Speechs 2008
Basilica of Saint Mary Major
Saturday, 3 May 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At the conclusion of this moment of Marian prayer, I would like to address my cordial greeting to all of you and thank you for your participation. In particular I greet Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, Archpriest of this stupendous Basilica of St Mary Major. In Rome this is the Marian temple par excellence, in which the people of the City venerate the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani with great affection. I gladly welcomed the invitation addressed to me to lead the Holy Rosary on the First Saturday of the month of May, according to the beautiful tradition that I have had since my childhood. In fact, in my generation's experience, the evenings of May evoke sweet memories linked to the vespertine gatherings to honour the Blessed Mother. Indeed, how is it possible to forget praying the Rosary in the parish or rather in the courtyards of the houses and in the country lanes?
Today, together we confirm that the Holy Rosary is not a pious practice banished to the past, like prayers of other times thought of with nostalgia. Instead, the Rosary is experiencing a new Springtime. Without a doubt, this is one of the most eloquent signs of love that the young generation nourish for Jesus and his Mother, Mary. In the current world, so dispersive, this prayer helps to put Christ at the centre, as the Virgin did, who meditated within all that was said about her Son, and also what he did and said. When reciting the Rosary, the important and meaningful moments of salvation history are relived. The various steps of Christ's mission are traced. With Mary the heart is oriented toward the mystery of Jesus. Christ is put at the centre of our life, of our time, of our city, through the contemplation and meditation of his holy mysteries of joy, light, sorrow and glory. May Mary help us to welcome within ourselves the grace emanating from these mysteries, so that through us we can "water" society, beginning with our daily relationships, and purifying them from so many negative forces, thus opening them to the newness of God. The Rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, it brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation. It contains within itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the centre of each "Hail Mary".
Dear brothers and sisters, let us thank God who has allowed us to live such a beautiful hour this evening, and in the following evenings of this Marian month, even if we will be far away, each in their own family and community, may we, just the same, feel close and united in prayer. Especially in these days that prepare us for the Solemnity of Pentecost, let us remain united with Mary, invoking for the Church a renewed effusion of the Holy Spirit. As at the origins, Mary Most Holy helps the faithful of every Christian community to form one heart and soul. I entrust to you the most urgent intentions of my ministry, the needs of the Church, the grave problems of humanity: peace in the world, unity among Christians, dialogue between all cultures. And thinking of Rome and Italy, I invite you to pray for the pastoral goals of the Diocese, and for the united development of this beloved Country. To the new Mayor of Rome, Honourable Gianni Alemanno, who I see present here, I address the wish of a fruitful service for the good of the city's entire community. To all of you gathered here and to those who are linked to us by radio and television, in particular the sick and the infirm, I gladly impart the Apostolic Blessing.
St. Peter's Square
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Dear Children, Young People and Adults of Catholic Action,
It is a great joy to me to welcome you here today in St Peter's Square where in the past your praiseworthy Association has frequently met the Successor of Peter. Thank you for your visit. I greet with affection all of you who have come from every part of Italy, as well as the members of the International Forum who come from 40 Countries of the world. In particular, I greet Prof. Luigi Alici, your National President, whom I thank for his cordial words addressed to me, Mons. Domenico Sigalini, your Assistant General, and the national and diocesan leaders. I also thank you for the special gift you have desired to offer to me through your representatives which testifies to your solidarity with the neediest. I express deep gratitude to Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of the Italian Bishops' Conference who has celebrated Holy Mass for you.
You have come to Rome in the spiritual company of your numerous Saints, Blesseds, Venerables and Servants of God: men and women, young people and children, educators and priest chaplains, rich in Christian virtues, who have grown up in the ranks of Catholic Action which is celebrating its 140th anniversary in these days. The magnificent crown of faces that symbolically embraces St Peter's Square is a tangible witness of a holiness rich in light and love. These witnesses, who followed Jesus with all their strength, who spared no efforts for the Church and for the Kingdom of God, represent your most authentic identity card. Is it not still possible today for you boys and girls, young people and adults, to make your life a witness of communion with the Lord that is transformed into a genuine masterpiece of holiness? Is this not your Association's purpose? This will certainly be possible if Catholic Action continues to be faithful to its own deep roots of faith, nourished by full adherence to the Word of God, by unconditional love for the Church, a vigilant participation in civil life and a constant commitment to formation. Dear friends, respond generously to this call to holiness in accordance with the ways that best suit your secular condition! Continue to let yourselves be inspired by the three great "consignments" that my Venerable Predecessor, the Servant of God John Paul II, entrusted to you at Loreto in 2004: contemplation, communion and mission.
Catholic Action is born as a particular association of lay faithful marked by a special and direct bond with the Pope, which quickly becomes a precious form of "collaboration of the laity in the hierarchical apostolate", "most earnestly" recommended by the Second Vatican Council, and which identifies its indispensable "characteristics" (cf. Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity in the Church, Apostolicam Actuositatem, AA 20). This vocation of yours is still valid today. I encourage you, therefore, to persevere with generosity in your service to the Church. By adopting its general apostolic goal in a spirit of intimate union with the Successor of Peter and hard-working co-responsibility with Pastors, you incarnate a ministerial role in a fruitful balance between the universal Church and the local Church, which requires you to make a ceaseless and irreplaceable contribution to communion.
This broad ecclesial dimension which identifies your association's charism is not the sign of an uncertain or outdated identity; rather, it attributes great responsibility to your lay vocation: illumined and sustained by the action of the Holy Spirit and constantly rooted in the journey of the Church, you are challenged to courageously seek ever new syntheses between the proclamation of Christ's salvation to the people of our time and the promotion of the integral good of the person and of the entire human family.
In my intervention at the Fourth National Ecclesial Convention held in Verona in October 2006, I recognized that the Church in Italy "is a lively reality - and we see it! -, which conserves a capillary presence in the midst of people of every age and level. "Christian traditions often continue to be rooted and to produce fruit, while a great effort of evangelization and catechesis is taking place, addressed particularly to the new generations, but now even more so to families" (Address to Fourth National Ecclesial Convention, Verona, 19 October 2006). How can we fail to see in this capillary presence also a discreet and tangible sign of Catholic Action? In fact, the beloved Italian Nation has always been able to count on men and women formed in your Association who are prepared to serve the cause of the common good disinterestedly, to build up a just ordering of society and the State. May you, therefore, be able to live up to your Baptism which immersed you in the death and Resurrection of Jesus for the salvation of every person whom you meet, and of a world that is thirsting for peace and truth. Be "worthy citizens of the Gospel" and "ministers of Christian wisdom for a more human world": this is the theme of your Assembly and this is the commitment you assume today before the Italian Church, represented here by you, by your priest chaplains, by the Bishops and by their President.
In a missionary Church, placed before an educational emergency such as that which is found in Italy today, may you who love and serve her be tireless heralds and trained and generous educators; in a Church called to give even very demanding proof of fidelity and tempted by adaptation, be courageous witnesses and prophets of Gospel radicalism; in a Church which is confronted daily by the relativist, hedonist and consumerist mentality, may you be able to extend the spaces of rationality in the sign of a faith that befriends intelligence, both in the context of a popular and widespread culture and in a more elaborated and thought-out research; in a Church that calls for the heroism of holiness, respond without fear, always trusting in God's mercy.
Dear friends of Italian Catholic Action you are not alone on the path that lies ahead of you: your saints accompany you. Other figures too have played significant roles in your Association: I am thinking for example, among the others of Giuseppe Toniolo and Armida Barelli. Inspired by these examples of Christianity lived out, you have embarked on an extraordinary year, a year that we could qualify by holiness, in which you strive to translate the Gospel teachings into practical life. I encourage you in this resolution. Intensify your prayer, reform your conduct on the eternal values of the Gospel, letting yourselves be guided by the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. The Pope accompanies you with constant remembrance before the Lord, while he warmly imparts the Apostolic Blessing to you who are present here and to the entire Association.
Clementine Hall
Monday, 5 May 2008
Dear Commandant,
Dear Swiss Guards and Relatives,
On the occasion of the swearing-in ceremony which will take place tomorrow, I am pleased to be able to meet you all together, to offer my best wishes to the new recruits and to renew the expression of my affection and gratitude to the entire Corps of the Pontifical Swiss Guard. I greet in particular the Commandant and the Chaplain and I assure them of my prayers for their demanding service; I also gladly extend my thoughts to the Swiss Authorities and to your numerous relatives, who, with their presence, gladden your little quarters in the Vatican, dear Guards. I am especially glad to welcome so many children, who are the most beautiful flowers of your families and recall Jesus' special love for little ones.
Two years ago, in 2006, the fifth centenary of your Corps' foundation was celebrated with important events. It was a favourable occasion for seeing your history in perspective, noting the profound changes in the social context in which, in the course of the centuries, the Holy See was required to live and work in accordance with the mandate that Christ entrusted to the Apostle Peter. It was precisely what did not change that stood out against the background of this impressive development: namely the identity of your small but qualified Corps, destined to watch over the safety of the Roman Pontiff at his Residence. Five centuries later, the spirit of faith that impels young Swiss men to leave their beautiful Country to come to serve the Pope in the Vatican has remained unchanged. They have equal love for the Catholic Church, to which you bear witness in person rather than with your words, and thanks to your characteristic uniform you are easy to recognize at the entrances to the Vatican and at Papal Audiences. Your historical uniforms speak to pilgrims and tourists from every part of the world of something that in spite of all does not change, in other words they speak of your commitment to serve God by serving the "Servant of his servants".
