is vital to the well-being of every nation, including Saint Lucia. It is the indispensable foundation of family life and the primary source of cohesion within communities. In the face of traditions and trends which can devalue and even undermine marriage, a determined effort is required on the part of both civic and religious authorities, working together, to ensure that stable and faithful domestic life is upheld and supported wholeheartedly. Indeed, any hope for renewal of society which does not adhere to God’s plan for matrimony and the family is destined to founder, for it is there that the God-given dignity of every person is first realized and the self-esteem necessary for mature adult relationships is first experienced and nurtured (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio FC 3).
Your Government’s commitment to economic diversification and development of social infrastructure offers, particularly to the young generation, a future of confidence and optimism. Crucial to this vision is the creation of educational opportunities. Where schools function in a professional manner and are staffed by people of personal integrity, hope is offered to all and most especially to youth. Integral to such formation is religious instruction. Knowledge enlightened by faith, far from dividing communities, binds peoples together in the common search for truth which defines every human being as one who lives by belief (cf. Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio, 31). In this regard, the principle of religious freedom, when applied to the syllabus of religious instruction in schools, must include the right to teach the content of the Catholic faith and to facilitate participation in its various practices (cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis humanae DH 4).
The moral aspect of authentic economic development is also of fundamental importance to the well-being and peaceful progress of a nation. It is here that the demand for justice is satisfied (cf. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis SRS 10). The right to meaningful work and an acceptable standard of living, the assurance of a fair distribution of goods and wealth, and the responsible use of natural resources all depend upon a concept of development which is not limited merely to satisfying material necessities. Instead, such a concept must also highlight the dignity of the human person – who is the proper subject of all progress – and thereby enhance the common good of all humanity. While such a goal certainly demands the support of the entire international community, it is also the case that much can be achieved at the level of regional initiatives. This requires that excessive nationalism be laid to rest so that the profound value of communal solidarity be permitted to find expression in local agreements conducive to regional economic and social cooperation.
As Your Excellency has kindly observed, the Church in Santa Lucia serves the nation considerably through her extensive educational and social apostolate. Faithful to her spiritual and humanitarian mission, she actively seeks to contribute to the advancement of the people. Among the many initiatives in which she is engaged is the battle against the trade and use of drugs. The will to foil this pernicious threat to the fabric of society, which fuels crime and violence and contributes to the physical and emotional destruction of many individuals and families, demands great political resolve, international cooperation, and the support of the whole community. I encourage your government in the efforts it is making to address this scourge and assure you that they have the full support of the Catholic faithful.
Mr Ambassador, I am confident that your mission which you begin today will help to strengthen the bonds of understanding and cooperation between Santa Lucia and the Holy See. As you take up your new responsibilities I assure you that the various offices of the Roman Curia are ready to assist you in the fulfilment of your duties. Upon you and your fellow citizens I invoke the abundant blessings of Almighty God.
Thursday, 1 December 2005
Mr Ambassador,
I am pleased to welcome you at this ceremony for the presentation of the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of El Salvador to the Holy See. I am grateful for your kind words and for the cordial greeting of H.E. Mr Elías Antonio Saca, President of the Republic, which you have conveyed to me. Please express to him my best wishes for his peace and well-being, as well as my good wishes for the prosperity and development of your beloved Nation.
Your Excellency, you mentioned the Peace Agreements signed in 1992 after a long fratricidal conflict. You also pointed out that in recent years progress has been made in the process of establishing peace and democracy. It is a comfort to see your Government's efforts to build a more just society that protects its weakest and most impoverished classes.
In this regard, the Church in El Salvador is aware that building and improving their Homeland is every citizen's duty and she continues to collaborate so as to ensure that all can live in an atmosphere of hope and peace.
The Church, with her experience of humanity and with no desire to interfere in the politics of States, "is interested in one thing only - to carry on the work of Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for he came into the world to bear witness to the truth, to save and not to judge, to serve and not to be served" (Gaudium et Spes GS 3).
El Salvador has a strong religious character which reveals the faith of its people more than five centuries after their evangelization. In this regard, the Catholic Church devotes all her efforts to encouraging the integral development of the human being and the protection of human dignity, contributing to the consolidation of values and a fundamental basis so that society can enjoy stability and harmony.
Likewise, she continues to cooperate in such important areas as teaching, assistance to the most deprived, health-care services, and the advancement of individuals as citizens and children of God.
The Pastors of El Salvador, therefore, never cease to offer their words that spring from a profound knowledge of human reality interpreted in the light of the Good News. Moreover, their religious mission does not exempt them from encouraging a national dialogue among those in charge of social life.
On the other hand, and as you highlighted, Your Excellency, this dialogue must help build a more human future with the cooperation of all without impoverishing society.
It is appropriate in this regard to recall that social improvements are not achieved merely by applying the necessary technical means, but also by promoting reforms with a human and moral basis and which have an ethical view of the person, the family and society.
The constant proposal of fundamental moral values such as honesty, rectitude and responsibility for the common good, solidarity, a spirit of sacrifice and the culture of work, can facilitate greater development of the members of the national community, for violence and personal and collective selfishness have never been sources of progress or well-being.
On these foundations and with the rich qualities that distinguish them, Salvadorans must play the lead role and be the principal architects of the Country's progress, encouraging political stability which paves the way to the participation of all in public life. Each one is therefore called to cooperate, in accordance with his particular qualities and possibilities, for the good of the Homeland.
In this respect, I am pleased to know of the firm determination of the Authorities to work for a social order that is increasingly fairer and participatory. I express the hope that this proposal will be implemented and that they will surmount the serious problems that mainly affect the weakest sectors of society.
On the other hand, the painful and widespread problem of poverty, which drives many Salvadorans to take the perilous path of emigration with all its consequences in the family and social contexts, has serious effects in the fields of education, health and housing and is a pressing challenge to government leaders and those in charge of public institutions to ensure that all have access to primary goods and the indispensable means that make their promotion and integral development possible.
