Speeches 2005-13 13097

TO H.E. Mr NOEL FAHEY NEW AMBASSADOR OF IRELAND TO THE HOLY SEE Papal Summer Residence, Castel Gandolfo Saturday, 15 September 2007



Your Excellency,

1. It is with particular pleasure that I welcome you to the Vatican and accept the Letters of Credence by which you are appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ireland to the Holy See. I would ask you kindly to convey to your President, Mrs Mary McAleese, and to the Government and people of your country my gratitude for their good wishes. I warmly reciprocate them and assure the citizens of your nation of my prayers for their spiritual well-being.

2. As Your Excellency has observed, for over sixteen hundred years Christianity has shaped the cultural, moral and spiritual identity of the Irish people. This is not simply a matter of historical importance. It lies at the heart of Irish civilization and it remains as a ‘leaven’ in the life of your nation. Indeed, the Christian faith has lost nothing of its significance for contemporary society since it touches "man’s deepest sphere" and gives "meaning to his life in the world" (Redemptor Hominis RH 10), enabling both civic and religious leaders to uphold the absolute values and ideals inherent in the dignity of every person and necessary for every democracy.

3. In recent years Ireland has enjoyed unprecedented economic growth. This prosperity has undoubtedly brought material comfort to many, but in its wake secularism has also begun to encroach and leave its mark. Against the backdrop of these developments, I was interested to learn of the recent launch of a ‘structured dialogue’ between the Church and the Government. I applaud the initiative. Some might question whether the Church is entitled to make a contribution to the governance of a nation. In a pluralist democratic society should not faith and religion be restricted to the private sphere? The historical rise of brutal totalitarian regimes, contemporary scepticism in the face of political rhetoric, and a growing uneasiness with the lack of ethical points of reference governing recent scientific advances – one need only think of the field of bio-engineering – all point to the imperfections and limitations found within both individuals and society. Recognition of those imperfections indicates the importance of a rediscovery of moral and ethical principles, and the need both to recognize the limits of reason and to understand its essential relationship of complementarity with faith and religion.

The Church, in articulating revealed truth, serves all members of society by shedding light on the foundation of morality and ethics, and by purifying reason, ensuring that it remains open to the consideration of ultimate truths and draws upon wisdom. Far from threatening the tolerance of differences or cultural plurality, or usurping the role of the State, such a contribution illuminates the very truth which makes consensus possible and keeps public debate rational, honest and accountable. When truth is disregarded, relativism takes its place: instead of being governed by principles, political choices are determined more and more by public opinion, values are overshadowed by procedures and targets, and indeed the very categories of good and evil, and right and wrong, give way to the pragmatic calculation of advantage and disadvantage.

4. The Northern Ireland Peace Process has been a long and arduous endeavour. At last, there is hope that it will bear enduring fruit. Peace has been achieved through widespread international support, determined political resolve on the part of both the Irish and the British Governments, and the readiness of individuals and communities to embrace the sublime human capacity to forgive. The entire international human family has taken heart from this outcome and welcomes this wave of hope sent across the world that conflict, no matter how engrained, can be overcome. It is my fervent prayer that the peace which is already bringing renewal to the North will inspire political and religious leaders in other troubled zones of our world to recognize that only upon forgiveness, reconciliation and mutual respect can lasting peace be built. To this end, I welcome your own Government’s commitment to deploy both experience and resources in the prevention and resolution of conflict, as well as its pledge to increase various forms of assistance to developing countries.

5. Your Excellency, like many nations around the globe, Ireland has in recent years made care of the environment one of its priorities in both domestic policy and international relations. The promotion of sustainable development and particular attention to climate change are indeed matters of grave importance for the entire human family, and no nation or business sector should ignore them. As scientific research demonstrates the worldwide effects that human actions can have on the environment, the complexity of the vital relationship between the ecology of the human person and the ecology of nature becomes increasingly apparent (cf. Message for the 2007 World Day of Peace, 8).