I am addressing you, the new halberdiers, in particular. Above all may you assimilate the Christian and ecclesial spirit which is the foundation and driving force of all the activities you will carry out. Never cease to develop your prayer and your spiritual life, making the most of your Chaplain's valuable presence in order to do so. Be open, simple and loyal. May you also appreciate the differences of personality and character among yourselves because, beneath the uniform each one of you is a unique person called by God to serve his Kingdom of love and peace. As you know, the Swiss Guard is also a school of life and during their experience in the Vatican many of your predecessors discovered their vocation: to Christian marriage, to the priesthood or to the consecrated life. It is a cause of praise to God but also of appreciation for your Corps.
Dear friends, I thank you all for the generosity and dedication with which you work at the Pope's service. May the Lord reward you and endow you with abundant heavenly favours. I entrust you to the motherly protection of Mary Most Holy, whom we venerate with special devotion in this month of May. I warmly impart my Apostolic Blessing to each one of you, to the Authorities, to the important Figures present, to your relatives and to all your loved ones.
Paul VI Audience Hall
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends!
Another high-quality musical performance sees us gathered once again in the Paul VI Audience Hall. For me and for all of us here, it takes on a particular value and meaning. Since it is offered and performed by the China Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shanghai Opera House Chorus, it puts us in touch, as it were, with the living reality of the world of China. I thank the choir and orchestra for this generous tribute and I congratulate the organizers and the artists for their skilful, refined and elegant performance of a musical work that forms part of the artistic heritage of all humanity. In a group of such accomplished artists, we see represented the great cultural and musical tradition of China, and this performance helps us to understand better the history of the Chinese people, their values and their noble aspirations. Heartfelt thanks for this gift! Thanks also for the music that is about to be performed! I extend sincere thanks not only to the promoters and the artists, but to all those who, in different ways, took part in arranging this truly unique event.
It is worth emphasizing that this performance by Chinese artists of one of Mozart’s greatest works brings together their own musical talent and Western music. Conductor Long Yu, with his orchestra, the soloists and the Shanghai Opera House Chorus have comfortably risen to the challenge. Music, and art in general, can serve as a privileged instrument for encounter and reciprocal knowledge and esteem between different populations and cultures; a means attainable by all for valuing the universal language of art.
There is another aspect that I wish to emphasize. I note with pleasure the interest shown by your orchestra and choir in European religious music. This shows that it is possible, in different cultural settings, to enjoy and appreciate sublime manifestations of the spirit such as Mozart’s Requiem which we have just heard, precisely because music expresses universal human sentiments, including the religious sentiment, which transcends the boundaries of every individual culture.
I should also like to say a word regarding this place where we have come together this evening. It is the great hall in which the Pope receives his guests and meets those who come to visit him. It is like a window opening onto the world, a place where people from all over the world often meet, with their own personal stories and their own culture, all of them welcomed with esteem and affection. In greeting you this evening, dear Chinese artists, the Pope intends to reach out to your entire people, with a special thought for those of your fellow citizens who share faith in Jesus and are united through a particular spiritual bond with the Successor of Peter. The Requiem came into being through this faith as a prayer to God, the just and merciful judge, and that is why it touches the hearts of all people, as an expression of humanity’s universal aspirations. Finally, as I thank you once again for this most welcome tribute, I send my greetings, through you, to all the people of China as they prepare for the Olympic Games, an event of great importance for the entire human family.
(in Chinese)
I thank you all and I offer you my best wishes.
Clementine Hall
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Your Beatitude,
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear Sons and Daughters of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church,
I am happy to meet you on your pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostles. I greet in particular H.B. Gregorios III, whom I thank for his kind words expressing the vitality of the Melkite Church despite the difficult social and political situation in your region. I also address my fraternal greeting to the Bishops present, and to you, dear friends, who have come from various countries of the Middle East and the Melkite Diaspora across the world, where in your own way you express the universality of the Catholic Church.
With the approach of the year I have chosen to dedicate to St Paul, I cannot forget that your Patriarchate's headquarters are based in the city of Damascus, on the road to which the Apostle experienced the event that transformed his life and opened the doors of Christianity to all the nations. Thus I encourage you on this occasion so that an intense pastoral outreach may awaken in your dioceses, in each one of your parishes and among all the faithful, a new impetus for an ever more intimate knowledge of Christ, thanks to a renewed reading of the Pauline writings. This will permit a fruitful witness among people today. Such an impetus will also be able to guarantee the Melkite Church a flourishing future.
In this perspective, to assure the evangelical dynamism and unity of the communities as well as the smooth functioning of ecclesial affairs in the Patriarchal Churches the role of the Synod of Bishops has a fundamental importance. Thus it would be appropriate, each time that the law requires it and especially when it is a question of matters that concern the Bishops themselves, to give this venerable institution and not only the Permanent Synod, its own proper place.
I know of the ecumenical activity of the Melkite Catholic Church and of the brotherly relations you have established with your Orthodox Brethren and I am delighted. Indeed, the commitment to the search for the unity of all Christ's disciples is an urgent obligation which stems from the ardent desire of the Lord himself. We must therefore do our utmost to break down the walls of division and distrust that prevent us from achieving it. Nevertheless, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the quest for unity is a task that concerns not only a particular Church, but the entire Church, with respect for her nature. Moreover, as the Encyclical Ut Unum Sint stresses, unity is not the fruit of human activity, it is first and foremost a gift of the Holy Spirit. Let us therefore pray the Spirit, whose descent upon the Apostles we shall be celebrating in a few days, to help us all to work together in the quest for unity.
Your Beatitude, dear Brothers and Sisters, I also appreciate the good relations you have with Muslims, with their leaders and their institutions, as well as the efforts you have made to solve, in a spirit of fraternal, sincere and objective dialogue, the problems that can arise. I rejoice, therefore, to note that along the lines of the Second Vatican Council, the Melkite Church has been committed, with Muslims, to sincerely seeking mutual understanding as well as to promoting and defending together social justice, moral values, peace and freedom for the benefit of all.
Lastly, in accomplishing her mission in the turbulent and sometimes dramatic context of the Middle East, the Church finds herself facing situations in which politics play a role that may concern her. Thus it is important that she keep in touch with the Political Authorities, the institutions and the different parties. Nevertheless, it does not behove the clergy to be involved in politics. This is the task of the laity. Yet the Church must propose the light of the Gospel to people so that all may engage to serve the common good; that justice always prevail and the path of peace unfold before the peoples of this beloved region.
Your Beatitude, in concluding this meeting, I entrust the Melkite Greek Catholic Church to the intercession of the Virgin Mary and to the protection of all the Saints of the East. While I ask God to give your Patriarchal Church strength and enlightenment so that she may persevere with her mission in peace and serenity, I impart to you as well as to the Bishops and all the faithful of your Patriarchate an affectionate Apostolic Blessing.
Clementine Hall
Friday, 9 May 2008
Your Holiness,
Dear Brothers in Christ,
It is with heartfelt joy that I welcome Your Holiness, and the distinguished delegation accompanying you. I cordially greet the prelates, priests and lay-people who represent the worldwide family of the Catholicosate of All Armenians. We come together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who promised his disciples that “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Mt 18,20). May the spirit of brotherly love and service, which Jesus taught to his disciples, enlighten our hearts and minds, as we exchange our greetings, hold our conversations and gather in prayer.
I gratefully recall the visits of Catholicos Vasken I and Catholicos Karekin I to the Church of Rome, and their cordial relations with my venerable predecessors Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. Their striving for Christian unity opened a new era in relations between us. I recall with particular joy Your Holiness’ visit to Rome in 2000 and your meeting with Pope John Paul II. The ecumenical liturgy in the Vatican Basilica, celebrating the gift of a relic of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, was one of the most memorable events of the Great Jubilee in Rome. Pope John Paul II returned that visit by travelling to Armenia in 2001, where You graciously hosted him at Holy Etchmiadzin. The warm welcome you gave him on that occasion further increased his esteem and respect for the Armenian people. The Eucharist celebrated by Pope John Paul II on the great outdoor altar, within the enclosure of Holy Etchmiadzin, was a further sign of growing mutual acceptance, in expectation of the day when we will be able to celebrate together at the one table of the Lord.
Tomorrow evening, each of us, in our respective traditions, will begin the liturgical celebration of Pentecost. Fifty days after the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we will pray earnestly to the Father, asking him to send his Holy Spirit, the Spirit whose task it is to maintain us in divine love and lead us into all truth. We will pray in a particular way for the unity of the Church. On Pentecost day, it was the Holy Spirit who created from the many languages of the crowds assembled in Jerusalem one single voice to profess the faith. It is the Holy Spirit who brings about the Church’s unity. The path towards the restoration of full and visible communion among all Christians may seem long and arduous. Much remains to be done to heal the deep and painful divisions that disfigure Christ’s Body. The Holy Spirit, however, continues to guide the Church in surprising and often unexpected ways. He can open doors that are locked, inspire words that have been forgotten, heal relations that are broken. If our hearts and minds are open to the Spirit of communion, God can work miracles again in the Church, restoring the bonds of unity. Striving for Christian unity is an act of obedient trust in the work of the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church to the full realization of the Father’s plan, in conformity with the will of Christ.