The Church, with her social doctrine, endeavours to encourage and foster appropriate initiatives geared to overcoming the situations of marginalization that affect so many needy brothers and sisters, seeking to eliminate the causes of poverty and thereby carrying out her mission, because concern for the social field is part of her evangelizing action (cf. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis SRS 41).
Mr Ambassador, before concluding this meeting, I would like to express my very best wishes that your mission which begins today will be abundantly fruitful. Once again, I ask you to convey my sentiments and hopes to His Excellency, the President of the Republic, and to the other Authorities of your Country, as I invoke God's Blessing upon your distinguished family and your collaborators, and above all upon the beloved sons and daughters of El Salvador.
Thursday 1 December 2005
Mr Ambassador,
I am pleased to welcome you to the Vatican and to accept the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Denmark to the Holy See. I thank you for your gracious words and for the greetings you bring from Queen Margrethe II. Please convey to Her Majesty my respectful good wishes and assurance of prayers for the well-being of your nation.
Since 1982 the Holy See and Denmark have enjoyed the benefits of formally established diplomatic relations. This has resulted in an encouraging level of contact and cooperation in the service of peace and justice, especially in the developing world. In this regard, I am pleased to note that your country continues to be most generous in its dedication to reduce world poverty and foster international development. The Holy See appreciates the importance attached by the Danish Government to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, particularly with regard to the contribution by richer countries of 0.7% of their gross national product to the international aid budget. I offer you every encouragement to continue resolutely along this path towards a more just distribution of global resources and I pray that many other nations will be inspired by the leadership your country has shown in this regard.
Besides the material poverty experienced by our brothers and sisters in the developing world, there are other forms of deprivation that give cause for concern in modern society. In Denmark, as in many European countries, there is currently much discussion of the issues associated with immigration. I urge the Danish people to offer a welcome to the newcomers in their midst and I trust also that those who have found a home in Denmark will respect the values and sensibilities of their host nation. The integration of peoples requires each group to achieve a just balance between asserting its own identity and accommodating that of others (cf. Message for the 2005 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 2) and I know that your Government appreciates the importance of reconciling these different elements. I pray that the various groups represented in Danish society will continue to live together peacefully, giving an example to other nations of the mutual enrichment that host countries and immigrants can offer one another.
This cooperation is especially important in the fields of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue. Even though the Catholic community in Denmark represents only a small percentage of the population, I can assure you that it is eager to play its part in contributing to these significant endeavours. It is my fervent hope that ecumenical dialogue with the established Lutheran Church will start to make significant progress and I trust that you will do all in your power to encourage this. Moreover, in view of the phenomenon of immigration, inter-religious dialogue is also taking on increasing significance. The Catholic Church is keen to contribute her considerable experience and expertise in this area so as to promote mutual respect and understanding between the followers of different religious traditions in your country.
As in much of Europe today, Danish society is becoming increasingly secular in outlook. The Church has a right and a duty to point out the dangers that ensue when man’s divine origin and destiny are ignored or denied. The tradition of Christian faith in your country, stretching back over a thousand years, has made it what it is today. Indeed, the principles that have shaped Western civilization flow from the underlying vision of the world that the Christian faith proclaims. It is essential to remember that their binding nature is predicated not on mere consensus but on divine revelation.
For this reason it is necessary to examine carefully any new social developments that emerge, even if they enjoy widespread support or appear to promise significant rewards. The defence of life from conception to natural death, for example, and the stability of marriage and family life are goods that must be safeguarded in every society, however vocal the forces that may seek to undermine them. They form part of the objective moral order, and can never be discarded without gravely endangering the common good. Likewise, scientific and technological advances should always be evaluated according to sound ethical criteria, and nothing that threatens the inherent dignity of the human person should ever be tolerated. Only by faithful adherence to these unchanging truths can society create the conditions in which human beings may flourish and prosper.
Your Excellency, I am confident that the diplomatic mission which you begin today will further strengthen the already fruitful relations existing between the Holy See and your country. I assure you that the various departments of the Roman Curia are always ready to offer help and support in the fulfilment of your duties. With my sincere good wishes, I invoke upon you, your family, and all the people of Denmark, God’s abundant blessings.
Thursday 1 December 2005
Mrs Ambassador,
I am pleased to welcome you to the Vatican and accept the Letters of Credence by which you are appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of South Africa to the Holy See. I thank you for the greetings which you bring on behalf of His Excellency Mr Thabo Mbeki, President of the Republic, and I gladly reciprocate with good wishes and the assurance of my prayers for him and the people of South Africa.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1994, the Holy See has followed closely your country’s transformation and its successful efforts to bring about an integrated, stable and pluralistic society. While challenges still remain, the reality of a new South Africa has deservedly received acclaim and admiration. The same political good will and administrative maturity that produced the peaceful transition to a full democracy must likewise be brought to bear on other areas of present concern. Many of these questions are also shared by other countries in the region and are the result of globalisation or internal social transformation. Intensive urbanization, for example, has resulted in the lack of proper housing, unemployment, criminality and an exaggerated social stratification. These challenges can only be effectively addressed by promoting both social cohesion and economic growth, while offering, especially to the poor and marginalized, opportunities for education and employment. My prayers are raised to Almighty God that, as your nation continues to address these matters, her political vision will remain open to love of truth, peace and justice.
The high proportion of young people in your population, the traditional African values of deep respect for human life, family, community and social solidarity will certainly contribute to the process of long-term development. This balanced approach to change has indeed helped to raise the moral prestige of the new South Africa and has made her one of the most influential countries on the continent. I am hopeful that her example will enable her to maintain a strong voice in the international community, especially regarding the elimination or reduction of foreign debt, regional peace-building and the assistance to other nations in the consolidation of proven economic and social programs.
