Speeches 1980 - Nairobi (Kenya)
Wednesday, 7 May 1980
Mr President,
1. I wish to express my gratitude to you for your invitation to the State House. I am very pleased to have a meeting with Your Excellency and to be able to greet so many distinguished personages of your nation. The few hours I have already spent in Kenya have enabled me to experience for myself traditional African hospitality, which is a deeply human and warm reality.
In addressing you today, and through you the whole Nation of Kenya, I consider it fitting to pay tribute in the first place to the memory of the Founding Father of this Republic, the late President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, who completed his life of service to his people less than two years ago. In the eulogy which you delivered during the State funeral of the one you called "my father, my teacher and my leader", you summed up the meaning of his contribution in the following words: "In life, Mzee Kenyatta championed justice and equality. He advocated respect for human dignity and the preservation of our culture. His concern for the welfare of all Kenyans was deep and binding. We are all indebted to him...". During the early years of this nation, he achieved unity, created a spirit of brotherhood, and instilled the determination to go on building the nation through the common efforts of all. He left to Kenya a beautiful heritage and a challenging programme.
2. Respect for human dignity, for the dignity of every man, woman and child, for the dignity that all human beings possess not because it has been conferred on them by their fellowmen but because they have received it from God: this is the fundamental attitude to be adopted if real progress is to be made. It is precisely in this conviction and in this commitment to the dignity of every human being that the Church and the State find themselves on the same path.
I know, Mr President, that on many occasions you have publicly expressed your appreciation of the contribution which the Catholic Church in your country makes to the advancement of the peoples. This, together with the existence of good relations between your nation and the Holy See, together also with the collaboration which exists in the field of education, health care and other areas of human development, is reason for much satisfaction. It also augurs well for the future.
3. On this occasion, I wish to repeat that the Church is deeply concerned for all the needs of the people. Precisely because she values so highly the dignity of every human being, the Church will always continue to exercise her mission, in accordance with her own nature, for the real good of man and society, and for the benefit of the whole human person.
In this spirit, the Church contributes to development, unity, brotherhood and peace among people and among nations. For this reason, the Church will raise her voice and call upon her sons and daughters every time that the conditions of life of individuals and communities are not truly human, every time they are not in` accord with human dignity. This too is a reason why I have undertaken my first journey through the African continent: to proclaim the dignity and basic equality of all human beings and their right to the full development of their personality in every sphere, material as well as spiritual.
Mr President, I should like this brief meeting with you and with all your distinguished guests to be for each and every one, for all the people of Kenya, a fraternal encouragement to advance along the people of Kenya, a fraternal May God, the Creator of man and nature, accompany you in your endeavours to lead Kenya forward, to build a prosperous Africa, and to construct a world community in unity, justice and peace.
Wednesday, 7 Mai 1980
Dear Friends,
1. During my visit to Kenya I am very pleased to be able to greet a group of Muslim leaders. Your coming here today is deeply appreciated as an expression of your fraternal courtesy and respect.
Be assured that I reciprocate these sentiments in your regard and towards all the Muslim people of this land.
2. On other occasions I have spoken of the religious patrimony of Islam and of its spiritual values. The Catholic Church realizes that the element of worship given to the one, living, subsistent, merciful and almighty Creator of heaven and earth is common to Islam and herself, and that it is a great link uniting all Christians and Muslims. With great satisfaction she also notes, among other elements of Islam which are held in common, the honour attributed to Jesus Christ and his Virgin Mother. As the Catholic Church makes every effort to sustain religious dialogue with Islam on the basis of existing bonds, which she endeavours ever more to reflect on, she likewise extends the invitation that her own heritage be fully known, especially to those who are spiritually attached to Abraham, and who profess monotheism.
3. On my part I wish therefore to do everything possible to help develop the spiritual bonds between Christians and Muslims.
Prayer, almsgiving and fasting are highly valued in both of our respective traditions and are beyond doubt a splendid witness to a world that runs the risk of being absorbed by materialism. Our relationship of reciprocal esteem and the mutual desire for authentic service to humanity urge us on to joint commitments in promoting peace, social justice, moral values and all the true freedoms of man.
4. It is in this perspective that our meeting today offers us much hope. May it prove beneficial to humanity and give glory to God, who made us in his image and likeness, and who has revealed himself to us.