The full understanding of this relationship is found in the natural and moral order with which God has created man and endowed the earth (ibid., 8-9). Curiously, while the majesty of God’s fingers in creation (cf. Ps 8,3) is readily recognized, the full acknowledgement of the glory and splendour with which he has specifically crowned man (cf. Ps 8,5) is at times less readily understood. A kind of split morality ensues. The great and vital moral themes of peace, non-violence, justice, and respect for creation do not in themselves confer dignity on man. The primary dimension of morality stems from the innate dignity of human life ) from the moment of conception to natural death ) a dignity conferred by God himself. God’s loving act of creation must be understood as a whole. How disturbing it is that not infrequently the very social and political groups that, admirably, are most attuned to the awe of God’s creation pay scant attention to the marvel of life in the womb. Let us hope that, especially among young people, emerging interest in the environment will deepen their understanding of the proper order and magnificence of God’s creation of which man and woman stand at the centre and summit.

6. Your Excellency, I am sure that your appointment will further strengthen the bonds of friendship which already exist between Ireland and the Holy See. As you take up your new responsibilities you will find that the various offices of the Roman Curia are most ready to assist you in the fulfilment of your duties. Upon you, your family and your fellow citizens I cordially invoke the abundant blessings of Almighty God.


TO THE COMMUNITY OF THE CLOISTERED POOR CLARES OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CONVENT IN ALBANO LAZIALE Consistory Hall, Castel Gandolfo Saturday, 15 September 2007

Dear Sisters,

Welcome to the Apostolic Palace! I am very pleased to welcome you, I thank you for your visit, and I cordially greet each one of you. One could say that your Community, located in the territory of the Pontifical Villas, dwells in the shadow of the Papal home, hence, that the spiritual bond between you and the Successor of Peter is very close. This is demonstrated by the many contacts that you have had since your foundation with the Popes while they were staying here at Castel Gandolfo, as has just been mentioned by your Mother Abbess, whom I warmly thank for her kind words on behalf of you all. In meeting you this morning, I too would like to renew my deep gratitude to your Fraternity for your daily support of prayers and your intense spiritual participation in the mission of the Pastor of the universal Church.

In the silence of the cloister and in the total and exclusive gift of yourselves to Christ according to the Franciscan charism, you offer the Church a precious service. In reviewing the history of your Monastery, I noticed that a great many of my Predecessors, on meeting your Fraternity, always reaffirmed the importance of your witness as contemplatives "happy with God alone". In particular, I recall what the Servant of God Paul VI said to you on 3 September 1971: that in the face of those who consider cloistered people as out of touch with reality and the experience of our time, your existence has the value of a special witness which intimately affects the Church's life. "You represent", Paul VI stressed, "so many things that the Church appreciates and which Vatican II has confirmed. Faithful to the Rule, to common life, to poverty, you are a seed and a sign" (Holy Father's Three Pastoral Visits, 3 September 1971, L'Osservatore Romano English edition [ORE], 23 September, p. 2). As if continuing these reflections, a few years later, on 14 August 1979, beloved John Paul II, in celebrating Holy Mass in your chapel, desired to entrust himself, the Church and the whole of humanity to your prayers. "You have not left the world", he observed, "because you did not want to bear the crosses of the world... you carry them all in your heart, and in the troubled scenario of history you accompany humanity with your prayer.... Because of this presence of yours, hidden but authentic within society and even more so within the Church, I also look with confidence to your joined hands" (Homily at Mass for Poor Clares and Basilian Sisters, Albano, Italy, 14 August 1979; ORE, 27 August, p. 3).

So, dear Sisters, this is what the Pope expects of you: that you be bright torches of love, "joined hands", watching in ceaseless prayer, totally detached from the world, in order to sustain the ministry of the One whom Jesus has called to guide his Church. May you be "Poor Sisters" who, after the example of St Francis and St Clare, observe "the holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ by living in obedience, without anything of one's own, and in chastity". The silent work of those who, like you, endeavour to live the Gospel "sine glossa" with simplicity and joy does not always echo in public opinion but - you may be certain - the contribution you make to the apostolic and missionary work of the Church in the world is truly extraordinary, and God will continue to bless you with the gift of many vocations as he has done thus far.