Mr Ambassador, in recent years the social stability and economic success of South Africa have attracted increasing numbers of refugees from countries sadly troubled by poverty, political unrest and violence. Your nation’s policy of acceptance of others has been exemplary for the entire region. It is not easy for local and national governments, already strapped by economic and social problems, to accommodate those who are searching for a new and better life. The attention given to them, however, is a characteristic sign of an authentically civil society, moved by a just compassion for the less fortunate. History has clearly demonstrated that "immigration can be a resource for development rather than an obstacle to it" (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 297). I have no doubt that your nation by drawing on the talents and hopes of these newcomers, and treating them always with the dignity and respect they deserve, will reap many benefits.
The great majority of the South African population is Christian and therefore capable of offering the country the important religious values of solidarity, tolerance and reconciliation. For her part, the Catholic Church remains committed to giving her full support to the promotion of modern society by furthering dialogue and mutual understanding (cf. Ecclesia in Africa, 79). She is well respected for her efforts to work with civil governments in addressing the many social and human problems affecting Africa. One notable example of this is the struggle against HIV/Aids where statistics taken in several regions of Africa confirm the results of policies based on continence, the promotion of faithfulness in marriage and the importance of family life. Education, health-care and assistance to the poor also indicate sectors where collaboration has been most advantageous and rewarding. In this context, I would assure you that the Catholic Church will continue to offer her cooperation wherever she may be of assistance, and I would encourage your government to promote an ever-greater awareness of the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.
Mr Ambassador, as you begin your duties as your country’s Representative to the Holy See I assure you of my prayers for the success of your mission. You may be certain that the various departments of the Roman Curia will be willing to assist you in this task. I ask Almighty God's abundant blessings upon you and upon the beloved people of South Africa.
Thursday, 1 December 2005
Mr Ambassador,
I am pleased to welcome you at the presentation of the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria to the Holy See. I warmly thank you, Mr Ambassador, for your kind words on your own behalf and on that of the President of the Republic, and also on behalf of the Government and the Algerian People.
I was deeply touched by the expressions of sympathy that arrived from Algeria on the occasion of the death of Pope John Paul II, and especially during the funeral at which H.E. Mr Abdelaziz Bouteflika was present. I would be grateful if you would reciprocate by conveying to him my best wishes, especially for his health and for the accomplishment of his lofty mission at the service of his fellow citizens. I pray the Most High to bless the efforts of the Algerian People in the work of building a Nation that is ever more brotherly and supportive.
Mr Ambassador, you mentioned the serious violence that your Country has had to face in recent years. Authentic reconciliation alone can enable people to live in harmony and peace with one another. Renunciation of vengeance and the firm commitment to the process of forgiveness are the means, worthy of the human being, with which to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and solidarity.
As my venerable Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, said: "The ability to forgive lies at the very basis of the idea of a future society marked by justice and solidarity" (Message for World Day of Peace 2002, n. 9).
Forgiveness leads people towards a deeper and richer humanity, awakening in each one the best of himself or herself. But this attitude that helps men and women develop is necessarily associated with the demands of justice. Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness and they cannot ignore the legitimate claims of the victims of injustice, who are asking that their rights be recognized and reparation made for the damage caused to them.
Forgiveness is, in a certain way, the perfecting of the frail and imperfect human justice, making it possible to heal the wounds that have sometimes permanently marked people in their very depths and to re-establish in the best possible way the human relations that have been destabilized.
To defend the sacred value of the human person and encourage respect for others and for religious freedom, it is necessary, therefore, that the spirit of reconciliation and justice be inculcated in the young generations, especially in the family and in education. Societies will thus be able to progress in solidarity and brotherhood, so that violence may no longer be advocated as a solution to the problems that confront them and so that religion may never be used to justify such a decision nor to create inequalities between people.
Mr Ambassador, you have recalled some of the great figures of peace and reconciliation between communities who have marked the ancient and contemporary history of your Country. Very recently the Church paid a special tribute to Charles de Foucauld, who lived in your Country, desiring to be close to everyone as a "universal brother".
As I have already had the opportunity to say, the Catholic Church intends to pursue an open and sincere dialogue with believers of other religions in search of the true good of man and of society. I therefore rejoice at knowing the quality of the relations maintained in your Country between the Catholic Community and the Muslim Community. An encounter in truth between the believers of the different religions is a demanding challenge for the future of peace in the world and requires great perseverance.
To overcome ignorance and reciprocal prejudices, it is important to create bonds of trust between people, especially through the sharing of daily life and work done together, so that the free expression of differences in belief are not a cause of mutual exclusion but rather an opportunity to learn to live together with mutual respect for the identity of the other.
Through you, Mr Ambassador, I am delighted to greet with affection the Catholic Community of Algeria, united around its Bishops. In recent years, it has courageously shared the trials of the Algerian People, bearing an important witness of universal brotherhood in the desire to continue generously in its mission for the good of the whole Country.
Mr Ambassador, today you are beginning your noble mission representing your Country to the Holy See. Please accept my most cordial good wishes for its successful outcome and rest assured that you will always find with my collaborators the necessary understanding and support! Upon you, Your Excellency, and upon your family, your collaborators and all of your compatriots and their leaders, I wholeheartedly invoke an abundance of divine Blessings.
Thursday 1 December 2005
Mr Ambassador,
I am pleased to welcome you to the Vatican and to accept the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Eritrea to the Holy See. I thank you for the greetings which you bring from your President, His Excellency Mr Isaias Afwerki, and I ask you to convey my respectful gratitude to him and to assure him of my continuing prayers for the well-being of your nation.