With renewed sentiments of brotherhood I would ask you to carry my greetings to all the communities from which you come. Thank you again.
Wednesday, 7 May 1980
Dear Friends,
The presence here today of members of the Hindu community gives me great pleasure. In visiting the people of Kenya, I am happy to become acquainted with all those who live in this land and have a part in the life of this nation.
Your own roots are found in the venerable history of Asia, for which I have much respect and esteem. In greeting you I willingly recall the fact that the Second Vatican Council, in its Declaration “Nostra Aetate” manifested the fraternal attitude of the whole Catholic Church to non-Christian religions. In this she showed her task of fostering unity and love among individuals and nations and her commitment to advance fellowship among all human beings. Special reference in the document was made to Hinduism and to the religious values embraced by its followers.
And today the Catholic Church is willingly associated with all her brethren in a dialogue on the mystery of man and the mystery of God. The purpose of life, the nature of good, the path to happiness, the meaning of death and the end of our human journey - all these truths form the object of our common service of man in his many needs, and to the promotion of his full human dignity.
And under the sign of this human dignity and brotherhood I greet you today with sincerity and fraternal love.
Wednesday, 7 May 1980
Dear brothers and sisters from the Christian Churches
and Communities of Kenya,
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"[1].
1. I have come to Kenya to be with the Bishops and people of the Catholic Church, since my task as Bishop of Rome is a fraternal service of unity to support them in their fidelity to the Gospel and in their life in the one Catholic Communion. Humbly I see it as part of this ministry that I should also come to greet you, "holy brethren, who share in a heavenly call"[2], for, despite those factors that still divide us, we are nevertheless linked by a real fellowship that remains true even though it is still imperfect[3].
2. Because of this one Baptism, in which we profess one basic faith that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead[4], we stand together before the world of today with a common responsibility which stems from obedience to Christ. This common responsibility is so real and so important that it must impel us to do all we can, as a matter of urgency, to resolve the divisions that still exist between us, so that we may fulfil the will of Christ for the perfect unity of his followers.
Without full organic unity, Christians are unable to give a satisfactory witness to Christ, and their division remains a scandal to the world, and especially to the young Churches in mission lands.
Your presence here testifies to a deep insight: that especially in the young Churches of Africa, in a continent that hungers and thirsts for God - a longing that can be fulfilled only in Christ - the common apostolic faith in Christ the Saviour must be held and manifested, for in Christ there can be no division. Your presence, together with the sincere ecumenical efforts which are developing, show our common desire for full unity. For truly the credibility of the Gospel message and of Christ himself is linked to Christian unity.
3. This is why, at international level, many of your Churches are now engaged in a theological dialogue with the Catholic Church - a dialogue that is already offering new hope for much greater understanding among us. This is also why, here in Kenya, the Christian people are striving to reach one mind in the faith of Christ. For whether they live in Africa or in Europe, in Asia or in America, Christians are the heirs of sad divisions. These divisions have to be first faced in a dialogue of mutual understanding and esteem, "speaking the truth in love"[5] and then dealt with in accordance with the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
This task is, I repeat, an urgent one. Jesus calls us to bear witness to him and to his saving work.
We can do this adequately only when we are completely united in faith and when we speak his word with one voice, a voice that rings with that warm vitality which characterizes the whole Christian community when it lives together in full communion.
4. Our divisions impair that vitality and prevent our neigbours from hearing the Gospel as they should. And yet, even now, thanks to what we already have in common, it is possible for us, despite those divisions, to give a sincere even if limited witness together before a world that so sorely needs to hear that message of love and hope which is the Good News of the salvation won for all mankind by Jesus Christ, who "was crucified in weakness but lives by the power of God"[6]. It is possible for us to collaborate frequently in the cause of the Gospel. Although we cannot yet do everything together - especially the fullness of Eucharistic worship - we can still accomplish much together.
Wherever possible, then, let us find ways of engaging in acts of common witness, be it in joint Bible work, in promoting human rights and meeting human needs, in theological dialogue, in praying together when opportunity allows - as it does so beautifully today - or in speaking to others about Jesus Christ and his salvation. As we do these things we must continue to ask the Holy Spirit for light and strength to conform perfectly to God’s holy will for his Church.