The recent history of the Armenian Apostolic Church has been written in the contrasting colours of persecution and martyrdom, darkness and hope, humiliation and spiritual re-birth. Your Holiness and the members of your delegation have personally lived through these contrasting experiences in your families and in your own lives. The restoration of freedom to the Church in Armenia has been a source of great joy for us all. An immense task of rebuilding the Church has been laid on your shoulders. I cannot but voice my great esteem for the remarkable pastoral results that have been achieved in such a short time, both in Armenia and abroad, for the Christian education of young people, for the training of new clergy, for building new churches and community centres, for charitable assistance to those in need, and for promoting Christian values in social and cultural life. Thanks to your pastoral leadership, the glorious light of Christ shines again in Armenia and the saving words of the Gospel can be heard once more. Of course, you are still facing many challenges on the social, cultural and spiritual levels. In this regard, I must mention the recent difficulties suffered by the people of Armenia, and I express the prayerful support of the Catholic Church in their search for justice and peace and the promotion of the common good.
In our ecumenical dialogue, important progress has been made in clarifying the doctrinal controversies that have traditionally divided us, particularly over questions of Christology. During the last five years, much has been achieved by the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, of which the Catholicosate of All Armenians is a full member. I thank Your Holiness for the support given to the work of the Joint Commission and for the valuable contribution made by your representatives. We pray that its activity will bring us closer to full and visible communion, and that the day will come when our unity in faith makes possible a common celebration of the Eucharist. Until that day, the bonds between us are best consolidated and extended by agreements on pastoral issues, in line with the degree of doctrinal agreement already attained. Only when sustained by prayer and supported by effective cooperation, can theological dialogue lead to the unity that the Lord wishes for his disciples.
Your Holiness, dear friends: in the twelfth century, Nerses of Lambron addressed a group of Armenian Bishops. He concluded his famous Synodal Discourse on the restoration of Christian unity with visionary words, that still affect us today:“You are not wrong, Venerable Fathers: it is meritorious to weep over days past in discord. However, today is the day that the Lord has made, a day of gladness and joy (…) Let us then pray in order that our Lord give tenderness, sweetness in greater abundance still, and that He develop on earth, by the dew of the Holy Spirit, this seed; perhaps, thanks to His power may we also produce fruits; so that we may restore the peace of the Church of Christ today in intention, tomorrow in fact”. This is also my prayerful wish on the occasion of your visit. I thank you most warmly and assure you of my deep affection in the Lord.
Clementine Hall
Saturday, 10 May 2008
Dear and Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate,
I greet you all with great joy, Pastors of the Church in Hungary, on the occasion of your visit ad limina Apostolorum. I greet you with affection and I am grateful to Cardinal Péter Erdö for his words to me on behalf of the Bishops' Conference as a whole. In addition to expressing your fraternal sentiments to me, for which I warmly thank you, he has clearly outlined the salient characteristics of the Catholic Community and the society of your Country, summarizing the knowledge that I have been able to gain at the meetings with each one of you. Thus, dear Brothers, the people entrusted to you are now spiritually before you with their joys and plans, their sorrows, problems and hopes. And we pray first of all that through the intercession of Sts Peter and Paul, and with the help of this Apostolic See which presides in charity, the faithful may find the strength to persevere on their way toward the fullness of the Kingdom of God.
Unfortunately, the long period of the Communist regime has so deeply scarred the Hungarian people that the consequences are still being felt today: in particular, many show a certain difficulty in trusting others, typical of those who have lived for a long time in an atmosphere of suspicion. Moreover, the feeling of insecurity, is accentuated by the difficult economic situation, which heedless consumerism does not help to improve. People, including Catholics, generally feel the "weakness" of thought and will that is very common in our day. As you yourselves have noted, today it is often difficult to initiate a serious theological and spiritual deepening because, on the one hand the necessary intellectual training is lacking and on the other, the objective reference to the truth of faith. In this context the Church must certainly be a teacher, but must always show herself first and foremost to be a mother, so as to foster growth in mutual trust and to encourage hope.
Unfortunately the family, which is going through a serious crisis in Hungary too, is the first to suffer from the widespread secularization. Its symptoms are the considerable decrease in the number of marriages and the striking rise in divorces, that are also very often premature. The so-called "de facto couples" are proliferating. You rightly criticized the public recognition of homosexual unions, because they are not only contrary to the Church's teaching but also to the Hungarian Constitution itself. This situation, together with the lack of subsidies for large families, has led to a drastic fall in the birth rate, made even more dramatic by the widespread practice of abortion. The family crisis is of course an enormous challenge to the Church. Conjugal fidelity and more in general the values on which society is founded are called into question. It is therefore obvious that after families it is youth who are affected by this problem. In the cities they are attracted by new forms of entertainment and in the villages are often left to themselves. I therefore express my deepest appreciation of the many initiatives that the Church promotes, even with the limited means at her disposal, to animate the world of youth with periods of formation and friendship that awaken their sense of responsibility. I am thinking, for example, of the activities of choirs, which fit into the praiseworthy commitment of parishes to encourage the spread of sacred music. Again, in the perspective of attention to the new generations, you offer praiseworthy support to Catholic schools, and in particular to the Catholic University of Budapest which I hope will always be able to preserve and develop its original identity. I encourage you to persevere in your efforts for the pastoral care of schools and universities, as well as, more generally, for the evangelization of culture which in our day also avails itself of the media; in this sector your Church has recently made important progress.
Venerable Brothers, to keep the people's faith alive you justly seek to develop and update traditional initiatives, such as pilgrimages and expressions of devotion to Hungarian Saints, particularly St Elizabeth, St Emeric and, of course, St Stephen. With regard to pilgrimages, while I appreciate the fact that the custom of pilgrimages to the See of Peter has endured (significantly, there is an evocative Hungarian Chapel in the Basilica dedicated to the Apostle), I learned with pleasure of the increasing number of pilgrimages to Mariazell, Czestochowa, Lourdes, Fatima and the new Shrine of Divine Mercy at Krakow, where your Bishops' Conference also recently erected a "Hungarian Chapel". In the 20th century, there has been no lack of heroic witnesses of faith in your Community: I urge you to keep their memory alive, so that the Christian spirit with which they faced suffering may continue to inspire courage and fidelity in believers and in all who work for truth and justice.
There is another concern that I share with you: the lack of priests and the resulting excessive burden of pastoral work on the Church's ministers today. This is a problem in many European Countries. Nonetheless, it is necessary to ensure that priests nourish their spiritual life adequately so that despite the problems and the pressing work they do not lose sight of the centre of their existence and their ministry, and are consequently able to discern the essential from the secondary, identifying the proper priorities in their daily activity. It is only right to reaffirm that joyful adherence to Christ, witnessed by the priest among his faithful, remains the most effective incentive to reawakening in young people sensitivity to a possible call from God. In particular, it is fundamental that the Sacraments of the Eucharist and of Penance be received regularly with the greatest devotion first of all by the priests themselves and then generously administered by them to the faithful. The exercise of presbyteral brotherhood is likewise indispensable, to avoid any dangerous isolation. It is equally important to encourage positive and respectful relations between priests and the lay faithful, in accordance with the teaching of the Conciliar Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis. The good relations existing between the clergy and religious also deserve to be increased further. In this regard I would like to address my encouragement to the women's Religious Congregations, which with humble discretion carry out precious activities among the poorest.
Venerable Brothers, in spite of secularization, the Catholic Church continues to be the Religious Community to which many Hungarians belong, or, at least, an important reference point. Thus it is particularly desirable that relations with State Authorities be marked by respectful collaboration, also by means of bilateral Agreements whose correct implementation should be overseen by a special Joint Commission. This will not fail to benefit the whole of Hungarian society, particularly in the fields of education and culture. And if the Church, thanks to her commitment in schools and in social service, is to make a considerable contribution to the civil community, how can one fail to hope that her activities will be seconded by public institutions, especially for the benefit of the less privileged classes? On the ecclesial side, despite the general financial difficulty at this time, the commitment to serve those in situations of need will not be lacking.
Lastly, venerable Brothers, how could I fail to tell you that the unity which characterizes you in following the Church's teachings is a source of serenity and comfort to me? May it always continue and develop! I am also pleased that you have recently increased your contact with the Bishops' Conferences of the neighbouring Countries, especially Slovakia and Romania, where Hungarian minorities are present. I warmly applaud this line of action, motivated by a sincere Gospel spirit and, at the same time, by a wise concern for harmonious coexistence. Tensions are of course far from easy to overcome, but the direction the Church has taken is right and promising. For this and for all your other pastoral projects I assure you of my support. In particular, I am thinking at this moment of the "Year of the Bible", which you have very appropriately promoted in 2008 to coincide with the upcoming Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. This is also an excellent opportunity for you to deepen relations with your Christian brethren of other denominations. In thanking God for his constant help, I invoke upon you and upon your ministry the motherly protection of Mary Most Holy. For my part, I accompany you with prayers, while I impart to you with affection the Apostolic Blessing, which I willingly extend to your Diocesan Communities and to the entire Hungarian Nation.