The Holy See greatly values its diplomatic links with your country, which enable it to cooperate with your Government in the interests of peace and stability among the beloved peoples of the Horn of Africa. The Church shares with all people of good will a responsibility "to achieve a peaceful society, to overcome the temptation of confrontation between cultures, races and worlds that are different" (Address to the Diplomatic Corps, 12 May 2005). You know from sad experience the appalling human cost of war; let me assure you that the Holy See is eager to do all in its power to support the international community in its efforts to avoid further military escalation and to resolve the continuing conflicts in your part of Africa.
The principal victims of war are always the people whose lives are so badly disrupted by violence and destruction. Many are forced to flee from their homes, or to seek refuge in neighbouring states. The Church is close to refugees and displaced persons, "not only with her pastoral presence and material support, but also with her commitment to defend their human dignity" (cf. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 505). In your country, where the effects of war are compounded by the additional burdens of drought and famine, the poverty of the people has reached grave proportions; the Catholic Church is committed to show solidarity with them in their suffering and to offer practical assistance. As world leaders become increasingly aware of the need to provide effective aid to Africa, the Church is pleased to be associated with their fight against hunger, poverty and disease.
Even though they form a small proportion of the population of Eritrea, Catholics can make a significant contribution to national life, through their Christian witness and their commitment to promote the common good. True to her nature and mission, the Church always seeks to come to the aid of the poor and the sick, and to work tirelessly to promote the dignity of the human person, made in God’s image. For this reason she welcomes the opportunity to cooperate with the Government of Eritrea and to place her considerable resources of personnel and expertise at the service of your people. I am confident that the Government in turn will wish to facilitate the Church’s humanitarian endeavours, welcoming those missionaries who arrive from abroad and supporting the native clergy and religious who devote their whole lives to prayer and to the pastoral ministry. In particular I would ask that their right to exemption from military service be respected: Eritrea will be better served if they are free to pursue their Christian calling and respective vocations.
Indeed, I express my hope that concrete steps will be taken to implement as fully as possible your country’s constitutional guarantee of religious liberty. As the Second Vatican Council teaches, this is a right based "on the very dignity of the human person as known through the revealed word of God and by reason itself" (Dignitatis Humanae DH 2). The Catholic Church, accordingly, is deeply concerned that all citizens should be free to practise their faith and that no one should feel under threat or coercion of any kind in this regard. She also seeks to promote respectful dialogue and fraternity between different Christian traditions and between different religions, and in this way to contribute towards the peaceful coexistence of all the groups that make up Eritrean society. In seeking the freedom to carry out her mission of love among your people, the Church fervently wishes to hasten the day when all the citizens of your country will be able to live together in peace, prosperity and harmony.
Your Excellency, I am confident that the diplomatic mission which you begin today will consolidate the good relations that exist between the State of Eritrea and the Holy See. In offering you my best wishes for the years ahead, I would like to assure you that the various departments of the Roman Curia are always glad to provide help and support in the fulfilment of your duties. Upon you, your family and all the people of Eritrea I cordially invoke God’s abundant blessings.
Thursday, 1st December 2005
Mr Ambassador,
I am pleased to welcome you, Your Excellency, at the presentation of the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Togo to the Holy See.
I thank you for the kind words you have addressed to me recalling my venerable Predecessor Pope John Paul II, as well as the greeting you have brought me from H.E. Mr Faure Gnassingbé, President of the Togolese Republic. I would be grateful if you would kindly reciprocate by expressing my best wishes to him. I also greet very cordially the entire Togolese People and wish them happiness and prosperity.
In your address, Mr Ambassador, you recalled the democratic process in which your Country has engaged with a view to the establishment of a State of rights. I am particularly appreciative of this. Indeed, from the start of my Pontificate, I have wanted to be close to the peoples of Togo who were then living through a painful situation (cf. Regina Caeli, 1 May 2005).
I warmly hope that the wounds opened, especially in these recent months, may be healed by an authentic reconciliation of all the children of the Nation. Violence cannot be the appropriate way to build a just and supportive society.
To achieve a reconciled existence where each person can live in peace and security and the displaced people return to their homes without fear, it is essential to establish the framework for dialogue between all members of the Nation. This will enable all sensitivities to be expressed, heard and associated in the construction of the Country. It is then that everyone's confidence will gradually be restored for the good of the Nation.
In fact, to achieve a harmonious development of society, it is necessary that relations based on law and justice be established for all. The search for the common good must be a priority that involves leaders in particular and all social classes in order to encourage each person's complete human and spiritual fulfilment, respecting and promoting individuals and their fundamental rights as well as the essential moral principles.
This is because the common good is not simply socio-economic well-being. It also has a transcendent dimension, for God is the ultimate aim of his creatures.
The integral development of people and of society, often hampered by numerous and profound evils whose causes are multiple and complex, must be fostered with determination and sustained by international solidarity.
It is also true, however, that it is the citizens and their leaders who are primarily responsible to work for this as well as for making peace and reconciliation prevail.
As you know, Mr Ambassador, the Catholic Church is fully engaged in this struggle for the integral development of human beings and for the promotion of a future of justice and peace for the benefit of the entire population without distinction, in collaboration with all people of good will. Yet, to accomplish this mission, the Church must be able to express herself freely, with respect for the autonomy of the leaders of civil society.
The mission the Church has received from Christ is neither political, nor economic, nor social: its purpose is religious. The Church does not seek any special advantages for herself but, as Vatican Council II emphasized, "desires nothing more ardently than to develop herself untrammelled in the service of all men under any regime which recognizes the basic rights of the person and the family, and the needs of the common good" (Gaudium et Spes GS 42).
Allow me, Mr Ambassador, to greet through you the Catholics in your Country. I hope that united with their Bishops, who have been entrusted with the governance of God's Church, they will be enthusiastic witnesses of the Gospel message and will work generously with their fellow citizens to establish a fraternal society in solidarity.