5. The task that faces Christians as we near the end of the twentieth century is indeed a mighty challenge, and it is good to see how much is already being done by divine grace to respond to it.
May this response grow and develop in every part of the world. It is in this hope that I earnestly pray to God our Father that the Churches and Communities you represent, and the All African Council of Churches and the Christian Council of Kenya, of which so many of you are members, may be ever more faithful servants of Christ’s will that all of us who believe in him may be one even as he and his Father are one. May you "stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel"[7] for the glory of the Most Holy Trinity: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] Rom. 1, 7.
[2] Hebr. 3, 1.
[3] Cfr. Unitatis Redintegratio, 3.
[4] Cfr. Rom. 10, 9.
[5] Eph. 4, 15.
[6] 2 Cor. 13, 4.
[7] Phil. 1, 27.
Wednesday, 7 May 1980
My dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
1. It is a great pleasure for me to greet you here today. You have come as visitors to Kenya to show your solidarity with your brother Bishops and with their people. Since this is an extraordinary ecclesial celebration for them, you have wished to be close to them in the joy of the faith. In coming, you have brought with you not only the fellowship of your own local Churches, but a special manifestation of Catholic unity. And because you are members of the universal College of Bishops united with the Successor of Peter, you bear collective pastoral responsibility for the good of the whole Church and for her pastoral activities throughout the world. Hence, with an awareness of the deep reality of the Episcopate you have gathered in prayerful and fraternal solidarity.
2. Our being together today evokes quite naturally a consideration of our common ministry, our shared responsibility and our common likeness to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word and the High Priest of the New Testament.
In Jesus Christ the Son of God we find a fundamental insight into our deepest Christian identity.In Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd we have a full perception - in simplicity and profundity - of all pastoral ministry in the Church of God. In Jesus Christ the Suffering Servant we discern the complete meaning of a sacrificial life. In Jesus Christ the Risen Lord we comprehend the final goal of the Paschal Mystery - to which all our preaching and catechesis are directed.
3. All I wish to do in these moments with you is to direct my thoughts and yours to Jesus Christ - to him who is Unigenitus Dei Filius, but who has become Primogenitus in multis fratribus[1]. This Son of God, this Son of Mary, this Priest and Victim of Redemption explains us to ourselves and declares the meaning of our ministry today and always: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever"[2].
As he called his Apostles, so he has also called us: to be his companions, to remain in his love, and to proclaim his Gospel. And in our full pastoral role as successors of the Apostles we are called to communicate Christ to our people. Sharing in his Sonship by divine adoption, we are instruments of grace for others, as we lead our people to the fullness of his life revealed in the mystery of the Church, the Body of Christ.
4. Our identity and our mission, as well as the term of our mission, are all linked to Christ in his Sonship; we are conformed to him. Because of this likeness to Christ, we have great joy and comfort in living two dynamic aspects of Christ’s life. With Christ we are conscious of loving the Father; his words pervade our consciousness and our daily activity as Bishops: "I love the Father"[3].
At the same time each of us in Christ can say: "The Father loves me", precisely because Jesus has said: "the Father loves the Son"[4]. This awareness of being in Christ, of loving his Father and being loved by him is a source of pastoral strength. It confirms the meaning of our lives. It is a reason for thanksgiving to the Father and for endless praise of Jesus Christ.
Dear brother Bishops: -In the months and years ahead, may it bring us gladness to recall that in Kenya we manifested our episcopal unity together by praising Jesus Christ the Eternal Son of God.
To him be glory for ever, with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] Rom. 8, 29.
[2] Hebr. 13, 8.
[3] Io. 14, 30.
[4] Ibid. 3, 35.
Wednesday, 7 May 1980
Venerable and dear Brothers in our Lord Jesus Christ,
1. Today during this easter season it is a cause of deep joy and a source of pastoral strength for us to assemble in Nairobi, to gather together in the name of Jesus who said: "I am the resurrection and the life"[1].
We are extremely conscious that our ministry in Africa and our service to the universal Church is placed under the sign of the Risen Christ. For, together with all our brother Bishops throughout the world, we are successors of the Body of Apostles that was chosen to witness to the Resurrection.