Clementine Hall
Saturday, 10 May 2008
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I welcome you with great pleasure at the conclusion of your Congress which has involved you in reflecting on an old and ever new problem: responsibility and respect for human life from its conception. I greet in particular Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Rector Magnificent of the Pontifical Lateran University, which organized this International Congress, and I thank him for his words of welcome. I then extend my greeting to the distinguished Speakers, the Lecturers and all the participants who have enriched these busy days of work with their contributions. Your papers fittingly contribute to the broader output on this topic - so controversial, yet so crucial for humanity's future - which has increased in the course of the decades.
In the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, the Second Vatican Council was already addressing scientists, urging them to join forces to achieve unity in knowledge and a consolidated certainty on the conditions that can favour "the proper regulation of births" (n. 52). My Predecessor of venerable memory, the Servant of God Paul VI, published his Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae on 25 July 1968. The Document very soon became a sign of contradiction. Drafted to treat a difficult situation, it constitutes a significant show of courage in reasserting the continuity of the Church's doctrine and tradition. This text, all too often misunderstood and misinterpreted, also sparked much discussion because it was published at the beginning of profound contestations that marked the lives of entire generations. Forty years after its publication this teaching not only expresses its unchanged truth but also reveals the farsightedness with which the problem is treated. In fact, conjugal love is described within a global process that does not stop at the division between soul and body and is not subjected to mere sentiment, often transient and precarious, but rather takes charge of the person's unity and the total sharing of the spouses who, in their reciprocal acceptance, offer themselves in a promise of faithful and exclusive love that flows from a genuine choice of freedom. How can such love remain closed to the gift of life? Life is always a precious gift; every time we witness its beginnings we see the power of the creative action of God who trusts man and thus calls him to build the future with the strength of hope.
The Magisterium of the Church cannot be exonerated from reflecting in an ever new and deeper way on the fundamental principles that concern marriage and procreation. What was true yesterday is true also today. The truth expressed in Humanae Vitae does not change; on the contrary, precisely in the light of the new scientific discoveries, its teaching becomes more timely and elicits reflection on the intrinsic value it possesses. The key word to enter coherently into its content remains "love". As I wrote in my first Encyclical Deus Caritas Est: "Man is truly himself when his body and soul are intimately united.... Yet it is neither the spirit alone nor the body alone that loves: it is man, the person, a unified creature composed of body and soul, who loves" (n. 5). If this unity is removed, the value of the person is lost and there is a serious risk of considering the body a commodity that can be bought or sold (cf. ibid). In a culture subjected to the prevalence of "having' over "being', human life risks losing its value. If the practice of sexuality becomes a drug that seeks to enslave one's partner to one's own desires and interests, without respecting the cycle of the beloved, then what must be defended is no longer solely the true concept of love but in the first place the dignity of the person. As believers, we could never let the domination of technology invalidate the quality of love and the sacredness of life.
It was not by chance that Jesus, in speaking of human love, alluded to what God created at the beginning of the Creation (cf. Mt Mt 19,4-6). His teaching refers to a free act with which the Creator not only meant to express the riches of his love which is open, giving itself to all, but he also wanted to impress upon it a paradigm in accordance with which humanity's action must be declined. In the fruitfulness of conjugal love, the man and the woman share in the Father's creative act and make it clear that at the origin of their spousal life they pronounce a genuine "yes" which is truly lived in reciprocity, remaining ever open to life. This word of the Lord with its profound truth endures unchanged and cannot be abolished by the different theories that have succeeded one another in the course of the years, and at times even been contradictory. Natural law, which is at the root of the recognition of true equality between persons and peoples, deserves to be recognized as the source that inspires the relationship between the spouses in their responsibility for begetting new children. The transmission of life is inscribed in nature and its laws stand as an unwritten norm to which all must refer. Any attempt to turn one's gaze away from this principle is in itself barren and does not produce a future.
We urgently need to rediscover a new covenant that has always been fruitful when it has been respected; it puts reason and love first. A perceptive teacher like William of Saint-Thierry could write words that we feel are profoundly valid even for our time: "If reason instructs love and love illumines reason, if reason is converted into love and love consents to be held within the bounds of reason, they can do something great" (De Natura et dignitate amoris, 21, 8). What is this "something great" that we can witness? It is the promotion of responsibility for life which brings to fruition the gift that each one makes of him or herself to the other. It is the fruit of a love that can think and choose in complete freedom, without letting itself be conditioned unduly by the possible sacrifice requested. From this comes the miracle of life that parents experience in themselves, as they sense the extraordinary nature of what takes place in them and through them. No mechanical technique can substitute the act of love that husband and wife exchange as the sign of a greater mystery which (as protagonists and sharers in creation) sees them playing the lead and sharing in creation.
Unfortunately, more and more often we see sorrowful events that involve adolescents, whose reactions show their incorrect knowledge of the mystery of life and of the risky implications of their actions. The urgent need for education to which I often refer, primarily concerns the theme of life. I sincerely hope that young people in particular will be given very special attention so that they may learn the true meaning of love and prepare for it with an appropriate education in sexuality, without letting themselves be distracted by ephemeral messages that prevent them from reaching the essence of the truth at stake. To circulate false illusions in the context of love or to deceive people concerning the genuine responsibilities that they are called to assume with the exercise of their own sexuality does not do honour to a society based on the principles of freedom and democracy. Freedom must be conjugated with truth and responsibility with the force of dedication to the other, even with sacrifice; without these components the human community does not grow and the risk of enclosing itself in an asphyxiating cycle of selfishness is always present.
The teaching expressed by the Encyclical Humanae Vitae is not easy. Yet it conforms with the fundamental structure through which life has always been transmitted since the world's creation, with respect for nature and in conformity with its needs. Concern for human life and safeguarding the person's dignity require us not to leave anything untried so that all may be involved in the genuine truth of responsible conjugal love in full adherence to the law engraved on the heart of every person. With these sentiments I impart the Apostolic Blessing to you all.
Monday, 12 May 2008
Your Excellency,
I am pleased to welcome you at the start of your mission and to accept the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to the Holy See. I thank you for your kind words, and I ask you to convey to President Shimon Peres my respectful greetings and the assurance of my prayers for the people of your country.
Once again I offer cordial good wishes on the occasion of Israel’s celebration of sixty years of statehood. The Holy See joins you in giving thanks to the Lord that the aspirations of the Jewish people for a home in the land of their fathers have been fulfilled, and hopes soon to see a time of even greater rejoicing when a just peace finally resolves the conflict with the Palestinians. In particular, the Holy See values its diplomatic relations with Israel, established fifteen years ago, and looks forward to developing further the growing respect, esteem and collaboration that unites us.
Between the State of Israel and the Holy See there are numerous areas of mutual interest that can be profitably explored. As you have pointed out, the Judeo-Christian heritage should inspire us to take a lead in promoting many forms of social and humanitarian action throughout the world, not least by combating all forms of racial discrimination. I share Your Excellency’s enthusiasm for the cultural and academic exchanges that are taking place between Catholic institutions worldwide and those of the Holy Land, and I too hope that these initiatives will be developed further in the years ahead. The fraternal dialogue that is conducted on an international level between Christians and Jews is bearing much fruit and needs to be continued with commitment and generosity. The holy cities of Rome and Jerusalem represent a source of faith and wisdom of central importance for Western civilization, and in consequence, the links between Israel and the Holy See have deeper resonances than those which arise formally from the juridical dimension of our relations.
Your Excellency, I know that you share my concern over the alarming decline in the Christian population of the Middle East, including Israel, through emigration. Of course Christians are not alone in suffering the effects of insecurity and violence as a result of the various conflicts in the region, but in many respects they are particularly vulnerable at the present time. I pray that, in consequence of the growing friendship between Israel and the Holy See, ways will be found of reassuring the Christian community, so that they can experience the hope of a secure and peaceful future in their ancestral homelands, without feeling under pressure to move to other parts of the world in order to build new lives.
Christians in the Holy Land have long enjoyed good relations with both Muslims and Jews. Their presence in your country, and the free exercise of the Church’s life and mission there, have the potential to contribute significantly to healing the divisions between the two communities. I pray that it may be so, and I invite your Government to continue to explore ways of harnessing the good will that Christians bear, both towards the natural descendants of the people who were the first to hear the word of God, and towards our Muslim brothers and sisters who have lived and worshipped for centuries in the land that all three religious traditions call “holy”.