At the moment when your mission to the Apostolic See is beginning, I offer you my very best wishes for its success. Rest assured that you will always find with my collaborators the attentive welcome and cordial understanding you may need.
I wholeheartedly invoke upon you, Your Excellency, and upon your collaborators, your family and the Togolese People and their leaders, an abundance of divine Blessings.
Thursday, 1 December 2005
Mr Ambassador,
I am pleased to accept the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador to the Holy See. Welcome! Your pleasant visit offers me the opportunity to send a cordial greeting to the entire Andorran People who have always been a living part of the universal Church and in communion with the Successor of Peter.
A glance at the beautiful valleys of your Country testifies that the Christian faith found a permanent and even visible dwelling place among those who live there. How can one forget that for hundreds of years the parishes were the very structure of your self-government? One might say that down through history the ecclesial life of the citizens of Andorra preserved their identity and independence, encouraging the harmonious development of the Principality, which resulted in its first Constitution in 1993.
The Church, therefore, has always walked beside the Andorran People. She has instilled in them the value of defending their own authentic traits so that they might enter peacefully into relations with the neighbouring peoples, faithful to their constitutional motto "virtus unita, fortior", in a spirit of freedom, equality and justice, defending human rights and the dignity of the person, as you have emphasized. The close bonds between the Church and the people are a cause of pride and forge the identity of all who live in the Principality of Andorra.
Andorra's rich Christian tradition integrates it into the group of peoples which have found in the Gospel many sources for their specific culture, legislation and human and moral achievements.
Andorra, therefore, cannot do without these roots that draw nourishment and moral and civil strength from the Good News. I fervently hope that the Christian heritage will continue to be a cause of inspiration to the entire Andorran community, for the promotion of a social order based on the values of justice, truth, freedom and love.
It is right that the Church and the State also find a common language in their reciprocal independence and sovereignty. Through cordial and sincere relations, this will encourage the spiritual and material well-being of the people to whom both have obligations, with respect for the separate reciprocal milieus in accordance with the method proper to each one.
For her part, since she has no privileges to defend or advantages to seek, the Church wishes to work ceaselessly for the common good of the entire human family, seeking by a structured dialogue with the civil Authorities to contribute to the progress of every people and of all humanity, in justice and in peace (cf. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, n. 445).
The ultimate purpose of agreements between Church and State, stipulated in full freedom by the contracting parties, is to encourage a harmonious commitment to serving the common good, with no other intention than to benefit all the citizens.
Universal by nature, the Church is situated above particular or regional interests in order to address every people - small or great - so that the inviolable dignity of the person, every person, may be recognized. In her dialogue with the civil Authorities, the Church "wants simply to promote a human State. A State which recognizes the defence of the fundamental rights of the human person, especially of the weakest" (Evangelium Vitae EV 101).
A democracy without values, in fact, turns into a tyranny of relativism with the loss of its own identity, and in the long run can degenerate into open or insidious totalitarianism, as history has frequently shown.
In this context, how can we forget that the Andorran People, faithful to their own human and spiritual traditions, highly esteem the value of the family and marriage, as the Creator willed, and the defence of life from its conception until its natural end? I express the hope that Andorra will continue to preserve this important legacy, the guarantee of authentic progress.
Mr Ambassador, your presence brings even closer to my heart a people for whom I raise my fervent and grateful prayers to the Lord. In offering you my most cordial good wishes for the lofty mission entrusted to you by your Country, I should like to assure you of the full and loyal collaboration of those who assist the Pope in carrying out his Apostolic ministry. You will be able to find in them, Mr Ambassador, an effective partner in all that concerns bilateral affairs, and, more generally, constant collaboration for the furtherance of the common good in the International Community.
As I entrust the Government Leaders and your fellow citizens of Andorra to the protection of Our Lady of Meritxell, the heavenly Patroness of the Co-Principality, I pray that she may assist you, the civil Authorities and all who are at the service of the People of Andorra, ever close to the Pope's heart, and I impart my Blessing to them all.
Thursday, 1st December 2005
Your Excellencies,
I receive you with pleasure on the occasion of the presentation of the Letters accrediting you as Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of your respective countries: Tanzania, Nepal, Finland, Saint Lucia, El Salvador, Denmark, South Africa, Algeria, Eritrea, Togo and Andorra.
I thank you for conveying to me the courteous words of your Heads of State. I should be grateful if you would reciprocate by expressing my respectful good wishes for them and for their lofty mission at the service of their countries.
Your presence also affords me an opportunity to greet the different civil and religious Authorities of your Nations as well as all your Compatriots, with a special thought for the Catholic communities.
News of war is arriving from every part of the world. This morning I would like to make a new appeal to the Leaders of Nations and to all people of good will to cooperate in order to put an end to the violence that disfigures humanity and jeopardizes the growth of peoples and the hopes of numerous populations.
Without the commitment to peace by one and all, creating an atmosphere of pacification and a spirit of reconciliation in all social milieus beginning with the family, it will not be possible to advance on the path of a peaceful society.
In this perspective, for an increasingly more harmonious development of peoples, it is important to pay special attention to youth. Families and the different educational structures must be given the means to form and educate young people and to transmit to them the essential spiritual, moral and social values, thus preparing them for a better future and a true awareness of their role in society and the attitudes they must acquire to serve the common good and be attentive to everyone.
In the long term, this will be one of the essential ways to extricate the world from the spiral of violence.
For her part, the Catholic Church, present on all the continents, never ceases to make her own contribution by developing many educational institutions and by shaping the religious sense of individuals: this cannot but increase in each one the sense of brotherhood and solidarity.
I am aware of the importance you give to this matter in your role as diplomats, one of whose essential tasks is to encourage dialogue and negotiation as well as the increased well-being of peoples.