The knowledge that "with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus"[2] truly strengthens us and uplifts us, because we know that we have received the inheritance of the Apostolic College. For us Bishops this is an hour of trust in the Risen Lord, an hour of Easter joy, an hour of great hope for the future of Africa.
2. On this occasion my thoughts go to all the Bishops of Africa, and I note with deep satisfaction that the members of the Episcopal Conference of Kenya are resolutely engaged in many programmes of collaboration and joint action with their fellow Bishops from the AMECEA countries of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, the Sudan and Ethiopia. In the abundant strength that comes from charity and mutual support, your ministry is sustained and enriched. Be assured of my admiration and esteem for the unity that you express in diversity and in fraternal collaboration, and for your concerted efforts on behalf of the evangelization of those countries that have so much in common.
An initiative worthy of particular mention is AMECEA’s Pastoral Institute at Eldoret. This Institute offers special opportunities to reflect on the Church’s mission to guard and teach ever more effectively the word of God. The Holy Spirit himself is directing the Church in Africa to scrutinize "the signs of the times" in the light of the sacred deposit of God’s word as it is proclaimed by the Magisterium. It is only on this sound basis that true answers can be found to the real problems that touch people’s lives. It is in judging according to this sacred norm that the Bishops will exercise their personal responsibility to evaluate what pastoral activities and solutions are valid for Africa today.
3. Venerable Brothers, the episcopal ministry is a ministry at the service of life, bringing the power of the Resurrection to your people, so that they may "walk in newness of life"[3] , so that they may be ever more aware of the Christian life to which they are called by virtue of their Baptism, and so that in their daily lives - in the setting of Africa - they may have fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit. And because this fellowship is fully achieved only in heaven, your ministry likewise involves a clear proclamation of eternal life.
4. As Successor of Peter in the See of Rome and as your brother in the College of Bishops, I have come to Africa to encourage you in your efforts as pastors of the flock: in the efforts of each of you to offer to Christ a local Church in which unity reigns between the Bishop and the priests, the religious and the laity; in your efforts to enlighten communities with the Gospel and make them vibrant with the life of Christ; in your efforts to bring the dynamic power of the Resurrection into human life and by it to transform and elevate all levels of society.
I have come to confirm you in your total acceptance of God’s holy word as it is authentically proclaimed by the Catholic Church at all times and in all places. I wish to support you in the conviction, so splendidly expressed by the Bishops of Kenya in their Pastoral Letter of 27 April 1979, that fidelity to the teachings of Christ and the Magisterium of his Church is truly in the interests of the people. By following your clear insights of faith you showed yourselves true pastors of the flock, exercising real spiritual leadership when you declared: "We, your Bishops, would do a disservice to the people if we did not expect of them the goodness and the fidelity that they are capable of by the grace of God" . Your greatest contribution to your people and to all Africa is indeed the gift of God’s word, the acceptance of which is the basis for all community and the condition for all progress.
5. As the Sersus Servorum Dei I have come to uphold with you the priorities of your ministry. In the first place I offer my support for your pastoral efforts on behalf of the family - the African family. The great African tradition is faithful to so many family values, and to life itself, which takes its origin in the family. A profound respect for the family and for the good of children is a distinctive gift of Africa to the world. It is in the family that each generation learns to absorb these values and to transmit them. And the whole Church appreciates everything you do to preserve this heritage of your people, to purify it and uplift it in the sacramental fullness of Christ’s new and original teaching.
Hence we see the great value of presenting the Christian family in its relationship to the Most Holy Trinity, and of maintaining the Christian ideal in its evangelical purity. It is the divine law proclaimed by Christ that gives rise to the Christian ideal of monogamous marriage, which in turn is the basis for the Christian family.
Only a week before he died, my predecessor John Paul I spoke to a group of Bishops in these words, which I consider very relevant here today in Africa: "Let us never grow tired of proclaiming the family as a community of love: conjugal love unites the couple and is procreative of new life; it mirrors the divine love, is communicated, and in the words of ‘Gaudium et Spes’, is actually a sharing in the covenant of love of Christ and his Church"[4].