I do realize that the difficulties experienced by Christians in the Holy Land are also related to the continuing tension between Jewish and Palestinian communities. The Holy See recognizes Israel’s legitimate need for security and self-defence and strongly condemns all forms of anti-Semitism. It also maintains that all peoples have a right to be given equal opportunities to flourish. Accordingly, I would urge your Government to make every effort to alleviate the hardship suffered by the Palestinian community, allowing them the freedom necessary to go about their legitimate business, including travel to places of worship, so that they too can enjoy greater peace and security. Clearly, these matters can only be addressed within the wider context of the Middle East peace process. The Holy See welcomes the commitment expressed by your Government to carry forward the momentum rekindled at Annapolis and prays that the hopes and expectations raised there will not be disappointed. As I observed in my recent address to the United Nations in New York, it is necessary to explore every possible diplomatic avenue and to remain attentive to “even the faintest sign of dialogue or desire for reconciliation” if long-standing conflicts are to be resolved. When all the people of the Holy Land live in peace and harmony, in two independent sovereign states side by side, the benefit for world peace will be inestimable, and Israel will truly serve as ??? ????? (“light to the nations”, Is 42,6), a shining example of conflict resolution for the rest of the world to follow.
Much work has gone into formulating the agreements which have been signed thus far between Israel and the Holy See, and it is greatly hoped that the negotiations regarding economic and fiscal affairs may soon be brought to a satisfactory conclusion. Thank you for your reassuring words concerning the Israeli Government’s commitment to a positive and expeditious resolution of the questions that remain. I know that I speak on behalf of many when I express the hope that these agreements may soon be integrated into the Israeli internal legal system and so provide a lasting basis for fruitful cooperation. Given the personal interest taken by Your Excellency in the situation of Christians in the Holy Land, which is greatly appreciated, I know you understand the difficulties caused by continuing uncertainties over their legal rights and status, especially with regard to the question of visas for church personnel. I am sure you will do what you can to facilitate the resolution of the problems that remain in a manner acceptable to all parties. Only when these difficulties are overcome, will the Church be able to carry out freely her religious, moral, educational and charitable works in the land where she came to birth.
Your Excellency, I pray that the diplomatic mission which you begin today will further strengthen the bonds of friendship that exist 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 the State of Israel, God’s abundant blessings.
Hall of Blessings
Monday, 12 May 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
With deep pleasure I welcome you today and I offer each one of you my cordial greeting. In the first place, I greet Bishop Michele Pennisi of Piazza Armerina, and the priests present. I address a special greeting to Hon. Carlo Carsini, President of the Pro-Life Movement and I warmly thank him for his kind words to me on your behalf. I greet the members of the National Management Committee and the Executive Board of the Pro-Life Movement, the Presidents of the Centres for Help to Life and those in charge of the various services, the "Progetto Gemma", the "Telefono Verde", "SOS Vita" and "Telefono Rosso". I also greet the representatives of the Pope John XXIII Association and several European pro-life movements. Through you who are present here I extend my affectionate thoughts to those who, although they are unable to be here in person are united with us in spirit. I am thinking in particular of the many volunteers who, with self-denial and generosity share with you the noble ideal of promoting and defending human life from its conception.
Your visit is taking place 30 years since the legalization of abortion in Italy and you are intending to suggest a profound reflection on the human and social effects this law has produced in the civil and Christian communities during this period. Looking at the past three decades and considering the current situation, it is impossible not to recognize that in practice defending human life today has become more difficult because a mindset has developed, entrusted to the opinion of the individual, which has gradually debased its value. One result of this has been the decrease in respect for the human person, a value at the root of all civil coexistence, over and above the faith professed.
The causes that lead to such painful decisions as abortion are of course many and complex. If, on the one hand, faithful to her Lord's commandment, the Church never tires of reaffirming that the sacred value of every human being's life originates in the Creator's plan, on the other hand, she encourages the promotion of every initiative in support of women and families in order to create the favourable conditions in which to welcome life, and the protection of the family institution founded on the marriage between a man and a woman. Not only has permitting recourse to the termination of pregnancy not solved the problems that afflict many women and a fair number of families, but it has also made another wound in our society, unfortunately, already burdened by deep suffering.
In recent years, there has been great dedication, and not only on the Church's part, in order to meet the needs and difficulties of families. However, we cannot conceal from ourselves that various problems continue to gnaw at today's society, preventing space from being given to the desire of so many young people to marry and to form a family, because of the unfavourable situation in which they live. The lack of steady employment, legislation that frequently does not provide for the protection of motherhood, the impossibility of guaranteeing adequate support for children, are some of the obstacles that seem to stifle the requirement of fertile love, while they open the door to a growing sense of distrust in the future. It is necessary, therefore, to join forces so that different Institutions may once again focus their action on the defence of human life and give priority attention to the family, in whose heart life is born and develops. It is necessary to help the family with every legislative means to facilitate its formation and its task of education in the difficult social context of today.
For Christians, in this fundamental context of society, an urgent and indispensable field for the apostolate and for Gospel witness is always open: to protect life with courage and love in all its stages. For this, dear brothers and sisters, I ask the Lord to bless the activity which, as the Centro di Aiuto alla Vita and the Movimento per la Vita, you carry out to prevent abortion, also in the case of difficult pregnancies, working at the same time in the contexts of education, culture and political debate. It is necessary to witness concretely that respect for life is the first form of justice to apply. For those who have the gift of faith this becomes a mandatory imperative, because the disciple of Christ is called to be increasingly a "prophet" of a truth that can never be eliminated: God alone is the Lord of life. Every person is known and loved, wanted and guided by him. Here alone lies the deepest and greatest unity of humanity: in the fact that every human being puts into practice God's one plan, originates in God's same creative idea. One thus understands why the Bible says: whoever profanes man, profanes the property of God (cf. Gn Gn 9,5).
This year is the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights whose merit is to have enabled different cultures, juridical forms and institutional models to converge around a fundamental nucleus of values, and hence, of rights. As I recently recalled during my Visit to the United Nations Organization to the members of the U.N., "Human rights, then, must be respected as an expression of justice, and not merely because they are enforceable through the will of the legislators.... The promotion of human rights remains the most effective strategy for eliminating inequalities between countries and social groups, and for increasing security" (Address to U.N. General Assembly, New York, 18 April 2008). For this reason your commitment in the political arena, as a help and an incentive for Institutions so that proper recognition be given to the words "human dignity", is truly laudable. Your initiative with the Commission for Petitions of the European Parliament, in which you assert the fundamental values of the right to life from conception, of the family founded on the marriage of a man and a woman, of the right of every human being conceived to be born and brought up in a family by his parents, further confirms the solidity of your commitment and your full communion with the Magisterium of the Church, which has always proclaimed and defended these values as "non-negotiable".
Dear brothers and sisters, in meeting you on 22 May 1998, John Paul II urged you to persevere in your commitment of love and the defence of human life, and recalled that thanks to you, numerous children were able to experience the joy of the most precious gift of life. Ten years later, it is I who thank you for the service you have rendered to the Church and to society. How many human lives you have saved from death! Continue on this path and, in order that the smile of life may triumph on the lips of all children and their mothers, do not be afraid. I entrust each one of you, and the many people whom you meet at the Centres of help for life, to the motherly protection of the Virgin Mary, Queen of the family, and while I assure you of my remembrance in prayer, I warmly bless you and all those who belong to the Pro-Life Movements in Italy, in Europe and throughout the world.
Consistory Hall
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Your Eminences,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am pleased to welcome you on the occasion of the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. I greet in particular Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, President, whom I thank for the words with which he introduced our Meeting, illustrating the various facets of the interesting topic you have addressed in these days. I also greet Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Secretary, the Undersecretary, the Officials and the Experts, the Members and the Consultors, I address a cordial thought of gratitude to all for the work achieved and for their dedication in putting into practice what has been discussed and planned in these days for the good of all families.
During my recent Visit to the United States of America, I was able to encourage that great Country to continue in its commitment to welcoming the brothers and sisters who arrive there, usually from poor countries. I pointed out in particular the serious problem of family reunion, a subject I had already treated in my Message for the 93rd World Day of Migrants and Refugees, dedicated precisely to the theme. I wish to recall here that on various occasions I have presented the icon of the Holy Family as a model for migrant families, referring to the image presented by my Venerable Predecessor, Pope Pius XII, in the Apostolic Constitution Exsul Familia, which constitutes the magna carta of the pastoral care of migrants (cf. AAS 44, 1952, p. 649; Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi, n. 20; ORE, 26 May 2004, p. I). Moreover, in his Messages of 1980, 1986 and 1993, my Venerable Predecessor John Paul II intended to stress that ecclesial commitment is not only in favour of the individual migrant but also of his family, a community of love and a factor of integration.
First of all, I am pleased to reaffirm that the Church's concern for migrant families in no way diminishes her pastoral involvement with those on the move. Indeed, this commitment to preserving unity of vision and action between the two "wings" (migration and vagrancy) can help one understand the magnitude of the phenomenon, and at the same time be an incentive to all for a specific pastoral approach, encouraged by the Supreme Pontiffs and hoped for by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council (cf. Christus Dominus CD 18), and appropriately upheld by documents drafted by your Pontifical Council as well as by Congresses and Meetings. One must not forget that the family, even the migrant family and the itinerant family, constitutes the original cell of society which must not be destroyed but rather defended with courage and patience. It represents the community in which from infancy the child has been taught to worship and love God, learning the grammar of human and moral values and learning to make good use of freedom in the truth. Unfortunately, in many situations it is difficult for this to happen, especially in the case of those who are caught up in the phenomenon of human mobility.