I also express my hope that all men and women of our time will be committed to furthering peace and reconciliation on all the continents, for it is not enough to opt for peace in order to achieve it; in addition, at the practical level and in all the social categories, no effort must be spared to bring about peace.
At the end of our meeting, I offer you my best wishes for your new mission, as I invoke an abundance of divine benefits upon you, your families, your collaborators and your countries.
Thursday, 1 December 2005
Most Reverend President,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Professors,
Dear Collaborators,
I am pleased to greet you at this family meeting which reminds me of the prolonged and deep collaboration I have had with many of you. I was appointed a Member of the International Theological Commission in 1969 and became its President in 1982.
I would like first of all to express my heartfelt gratitude for the tribute addressed to me by Archbishop Levada, who is taking part in a meeting of the International Theological Commission for the first time as President. I offer him my prayerful good wishes that the light and power of the Holy Spirit may accompany him in the fulfilment of the task that has been entrusted to him.
With the Plenary Meeting that is taking place during these days, the work of the seventh "quinquennium" of the Commission continues. It began last year when I was still President. I gladly take this opportunity to encourage each one of you to persevere in your reflection on the themes chosen for study in the coming years.
When he received the Members on 7 October last year, the late Pope John Paul II pointed out the great importance of two themes that you are currently examining: "The fate of children who die without Baptism in the context of the universal salvific will of God, of the one mediation of Jesus Christ and of the sacramentality of the Church", and "Natural moral law".
The latter is of special importance for understanding the basis of the rights that are rooted in the person's nature and as such, derive from the will of God the Creator.
Even before any positive law by a State, these laws are universal, inviolable and inalienable, and must therefore be recognized as such by all, and especially by the civil authorities who are called to promote them and guarantee respect for them.
Even if the concept of "human nature" seems to have been lost in contemporary culture, the fact remains that human rights cannot be understood without presupposing that values and norms, which are to be rediscovered and reaffirmed and not invented or subjectively or arbitrarily imposed, are innate in the human being.
At this point the dialogue with the secular world is of great importance: it must appear clearly that the denial of the ontological foundation of the essential values of human life inevitably ends in positivism and makes law dependent on the currents of thought that predominate in a society, thereby corrupting law and making it an instrument of power instead of subordinating power to law.
The third topic is of equal importance. It was selected at the Plenary Meeting last year: "The status and method of Catholic theology".
Theology can only result from obedience to the impulse of truth and from love that desires to be ever better acquainted with the one it loves, in this case God himself, whose goodness we recognized in the act of faith (cf. Donum Veritatis, n. 7).
We know God because in his infinite goodness he made himself known, through creation but especially through his Only-begotten Son, who for us became man and died and rose for our salvation.
The revelation of Christ is consequently the fundamental normative starting point for theology.
Theology must always be exercised in the Church and for the Church, the Body of Christ, the only subject with Christ, and thus also in fidelity to the Apostolic Tradition. The theologian's work, therefore, must take place in communion with the living voice of the Church, that is, with the living Magisterium of the Church and under her authority.
To consider theology a private affair of the theologian is to underestimate its very nature.
It is only within the Ecclesial Community, in communion with the legitimate Pastors of the Church, that theological work has meaning; it certainly requires scientific competence but likewise, and no less, the spirit of faith and the humility of those who know that God is alive and true, the subject of their reflection, who infinitely exceeds human capacities. Only with prayer and contemplation is it possible to acquire the sense of God and the docility to the Holy Spirit's action that will make theological research fruitful for the good of the entire Church and, I should say, of humanity.
Here one might object: but is theology thus defined still a science and in conformity with our reason and its freedom? Yes.
Not only are rationality, a scientific approach and thinking in communion with the Church not exclusive of one another but they go together. The Holy Spirit guides the Church to all truth (cf. Jn Jn 16,13); the Church is at the service of truth and her guidance is an education in truth.
As I express the hope that your days of study will be enlivened by fraternal communion in the search for the Truth that the Church wants to proclaim to all men and women, I implore Mary Most Holy, Seat of Wisdom, to guide your steps in Christian joy and hope. With these sentiments, as I renew to you all the expression of my esteem and trust, I warmly impart to you the Apostolic Blessing.
Saturday, 3 December 2005
Dear Brothers in the Episcopal Ministry,
I offer my cordial greeting to you all. I am pleased to be able to offer hospitality to the second group of Polish Bishops who have come here on their visit ad limina Apostolorum.
The new evangelization
During his first Pilgrimage to Poland, John Paul II said: "From the Cross of Nowa Huta began the new evangelization, the evangelization of the second millennium. This Church is a witness and confirmation of it. It arose from a living, aware faith and [the Church] must continue to serve the faith. The evangelization of the new millennium must refer to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. It must be, as that Council taught, a work shared by Bishops, priests, Religious and laity, by parents and young people" (cf. Homily, Nowa Huta, n. 3, 9 June 1979; L'Osservatore Romano English edition [ORE], 16 July, p. 11).
At the time, it was one of the first, if not the first, Interventions of my great Predecessor on the theme of the new evangelization. He spoke of the second millennium, but there is no doubt that he was already thinking of the third.
Under his guidance, we entered this new millennium of Christianity, becoming aware of the constant timeliness of his exhortation to a new evangelization. With these brief words he set the aim: to revive a "living, aware and responsible" faith. He subsequently said that this must be the common work of Bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay people.
Today, I would like to reflect on this topic with you, dear Brothers. We know well that the chief person responsible for the work of evangelization is the Bishop, on whose shoulders rest the tria munera: prophetic, priestly and pastoral.
In his book, Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way!, and especially in the chapters: "The Shepherd", "I Know My Sheep" and "The Administration of Sacraments", John Paul II mapped the journey of the episcopal ministry with reference to his own experience so that it might bear blessed fruit.