Be assured of my solidarity with you in this great task involving the diligent preparation of the young for marriage, the repeated proclamation of the unity and indissolubility of marriage, and the renewed invitation to the faithful to accept and foster with faith and love the Catholic celebration of the sacrament of marriage. Success in a pastoral programme of this nature requires patience and perseverance and a strong conviction that Christ has come to "make all things new"[5] .
Know also that in all your efforts to build up strong united families, in which human love reflects divine love and in which the education of children is embraced with a true sense of mission, you have the support of the universal Church. With the love and sensitivity of pastors, you have well illustrated the great principle that any pastoral approach that does not rest on the doctrinal foundation of the word of God is illusory.
Hence with true pastoral charity you have faced various problems affecting human life, and repeated the Church’s teaching at the true service of man. You have clearly insisted, for example, on the most fundamental human right: the right to life from the moment of conception; you have effectively reiterated the Church’s position on abortion, sterilization and contraception. Your faithful upholding of the Church’s teaching contained in the Encyclical "Humanae Vitae" has been the expression of your pastoral concern and your profound attachment to the integral values of the human person.
Every effort to make society sensitive to the importance of the family is a great service to humanity.
When the full dignity of parents and children is realized and is expressed in prayer, a new power for good is unleashed throughout the Church and the world. John Paul I expressed this eloquently when he said: “The holiness of the Christian family is indeed a most apt means for producing the serene renewal of the Church which the Council so eagerly desired. Through family prayer, the ecclesia domestica becomes an effective reality and leads to the transformation of the world"[6].
Upon you, Brethren, rest the hope and trust of the universal Church for the defence and promotion of the African family, both parents and children. The Holy Spirit of truth, who has implanted so many values in the hearts of the African people, will never cease to assist you as pastors in bringing the teaching of Jesus ever more effectively into the lives of your brothers and sisters. We need never be afraid to preach the fullness of his message in all its evangelical purity, for, as I stated on another occasion: "Let us never fear that the challenge is too great for our people: they were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ; they are his people. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ vindicates to himself the final responsibility for the acceptance of his word and for the growth of his Church. It is he, Jesus Christ, who will continue to give the grace to his people to meet the requirements of his word, despite all difficulties, despite all weaknesses. And it is up to us to continue to proclaim the message of salvation in its entirety and purity, with patience, compassion and the conviction that what is impossible with man is possible with God"[7].
6. Another great priority of your ministry is catechesis: developing the initial faith of your people and bringing them to the fullness of Christian life. I am close to you, in praise and encouragement, in every undertaking of yours to communicate Christ, to make his Gospel incarnate in the lives and culture of your people. In union with the universal Church, and in openness to the patrimony of her long history, you are striving to lead your people in the reality of their daily lives to look to Christ for light and strength. The aim of your local Churches is to have the faithful living through, with and in Christ. Your efforts, in which you rightfully endeavour to associate the whole community - and in a special way the catechists - must have constant reference to Christ: to his divine Person, his Spirit, and his Gospel.
The "acculturation" or "inculturation" which you rightly promote will truly be a reflection of the Incarnation of the Word, when a culture, transformed and regenerated by the Gospel, brings forth from its own living tradition original expressions of Christian life, celebration and thought[8]. By respecting, preserving and fostering the particular values and riches of your people’s cultural heritage, you will be in a position to lead them to a better understanding of the mystery of Christ, which is to be lived in the noble, concrete and daily experiences of African life. There is no question of adulterating the word of God, or of emptying the Cross of its power[9], but rather of bringing Christ into the very centre of African life and of lifting up all African life to Christ. Thus not only is Christianity relevant to Africa, but Christ, in the members of his Body, is himself African.
7. Again, with good reason, you attribute great pastoral importance to the proper formation of priests and religious, as well as to fostering these vocations in the Church. This attitude is an expression of your deep understanding of the needs of the Body of Christ.
Since the beginning of my pontificate I have striven to point out the importance of religious consecration in the Church and the value of religious life as it affects the whole community of the faithful. Religious have the task of showing forth the holiness of the whole Body of Christ and of bearing witness to a new and eternal life acquired by the Redemption of Christ[10]. At the same time they are called to many different apostolates in the Church. Their service in the Gospel is very necessary for the life of the Church. Missionary Religious in Kenya have laboured with great fidelity in the cause of the Gospel; only the Lord Jesus can adequately thank them and reward them for what has been accomplished for the implantation of the Church. Their mission now goes on side by side with their Kenyan fellow Religious, who have heard the call of Christ and are working generously for the cause of the Gospel. The future of evangelization in this land will continue to owe much to the men and women Religious, both autochthonous and from abroad.