Furthermore, in its action of welcome and dialogue with migrants and itinerant people, the Christian community has as a constant reference point, the Person of Christ our Lord. He has bequeathed to his disciples a golden rule to abide by in one's own life: the new commandment of love. Through the Gospel and the Sacraments, especially the Most Holy Eucharist, Christ continues to transmit to the Church the Love that he lived, even to death and death on a Cross. It is very significant, in this regard, that the Liturgy provides for the celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage in the heart of the Eucharistic celebration. This points to the profound bond that unites the two Sacraments. The spouses, in their daily life, must draw inspiration for their behaviour from the example of Christ who "loved the Church and gave himself up for her" (Ep 5,25): this supreme act of love is represented in every Eucharistic celebration. It will thus be appropriate for the pastoral care of the family to stress this important sacramental fact as its fundamental reference point. Those who attend Mass - and it is also necessary to make the celebration of it easier for migrants and itinerant people - find in the Eucharist a very strong reference to their own family, to their own marriage, and are encouraged to live their situation in the perspective of faith, seeking in divine grace the necessary strength to succeed.
Lastly, it escapes no one that in today's globalized world human mobility represents an important frontier for the new evangelization. I encourage you, therefore, to persevere in your pastoral task with renewed zeal while, for my part, I assure you of my spiritual closeness. I accompany you with the prayer that the Holy Spirit will make your every initiative fruitful. To this end I invoke the maternal protection of Mary Most Holy, Our Lady of the Way, so that she may help every man and every woman to know her Son Jesus Christ and to receive from him the gift of salvation. With this hope, I cordially impart the Apostolic Blessing to you and your loved ones, as well as to all the migrants and itinerant people in this vast world and to their families.
Clementine Hall
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Very Dear Sisters,
I greet and welcome with joy each one of you, consecrated with the "solemn consecration as a bride of our Lord Jesus Christ " (Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity for Women Living in the World [RCV], n. 17), on the occasion of the International Pilgrimage and Congress of the Ordo Virginum, for which you are gathered in Rome during these days. In particular, I greet and thank Cardinal Franc Rodé for his cordial greeting and his dedication to this initiative, while I address my heartfelt thanks to the Organizing Committee. In choosing the theme for these days you were inspired by one of my affirmations which sums up what I have already had the opportunity to say concerning your state as women who live consecrated virginity in the world: A gift in the Church and for the Church. In this light I would like to strengthen you in your vocation and invite you to develop, from day to day, your understanding of a charism that is as luminous and fruitful in the eyes of the faith as it is obscure and futile in those of the world.
"Imitate the Mother of God; desire to be called and to be handmaids of the Lord" (RCV, n. 16). The Order of Virgins is a special expression of consecrated life that blossomed anew in the Church after the Second Vatican Council (cf. Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata VC 7). Its roots, however, are ancient; they date back to the dawn of apostolic times when, with unheard of daring, certain women began to open their hearts to the desire for consecrated virginity, in other words, to the desire to give the whole of their being to God, which had had its first extraordinary fulfilment in the Virgin of Nazareth and her "yes". In the thought of the Fathers Mary was the prototype of Christian virgins and their perception highlighted the newness of this new state of life, to which a free choice of love gave access.
"They have chosen you [Lord] above all things; may they find all things in possessing you" (cf. RCV, n. 24). Your charism must reflect the intensity but also the freshness of its origins. It is founded on the simple Gospel invitation: "He who is able to receive this, let him receive it" (Mt 19,12), and on St Paul's recommendations of virginity for the Kingdom (1Co 7,25-35). Yet the whole of the Christian mystery shines out in it. When your charism came into being it did not take shape in accordance with specific ways of life. Rather, it was institutionalized little by little until it became a true and proper solemn, public consecration, conferred by the Bishop in an evocative liturgical rite which made the consecrated woman the sponsa Christi, an image of the Church as Bride.
Dearest friends, your vocation is deeply rooted in the particular Church to which you belong: it is your Bishops' task to recognize the charism of virginity in you, to consecrate you and, possibly, to encourage you on your way, in order to teach you fear of the Lord, as they commitment themselves to do during the solemn liturgy of consecration. From the sphere of the Diocese with its traditions, its Saints, its values, its limits and its problems you broaden your horizons to the universal Church, sharing above all in her liturgical prayer, which is also entrusted to you so that "the praise of our heavenly Father be always on your lips; pray without ceasing ", (RCV, n. 28). In this way your prayerful "I" will gradually be enlarged, until there is no longer anything except a great "we" in the prayer. This is ecclesial prayer and the true liturgy. May you open yourselves in your dialogue with God to a dialogue with all creatures, for whom you will find you are mothers, mothers of the children of God (cf. RCV, n. 28).
However, your ideal, truly lofty in itself, demands no special external change. Each consecrated person normally remains in her own life context. It is a way that seems to lack the specific characteristics of religious life, and above all that of obedience. For you, however, love becomes the sequela: your charism entails a total gift to Christ, an assimilation of the Bridegroom who implicitly asks for the observance of the evangelical counsels in order to keep your fidelity to him unstained (cf. RCV, n. 26). Being with Christ demands interiority, but at the same time opens a person to communicating with the brethren: your mission is grafted on this. An essential "rule of life" defines the commitment that each one of you assumes, with the Bishop's consent, at both the spiritual and existential levels. These are personal journeys. There are among you different approaches and different ways of living the gift of consecrated virginity and this becomes much more obvious in the course of an international meeting such as this, which has gathered you together during these days. I urge you to go beyond external appearances, experiencing the mystery of God's tenderness which each one of you bears in herself and recognizing one another as sisters, even in your diversity.
"That your whole life may be a faithful witness of God's love and a convincing sign of the kingdom of heaven" (RCV, n. 17). Take care always to radiate the dignity of being a bride of Christ, expressing the newness of Christian existence and the serene expectation of future life. Thus, with your own upright life you will be stars to guide the world on its journey. The choice of virginal life, in fact, is a reference to the transient nature of earthly things and an anticipation of future rewards. Be witnesses of attentive and lively expectation, of joy and of the peace that characterizes those who abandon themselves to God's love. May you be present in the world, yet pilgrims bound for the Kingdom. Indeed, the consecrated virgin is identified with that bride who, in unison with the Spirit, invokes the coming of the Lord: "The Spirit and the Bride say "Come'" (Ap 22,17).
As I take my leave of you I entrust you to Mary; and I make my own the words of St Ambrose, who sung the praises of Christian virginity, addressing them to you: "May there be in each one the soul of Mary to magnify the Lord; may there be in each one the Spirit of Mary to exult in God. If there is only one Mother of Christ according to the flesh, Christ on the other hand, according to the faith, is the fruit of all, since every soul receives the Word of God so that, immaculate and immune to vice, she may preserve her chastity with irreproachable modesty" (Comment on St Lc 2,26, PL 15, 1642).
With this heartfelt wish, I bless you.
Friday, 16 May 2008
Dear Brother Bishops,
“Lord, send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth” (cf. Ps Ps 104,30). With these words of the Pentecost antiphon I cordially welcome you, the Bishops of Thailand. I thank Bishop Phimphisan for the kind sentiments expressed on your behalf. I warmly reciprocate them and assure you of my prayers for yourselves and all those entrusted to your pastoral care. Your visit ad Limina Apostolorum is an occasion to strengthen your commitment to make Jesus increasingly visible within the Church and known in society through witness to the love and truth of his Gospel.
The great feast of Pentecost which we have recently celebrated reminds us that the Spirit of the Lord fills the whole world and prompts us to bring Christ to all peoples. In your country this mission of the small Catholic community is undertaken within the context of relationships, most especially with Buddhists. In fact, you have readily expressed to me your great respect for the Buddhist monasteries and the esteem you have for the contribution they make to the social and cultural life of the Thai people.
The coexistence of different religious communities today unfolds against the backdrop of globalization. Recently I observed that the forces of globalization see humanity poised between two poles. On the one hand there is the growing multitude of economic and cultural bonds which usually enhance a sense of global solidarity and shared responsibility for the well-being of humanity. On the other there are disturbing signs of a fragmentation and a certain individualism in which secularism takes a hold, pushing the transcendent and the sense of the sacred to the margins and eclipsing the very source of harmony and unity within the universe.
The negative aspects of this cultural phenomenon, which cause dismay to yourselves and other religious leaders in your country, in fact point to the importance of interreligious cooperation. They call for a concerted effort to uphold the spiritual and moral soul of your people. In concordance with Buddhists, you can promote mutual understanding concerning the transmission of traditions to succeeding generations, the articulation of ethical values discernable to reason, reverence for the transcendent, prayer and contemplation. Such practices and dispositions serve the common well-being of society and nurture the essence of every human being.