We need not mention here the development of his reflections. We all have recourse to the patrimony he has bequeathed to us and can draw abundantly from his witness. May he be a model for us and may his sense of responsibility for the Church and for the believers entrusted to the Bishop's care be an incentive to us.
Diocesan priests
The first collaborators of the Bishop in the realization of his tasks are the priests; the Bishop's concern should be addressed to them before anyone else.
John Paul lI wrote: "By his manner of life, a Bishop demonstrates that the Christ "as Model' lives on and still speaks to us today. One could say that a Diocese reflects the manner of life of its Bishop.
His virtues - chastity, a spirit of poverty and prayer, simplicity, sensitivity of conscience - will, as it were, be written into the hearts of his priests. They, in their turn, will convey these values to the faithful entrusted to their care, and in this way young people can be led to make a generous response to Christ's call" (Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way!, Paulines Publications Africa, 2004, p. 129).
The example the Bishop sets is extremely important: he must not only have an irreproachable lifestyle but also loving concern, so that the Christian virtues of which John Paul II wrote may deeply penetrate the souls of the priests in his Diocese.
For this reason, the Bishop should pay special attention to the quality of seminarians' formation. It is necessary to keep in mind not only the intellectual training of priests-to-be for their future tasks, but also their spiritual and emotional formation.
At the Synod of 1991, the Bishops expressed their desire for a larger number of spiritual directors in seminaries who would be well qualified to carry out the demanding task of forming spirits and of ascertaining the emotional readiness of seminarians to take on priestly tasks.
It is worth returning to this request. The Document of the Congregation for Catholic Education on the admission of candidates to sacred orders has recently been published. I ask you, dear Brothers, to put into practice all its directives.
It is important that the process of intellectual and spiritual formation should not end with the period at the seminary. Continuing formation for priests is vital. I know that great importance is attributed to it in the Polish Dioceses. Courses, retreat days, spiritual exercises and other meetings are organized, during which priests can share their problems and pastoral successes, and strengthen one another in faith and pastoral enthusiasm. I ask you to continue this practice.
The Bishop, for his part, is called as Pastor to surround his priests with fatherly care. He should organize his own schedule in such a way as to have time for the priests, to listen to them attentively and help them in their difficulties. In the case of a vocational crisis, to which priests can fall prey, the Bishop must do his best to sustain them and restore to them their original dynamism and love for Christ and for the Church. Even when a reprimand is necessary, fatherly love must not be lacking.
I thank God because he continues to lavish upon Poland the grace of numerous vocations. The Southern Region, which you represent, dear Brothers, is particularly rich in vocations.
Considering the enormous needs on the part of the universal Church, I ask you to encourage your priests to do their missionary service or pastoral work in countries where clergy are scarce. It seems that today this is a special task and, in a certain sense, also a duty of the Church in Poland.
In the sending of priests abroad, however, especially to the missions, remember to assure them both of your spiritual support and adequate material resources.
Religious orders
John Paul II wrote: "The religious orders never caused me any problems, and my relations with all of them were good. They were a great help to me in my mission as a Bishop. My thoughts also turn to the great reserves of spiritual energy found in the contemplative orders" (ibid., p. 120).
The diversity of charisms and of the services carried out by men and women religious and members of the secular institutes of consecrated life is a great enrichment for the Church. The Bishop can and must encourage them in order to integrate them into the diocesan programme for evangelization and for them to take on pastoral tasks, in conformity with their charism, in collaboration with the priests and the lay community.
Although religious communities and individual consecrated persons are subject by law to their own superiors, they are also "subject to the authority of Bishops, whom they are obliged to follow with devoted humility and respect, in those matters that involve the care of souls, the public exercise of divine worship and other works of the apostolate", as the Code of Canon Law declares (can. 678 1).
Furthermore, the Code invites both diocesan Bishops and religious Superiors to proceed "in organizing the works of the apostolate of Religious... after consultation with each other" (can. 678 3).
I strongly encourage you, Brothers, to surround with care the religious communities of women that are located in your Dioceses. The Sisters, who carry out a variety of services in the Church, deserve supreme respect and their work must be recognized and properly appreciated. They should not be deprived of adequate spiritual support and the possibility of intellectual development and growth in the faith.
I recommend in particular that you take to heart the future of the contemplative orders. May their presence in the Diocese, their prayers and their sacrifices always be a support and a help to you. For your part, seek to meet their needs, even practical ones.
In recent years, we have unfortunately seen religious vocations dwindling, especially among women. It is necessary, therefore, together with the religious superiors responsible, to reflect on the causes of this state of affairs and consider how it might be possible to rekindle and sustain new female vocations.
The laity
The words of my great Predecessor introduce us into a reflection on the role of lay people in the work of evangelization: "The laity can accomplish their proper vocation in the world and attain holiness not only through their active involvement in helping the poor and needy, but also by imbuing society with a Christian spirit as they carry out their professional duties and offer an example of Christian family life" (Rise, Let Us, p. 115).
In times when, as John Paul II wrote, "European culture gives the impression of "silent apostasy' on the part of people who have all that they need and who live as if God does not exist" (Ecclesia in Europa, n. 9), the Church never ceases to proclaim to the world that Jesus Christ is her hope. In this work, the role of lay people is irreplaceable. Their witness of faith is particularly eloquent and effective because it is borne in daily reality and in areas which are difficult for a priest to gain access.
One of the main goals of lay people's activity is the moral renewal of society, which cannot be superficial, partial or instant. It must be marked by a deep transformation in the ethos of human beings, that is, by the acceptance of an appropriate hierarchy of values that should shape attitudes.
A specific task of the laity is participation in public and political life. In his Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, John Paul II recalled that "every person has a right and duty to participate in public life" (n. 42). The Church does not identify with any political party, community or system.