I have likewise sought to draw attention to the essential nature, role and function of the priesthood in its unchanging relationship to the Eucharist, which is the summit of all evangelization[11].
In particular I wish to confirm the vital importance for the Christian people of having their priests properly trained in the word of God, in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ and his Cross. In the divine plan, the transmission of the life-giving Gospel of Christ is linked with the preparation of the priests of this generation. To provide this proper seminary training is one of our greatest responsibilities as Bishops of the Church of God; it can be one of our most effective contributions to the evangelization of the world.
8. An important element that affects every community in the Church is the unity and cooperation between Bishops and priests. By reason of his ordination, the priest is "a co-worker with the Order of Bishop", and to live out the truth of this vocation he is called to collaborate with the Bishop and to pray for him. To explain the unity of the priests with the Bishop, Saint Ignatius of Antioch compared it to the relationship between the strings and the lute.[12]
On the part of the Bishop this relationship requires that he should be close to his priests as a brother and father and friend. As such he must love them and encourage them, not only in their pastoral activities, but in their lives of personal consecration. The Bishop is called to strengthen his priests in faith and to urge them to look constantly to Christ the Good Shepherd, in order that they may realize ever more their priestly identity and dignity.
The Church renews her debt of gratitude to all the missionary and "Fidei Donum" priests who are labouring in the cause of Christ’s Gospel. Their generosity is an expression of the power of Christ’s grace, and their ministry is a great proof of Catholic unity.
9. In the building up of the Church I am aware of your sustained work to build small Christian communities in which the word of God is the guideline of action and in which the Eucharist is the true centre of life. The whole community of the faithful benefits from these initiatives that make it possible for people to recognize the Church in her concrete expression and human dimension as a visible sacrament of God’s universal love and saving grace. It is certainly the will of Jesus Christ that the love of Christians should be manifested in such a way that individual communities exemplify the universal norm: "By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another"[13]. In your pastoral zeal you know the wise criteria laid down by Paul VI and which remain a sure guide for the effectiveness of these communities[14]. At this time I would just stress the great power which those communities have to fulfil an active ecclesial role in the evangelization of Africa.
May they go forward with you, their pastors, and with the priests, to communicate “the unsearchable riches of Christ”[15].
10. Before concluding my words to you today, my dear Brethren in Christ Jesus, I wish to emphasize once more the great need for holiness in our lives. To exercise fruitfully our role as pastors of God’s people, we must know Christ and love him. In a word, we are called to friendship with the Lord, just as the Apostles were. Like Jesus we are the object of the Father’s love and the Holy Spirit is alive in our hearts. The effectiveness of everything we do depends on our union with Jesus, on our holiness of life. There is no other way to be a worthy Bishop, a good Shepherd of the flock. There is no pastoral leadership without prayer, for only in prayer is union with Jesus maintained. Only by being like Jesus, Son of Mary, who is the Mother of us all, can we fulfil our mission to the Church.
May Mary Queen of Apostles sustain you in holiness and love, in prayer and pastoral charity, and help you to bring Jesus to all your people, to all Kenya, to all Africa.
Praised be Jesus Christ, "the chief Shepherd"[16] of God’s people, "the Bishop and Shepherd of our souls"[17].
[1] Jn 11:25.
[2] Acts 4:33.
[3] Rom 6:4.
[4] AAS 71 (1979), p. 766.
[5] Rev 21:5.
[6] Ibid., p. 777.
[7] AAS 71 (1979), p. 1424.
[8] Cf. Catechesi Tradendae, 53.
[9] Cf. 1 ir 1:17.
[10] Cf. Lumen Gentium, 44.
[11] Cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 5.
[12] Letter to the Ephesians, IV.
[13] Jn 13:35.
[14] Cf. Evangelii Nuntiandi, 58.
[15] Eph 3:8.
[16] 1 Pt 5:4.
[17] 1 Pt 2:25.
Speeches 1980 - Nairobi (Kenya)