As shepherds of small and scattered flocks, you draw comfort from the sending of the Paraclete, who advocates, counsels and protects (cf. Jn Jn 14,16). Encourage the faithful to embrace all that begets the new life of Pentecost! The Spirit of truth reminds us that the Father and the Son are present in the world through those who love Christ and keep his word (cf. Jn 14,22-23), becoming disciples sent forth to bear fruit (cf. Jn Jn 15,8). The outpouring of the Spirit is therefore both a gift and a task; a task which in turn becomes itself an epiphanic gift: the presentation of Christ and his love to the world. In Thailand, that gift is encountered particularly through the Church’s medical clinics and social works as well as through her schools, for it is there that the noble Thai people may come to recognize and know the face of Jesus Christ.
Dear Brothers, you have rightly noted that Catholic schools and colleges make a remarkable contribution to the intellectual formation of numerous young Thais. They should also make an outstanding contribution to the spiritual and moral education of the young. Indeed, it is for these crucial aspects of the formation of the person that parents – whether Catholic or Buddhist – turn to Catholic schools.
In this regard, I wish to appeal to the many men and women religious who diligently serve in Catholic institutions of learning in your Dioceses. Theirs should not primarily be a role of administration but of mission. As consecrated persons they are called to be “witnesses of Christ, epiphany of the love of God in the world”, and require “the courage of testimony and the patience of dialogue” serving “the dignity of human life, the harmony of creation, and the peaceful existence of peoples” (Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools, 1-2). It is of the utmost importance, therefore, that Religious remain close to the students and their families, most especially through their classroom teaching of the catechism for Catholics and others interested, and through moral formation and care for the spiritual needs of all in the school community. I encourage Congregations in their commitment to the education apostolate, confident that fee structures will be fair and transparent, and trusting that schools will become increasingly accessible to the poor who so often long for the faithful embrace of Christ.
A fine example of the proclamation of the mighty works of God (cf. Acts Ac 2,11) is the service undertaken in your communities by catechists. They have embraced with great zeal and generosity Saint Paul’s burning conviction: “woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1Co 9,16). This task cannot, however, be left to them alone. It is the ministry of your priests to “announce the divine word to all” and to “labour in preaching and teaching” (Rite of Ordination, no. 102). This fundamental priestly role which, to be effective, requires a sound philosophical and theological formation, cannot be delegated to others. Rather, when well-trained catechists work together with their parish priests the branches of the vine bear much fruit (cf. Jn Jn 15,5). To this end, your own reports allude to various kerygmatic tasks requiring attention, including the formation of spouses who are not Catholic and pastoral solicitude for the many Catholic individuals and families who in moving from rural parts to the cities risk losing contact with parish life.
Lastly, dear Brothers, I wish to express my appreciation for the efforts of the entire Catholic community of Thailand to uphold the dignity of every human life, especially the most vulnerable. Of particular concern to you is the scourge of the trafficking of women and children, and prostitution. Undoubtedly poverty is a factor underlying these phenomena, and in this regard I know much is being achieved through the Church’s development programmes. But there is a further aspect which must be acknowledged and collectively addressed if this abhorrent human exploitation is to be effectively confronted. I am speaking of the trivialization of sexuality in the media and entertainment industries which fuels a decline in moral values and leads to the degradation of women, the weakening of fidelity in marriage and even the abuse of children.
With fraternal affection I offer these reflections, wishing to affirm you in your desire to receive the Spirit’s flame so that you may with one voice proclaim the Good News of Jesus! To you all, and to your priests, religious, seminarians and lay faithful, I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing.
Clementine Hall
Friday, 16 May 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Thank you for your visit which enables me to know the activities that your praiseworthy Associations carry out as part of the Forum of Family Associations and the European Federation of Catholic Family Associations. I offer a cordial greeting to each one of you who are present here and in the first place to Mr Giovanni Giacobbe, President of the Forum, to whom I am grateful for his kind words on your behalf. This meeting is taking place on the occasion of the annual celebration of the International Day of the Family which was yesterday, 15 May. To emphasize the importance of the occasion, you have wished to organize a special Congress with a timely theme: "Alliance for the family in Europe: Associations in the leading role", in order to address the experiences of various forms of family associations and to sensitize government leaders and the public opinion concerning the central and irreplaceable role carried out by the family in our society.
In fact, as you rightly point out, any political policy that looks well into the future cannot fail to make the family the focus of its attention and planning. This year, as you know well, we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae and the 25th anniversary of the promulgation of the Charter of the Rights of the Family, presented by the Holy See on 22 October 1983. These two Documents share a common inspiration since the former strongly reasserts the quality of spousal love, courageously going against the tide of the prevalent culture, selfless and open to life, the latter highlights those inalienable rights that permit the family, founded on the marriage of a man and a woman, to be the natural cradle of human life. The Charter of the Rights of the Family in particular, addressed primarily to Governments, offers all those who are invested with responsibility regarding the common good a model and a reference point for the elaboration of a sound legislation for family policies.
At the same time, the Charter is addressed to all families, inspiring them to join forces in the defence and promotion of their rights. And in this regard your associations are particularly well-adapted to implement the spirit of the above-mentioned Charter of the Rights of the Family in the best way.
The beloved Pontiff, John Paul II, also known and rightly so as the "Pope of the family", repeated that the "future of humanity passes by way of the family" (Familiaris Consortio FC 86). He often emphasized the irreplaceable value of the family institution, in accordance with the plan of God the Creator and Father. Precisely at the beginning of my Pontificate, on 6 June 2005, in opening the Convention of the Diocese of Rome, dedicated specifically to the family, I too reaffirmed that the truth about marriage and the family is deeply rooted in the truth about the human being and comes to fulfilment in salvation history, at whose heart lie the words: "God loves his people". Indeed, biblical revelation is above all an expression of a love story, the story of God's Covenant with humankind. This is why the story of the union of life and love between a man and a woman in the covenant of marriage was used by God as a symbol of salvation history. For this very reason, the union of life and love based on the marriage between a man and a woman, which constitutes the family, is an indispensable good for society as a whole and must not be confused or likened to other types of union.
We are well aware of the many challenges facing families today, and we know how difficult it is, in current social conditions, to achieve the ideal of fidelity and solidarity in conjugal love, to bring up children, and to preserve the harmony of the family unit. While on the one hand - thanks be to God - there are shining examples of good families, open to the culture of life and love, on the other hand, sadly, an increasing number of marriages and families are in crisis. From so many families, in a worryingly precarious state, we hear a cry for help, often an unconscious one, which clamours for a response from civil authorities, from ecclesial communities and from the various educational agencies. Accordingly, there is an increasingly urgent need for a common commitment to support families by every means available, from the social and economic point of view, as well as the juridical and spiritual. In this context, I am pleased to recommend and encourage certain initiatives and proposals that have emerged in the course of your Conference. I am thinking, for example, of the laudable commitment to mobilize citizens in support of the initiative for "Family-friendly fiscal policy", urging Governments to promote family-related policies that give parents a real possibility of having children and bringing them up in the family.
For believers, the family, the cell of communion on which society is founded, resembles a "domestic church in miniature" called to reveal God's love to the world. Dear brothers and sisters, help families to be a visible sign of this truth, to defend the values inscribed in human nature itself, and therefore common to all humanity, that is: life, the family and education. These are not principles that derive from a confession of faith but rather from the application of justice that respects every person's rights. This is your mission, dear Christian families! May you never lack trust in the Lord and communion with him in prayer and in the constant reference to his Word. Thus, you will be witnesses of his Love, not merely relying on human resources, but firmly based on the rock that is God, enlivened by the power of his Spirit. May Mary, Queen of the Family, as a bright Star of hope guide the journey of all humanity's families. With these sentiments, I very gladly bless you who are present here and all who belong to the various Associations that you represent.
Consistory Hall
Saturday, 17 May 2008
Your Eminence,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am pleased to meet you on the occasion of the Study Seminar convoked by the Pontifical Council for the Laity to reflect on the pastoral care of the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities. I thank the many Prelates from every part of the world who have graced the Seminar with their presence: their interest and lively participation have guaranteed the successful outcome of this session which has now reached its last day. I address to all my Brothers in the Episcopate and to everyone present a cordial greeting of communion and peace; in particular, I greet Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko and Bishop Josef Clemens, respectively President and Secretary of the Dicastery, and their collaborators.
It is not the first time that the Council for the Laity has organized a Seminar for Bishops on lay movements. I well remember that of 1999, the ideal follow-up of the Meeting of my Beloved Predecessor John Paul II with the Movements and New Communities, held on 30 May in the previous year. As Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith I was involved in the discussion in the first person. I was able to establish a direct dialogue with the Bishops, a frank, brotherly exchange on a great number of important matters. Today's Seminar, in a similar fashion, is intended as a follow-up to the Meeting I myself had on 3 June 2006 with a large group of the faithful representing more than 100 new lay associations. On that occasion, I indicated that the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities and their experience are a "luminous sign of the beauty of Christ and of the Church, his Bride" (cf. Message to the participants at the Congress, held on 22 May 2006). In addressing the "dear friends of the Movements", I urged them to be increasingly "schools of communion, groups journeying on, in which one learns to live in the truth and love that Christ revealed and communicated to us through the witness of the Apostles, in the heart of the great family of his disciples" (ibid.).