On the other hand, she always recalls that lay people involved in politics must give a clear and courageous witness of Christian values, which they must reassert and defend should they be threatened. They should do so publicly, in political debates and in the mass media.
One of the important tasks which derives from the process of European integration is to be courageously concerned with preserving the Catholic and national character of Poles. The dialogue initiated by Catholic lay people concerning political issues will prove effective and useful to the common good if it is based on love of the truth, a spirit of service, and solidarity in the commitment to the common good.
I urge you, dear Brothers, to support this lay service, with respect for a just political autonomy.
I have listed only a few forms of lay commitment in the work of evangelization. Others, such as the pastoral care of the family and youth or charitable activities, will be the topic of a subsequent reflection at my meeting with the third group of Polish Bishops. I now express the hope that harmonious collaboration with all the states of life in the Church under your enlightened guidance will lead to the transformation of the world in the spirit of Christ's Gospel.
As I entrust your Episcopal ministry to Our Lady, I bless you all with affection. Praised be Jesus Christ!
Saturday, 3 December 2005
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
1. I am pleased to receive you on the occasion of the Third Meeting of the Presidents of the Episcopal Commissions for the Family and Life of Latin America. I should like to express my gratitude for the words addressed to me by Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family.
Together with the whole Church, I witnessed Pope John Paul II's concern for this most important topic. For my part, I make my own this same concern, which will have a far-reaching effect on the future of the Church and the peoples since, as my Predecessor said in his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, "The future of humanity passes by way of the family!
"It is therefore indispensable and urgent that every person of good will should endeavour to save and foster the values and requirements of the family". And he added: "Christians also have the mission of proclaiming with joy and conviction the "Good News' about the family, for the family absolutely needs to hear ever anew and to understand ever more deeply the authentic words that reveal its identity, its inner resources and the importance of its mission in the City of God and in that of man" (Conclusion, n. 86).
The Apostolic Exhortation cited together with the Letter to Families Gratissimam Sane and the Encyclical Evangelium Vitae constitute, as it were, a luminous triptych that must inspire your task as Pastors.
2. I wish to thank you in particular for your pastoral concern which seeks to safeguard the fundamental values of marriage and the family. They are threatened by the current phenomenon of secularization that prevents the social conscience from discovering adequately the identity and mission of the family institution and recently, by the pressure of unjust laws that fail to recognize its fundamental rights.
In light of this situation, I am pleased to note the increase in and consolidation of the particular Churches' work for this human institution, which is rooted in God's loving plan and represents the irreplaceable model for the common good of humanity. Homes that give a generous response to the Lord abound and there is also a wealth of pastoral experiences, a sign of new vitality, in which family identity is reinforced by means of better marriage preparation.
3. Your duty as Pastors consists in presenting in its full richness the extraordinary value of marriage, which as a natural institution is a "patrimony of humanity". Moreover, its elevation to the loftiest dignity of a sacrament must be seen with gratitude and wonder, as I recently said, affirming:
"The sacramental quality that marriage assumes in Christ therefore means that the gift of creation has been raised to the grace of redemption. Christ's grace is not an external addition to human nature, it does not do violence to men and women but sets them free and restores them, precisely by raising them above their own limitations" (Address to the Ecclesial Diocesan Convention of Rome, 6 June 2005; L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 15 June, p. 6).
4. The spouses' love and total gift of self, with their special connotations of exclusivity, fidelity, permanence in time and openness to life, are at the root of this communion of life and love that constitutes the married state (cf. Gaudium et Spes GS 48).
Today, it is necessary to proclaim with renewed enthusiasm that the Gospel of the family is a process of human and spiritual fulfilment in the certainty that the Lord is always present with his grace. This proclamation is often distorted by false concepts of marriage and the family that do not respect God's original plan. In this regard, people have actually reached the point of suggesting new forms of marriage, some unknown to popular cultures in that its specific nature is altered.
Also in the life context, new models are being proposed that dispute this fundamental right. As a result, the elimination of embryos or their arbitrary use in the name of scientific progress, which fails to recognize its own limits and to accept all the moral principles that make it possible to safeguard the dignity of the person, becomes a threat to the human being who is reduced to an object or a mere instrument. When such levels are reached, society itself is affected and every kind of risk shakes its foundations.
5. In Latin America, as in all other places, children have the right to be born and to be raised in a family founded on marriage, where parents are the first educators of the faith for their children in order for them to reach full human and spiritual maturity.
Children truly are the family's greatest treasure and most precious good. Consequently, everyone must be helped to become aware of the intrinsic evil of the crime of abortion. In attacking human life in its very first stages, it is also an aggression against society itself. Politicians and legislators, therefore, as servants of the common good, are duty bound to defend the fundamental right to life, the fruit of God's love.
6. It is certain that for pastoral action in so delicate and complex an area, in which various disciplines are involved and fundamental issues faced, a careful training of pastoral workers in the Dioceses is essential.
Priests, therefore, as the immediate collaborators of the Bishops, must receive a sound training in this field that will enable them to face competently and with conviction the problems that arise in their pastoral activity.
As for lay people, especially those who devote their energy to this service of families, they in turn need a proper and sound formation that will help them witness to the greatness and lasting value of marriage in today's society.
7. Dear brothers and sisters, as you know well, the Fifth World Meeting of Families is not far off. It will be held in Valencia, Spain, on the theme: The transmission of faith in the family.
In this regard, I would like to offer my cordial greeting to Archbishop Agustín García-Gasco of that city, who is taking part in this Meeting and who, with the Pontifical Council for the Family, is sharing the challenging task of its preparation. I encourage you all so that numerous delegations of the Bishops' Conferences, Dioceses and movements of Latin America will be able to take part in this important ecclesial event.
For my part, I firmly support the holding of this Meeting and place it under the loving protection of the Holy Family.
Dear Pastors, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to you and to all the families in Latin America.
Speechs 2005