The Ecclesial Movements and New Communities are one of the most important innovations inspired by the Holy Spirit in the Church for the implementation of the Second Vatican Council. They spread in the wake of the Council sessions especially in the years that immediately followed it, in a period full of exciting promises but also marked by difficult trials. Paul VI and John Paul II were able to welcome and discern, to encourage and promote the unexpected explosion of the new lay realties which in various and surprising forms have restored vitality, faith and hope to the whole Church. Indeed, even then they were already bearing witness to the joy, reasonableness and beauty of being Christian, showing that they were grateful for belonging to the mystery of communion which is the Church. We have witnessed the reawakening of a vigorous missionary impetus, motivated by the desire to communicate to all the precious experience of the encounter with Christ, felt and lived as the only adequate response to the human heart's profound thirst for truth and happiness.
How is it possible not to realize at the same time that such newness is still waiting to be properly understood in the light of God's plan and of the Church's mission in the context of our time? Precisely because numerous interventions, appeals and directions succeeded one another on the part of the Pontiffs, who were first to initiate ever deeper dialogue and collaboration with numerous particular Churches. Many prejudices, forms of resistance and tensions were overcome. The important task of promoting a more mature communion of all the ecclesial elements, so that all the charisms, with respect for their specificity, may freely and fully contribute to the edification of the one Body of Christ.
I deeply appreciated that for the Seminar you chose to follow-up a theme from the exhortation I addressed to a group of German Bishops on an ad limina visit, and which today I certainly address to all of you, the Pastors of so many particular Churches: "I... ask you to approach movements very lovingly" (18 November 2006). I could almost say that I have nothing else to add! Love is the distinctive sign of the Good Shepherd: it makes the exercise of the ministry that has been entrusted to us authoritative and effective. To meet the needs of the Movements and New Communities very lovingly, impels us to know their situation well, without superficial impressions or belittling judgements. It also helps us to understand that the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities are not an additional problem or risk that comes to top our already difficult task. No! they are a gift of the Lord, a valuable resource for enriching the entire Christian Community with their charisms. Consequently, trusting acceptance that makes room for them and appreciates their contributions to the life of the local Churches must not be absent. Difficulties or misunderstanding on specific questions do not authorize their closure. A "very loving" approach inspires prudence and patience. We Pastors are asked to accompany the Movements and the New Communities closely, with fatherly concern, cordially and wisely, so that they may generously make available for use by all, in an orderly and fruitful manner, the many gifts they bear, which we have learned to recognize and appreciate: missionary enthusiasm, effective courses of Christian formation, a witness of faithfulness and obedience to the Church, sensitivity to the needs of the poor and a wealth of vocations.
The authenticity of new charisms is guaranteed by their readiness to submit to the discernment of the Ecclesiastical Authority. Already numerous Ecclesial Movements and New Communities have been recognized by the Holy See and therefore should certainly be considered a gift of God for the whole Church. Others, in a nascent phase, require the exercise of even more sensitive and watchful guidance by the Pastors of the particular Churches. Those who are called to a service of discernment and guidance should not claim to dominate charisms but rather to guard against the danger of suffocating them (cf. I Thes 5: 19-21), resisting the temptation to standardize what the Holy Spirit desired to be multi-form to contribute to building and extending the one Body of Christ, which the same Spirit renders firm in unity. Consecrated and assisted by the Spirit of God, in Christ, the Head of the Church, the Bishop must examine the charisms and test them, to recognize and appreciate what is good, true and beautiful, what contributes to the increase of holiness, of both individuals and communities. When correction is necessary, may it also be imparted with a "very loving" approach. The Movements and New Communities are proud of their associative freedom and faithfulness to their charism, but they have also shown that they are well aware that faithfulness and freedom are assured - and not, of course, limited - by ecclesial communion, whose ministers, custodians and guides are the Bishops, united to the Successor of Peter.
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate, at the end of this meeting I urge you to revive within you the gift you have received from your own consecration (cf. II Tm 1: 6). May the Spirit of God help us to recognize and preserve the marvels he himself inspires in the Church for the benefit of all men and women. I entrust to Mary Most Holy, Queen of Apostles, each one of your dioceses and, with all my heart, I impart to you an affectionate Apostolic Blessing which I extend to the priests, men and women religious, seminarians, catechists and all the lay faithful, and, today in particular, to the members of the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities present in the Church and entrusted to your care.
Clementine Hall
Saturday, 17 May 2008
Your Eminence,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am particularly pleased to meet all of you who are directly involved in the Pontifical Mission Societies, entities at the service of the Pope and the Bishops of the local Churches, which aim to carry out the missionary mandate to evangelize the peoples to the ends of the earth. I first address my cordial thanks to Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, for his words on behalf of everyone present. I extend my greeting to the Secretary, and to all the Collaborators of the missionary Dicastery, priests, religious and lay people. Dear friends, it is thanks to your hard work that the affirmation of the Council, according to which "the whole Church by her nature is missionary", becomes an effective reality. The charism of the Pontifical Mission Societies is to encourage among Christians a passion for the Kingdom of God, to be established everywhere through the preaching of the Gospel. Having come into being with this universal outreach, they have been a precious instrument in the hands of my Predecessors who raised them to the rank of "Pontifical", recommending that the Bishops establish them in their dioceses. The Second Vatican Council rightly gave them "pride of place, since they are the means of imbuing Catholics from their very infancy with a genuinely universal and missionary outlook. They are also the means for undertaking an effective collection of funds to subsidize all missions, each according to its needs" (Ad Gentes AGD 38). The Council made a special examination of the nature and mission of the particular Church, recognizing her full dignity and missionary responsibility.
Mission is a task and duty of all Churches which, like communicating vessels, share people and resources in order to carry it out. Every local Church is the people chosen from among the peoples, convoked in the unity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, to "proclaim the perfection of him who has called them out of darkness into his marvellous light" (Lumen Gentium LG 10). The local Church is the place where the Spirit makes himself manifest with the riches of his charisms, giving to each member of the faithful the call to, and responsibility for, mission. Hers is a mission of communion. The local Church counters with the generating power of unity of Christ's Body, the seeds of disintegration among men and women which daily experience shows to be so deeply rooted in humanity because of sin.
Pope John Paul joyfully affirmed that "there has been an increase of local Churches with their own Bishops, clergy and workers in the apostolate... communion between the Churches has led to a lively exchange of spiritual benefits and gifts.... Above all, there is a new awareness that missionary activity is a matter for all Christians, for all dioceses and parishes, Church institutions and associations" (Redemptoris Missio RMi 2). Thanks to the reflection that has developed in the past decades, the Pontifical Mission Societies have become integrated in the context of the new paradigms of evangelization and of the ecclesiological model of communion among the Churches. It is clear that they are Pontifical, but by right they are also episcopal, since they are instruments in the Bishops' hands for the implementation of Christ's missionary mandate. The Pontifical Mission Societies, "while they belong to the Pope, belong also to the whole Episcopate and to the whole People of God" (Paul VI, Message for World Mission Sunday, 20 October 1968; L'Osservatore Romano English edition [ORE], 13 June 1968, p. 2). They are the specific, privileged and principal means for education in the universal missionary spirit, for communion and for inter-ecclesial collaboration in the service of Gospel proclamation (cf. Statutes, 18).
Moreover, in this phase of the Church's history, which is recognized by her missionary character, the charism and work of the Pontifical Mission Societies are not depleted, nor must they ever be lacking. The mission to evangelize humanity remains urgent and necessary. Mission is a duty, to which we must respond: "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel" (1Co 9,16). The Apostle Paul, to whom the Church is dedicating a special year in memory of the 2,000th anniversary of his birth, realized on the road to Damascus and then experienced in the course of his subsequent ministry that redemption and mission are acts of love. It is Christ's love that impelled him to travel the roads of the Roman Empire, to be a herald, apostle and town-crier of the Gospel (cf. 2Tm 2,1) and make himself all things to all people so that he might by all means save some (cf. 1Co 9,22). "He who announces the Gospel participates in the charity of Christ, who loved us and gave himself up for us (cf. Eph Ep 5,2); he is his ambassador and he pleads in the name of Christ: let yourselves be reconciled with God! (cf. 2Co 5,20)", (Doctrinal Note on some aspects of evangelization, 3 December 2007, n. 11; ORE, 19 December 2007, p. 11). It is love that must impel us to proclaim to all people, with honesty and courage, the truth that saves (cf. Gaudium et Spes GS 28). This love must shine everywhere and reach the hearts of every man and woman. Indeed, people are waiting for Christ.
Jesus' words, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt 28,19-20), are still an obligatory mandate for the whole Church and for every individual member of Christ's faithful. This apostolic task is a duty and also an inalienable right, an expression proper to religious freedom which has its corresponding social- and political-ethical dimensions (cf. Dignitatis Humanae DH 6). The Pontifical Mission Societies are asked to make the Missio ad Gentes the paradigm of all pastoral activity. It is their task, and in particular that of the Pontifical Missionary Union "to promote, that is, increasingly to disseminate among the Christian people the mystery of the Church, that is, this effective missionary spirit" (Paul VI Graves et Increscentes, 5 September 1966). I am sure that you will continue to work with all your enthusiasm to ensure that your local Churches assume ever more generously their share of responsibility in the universal mission.
My Blessing to all.
Speechs 2008