Dear Poor Clare Sisters, may St Francis, St Clare and the many Saints of your Order help you "persevere faithfully to the end" in your vocation. May you be especially protected by the Virgin Mary, whom today's liturgy presents to us for contemplation at the foot of the Cross, closely associated in Christ's mission and, as the Sorrowful Mother, a sharer in the work of salvation. On Calvary, Jesus gave her to us as Mother and entrusted us to her as children. May the Sorrowful Virgin obtain for you the gift of following her divine Crucified Son and of embracing serenely the difficulties and trials of daily life. With these sentiments, I impart to all of you a special Apostolic Blessing, which I willingly extend to those who commend themselves to your prayers.


TO THE MEMBERS OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE ON THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF CARD. FRANÇOIS-XAVIER NGUYĘN VAN THUÂN Castel Gandolfo Monday, 17 September 2007


Your Eminence,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I address a cordial welcome to all of you, gathered to remember beloved Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyęn Van Thuân, whom the Lord called to himself on 16 September five years ago. Five years have passed but the noble figure of this faithful servant of the Lord lives on in the minds and hearts of all who knew him. I too cherish many personal memories of the meetings I had with him during the years of his service here in the Roman Curia.

I greet Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino and Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, respectively President and Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, together with their collaborators. I greet the members of the San Matteo Foundation established in memory of Cardinal Van Thuân, and of the International Observatory, called after him and created for the dissemination of the Church's social doctrine, as well as the deceased Cardinal's relatives and friends. I also express my sentiments of deep gratitude to Cardinal Martino for his words on behalf of those present.

I willingly take the opportunity once again to highlight the shining witness of faith which this heroic Pastor bequeathed to us. Bishop Francis Xavier - this is how he liked to introduce himself - was called to the Father's House in autumn 2000, after a long and difficult period of illness faced in total abandonment to God's will. A little earlier, my venerable Predecessor John Paul II had appointed him Vice-President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, of which he later became President, and he set about publishing the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. How can we forget the outstanding features of his simple, ready cordiality? How can we not shine light on his conversational skill and his ability to make himself close to everyone? We recall him with deep admiration while we remember the great visions full of hope that inspired him and that he was able to present easily and engagingly: his fervent dedication to disseminating the social doctrine of the Church among the world's poor; his longing for evangelization in Asia, his Continent; his ability to coordinate activities of charity and human promotion which he encouraged and supported in the most remote places of the earth.

Cardinal Van Thuân was a man of hope. He lived on hope and spread it among those he met. It was thanks to this spiritual energy that he was able to withstand all the physical and moral difficulties. Hope sustained him as a Bishop who for 13 years was cut off from his diocesan community; hope helped him to see in the absurdity of the events that had happened to him - he was never tried throughout his lengthy detention - a providential plan of God. He received the news of the disease, the tumour that was later to lead to his death, at the same time that he learned of his appointment as Cardinal by Pope John Paul II, who held him in high esteem and was very fond of him. Cardinal Van Thuân liked to repeat that the Christian is the man of the moment, of the now, of the present time that must be welcomed and experienced with Christ's love. In this ability to live in the present shines forth Cardinal Van Thuân's intimate abandonment in God's hands and the Gospel simplicity that we all admired in him. And could it be possible, he used to wonder, that those who trust in the Heavenly Father then refuse to allow themselves to be embraced by him?

Dear brothers and sisters, I accepted with great joy the news that the Cause of Beatification of this unique prophet of Christian hope is being initiated. As we entrust this chosen soul to the Lord, let us pray that his example may be an effective lesson for us. With this hope, I cordially bless you all.


TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BISHOPS' CONFERENCE OF BENIN ON THEIR "AD LIMINA" VISIT Pontifical Palace, Castel Gandolfo Thursday, 20 September 2007



Dear Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,

I am pleased to welcome you while you are making your ad limina visit, an expression of communion between Bishops and the See of Peter, and an effective means to respond to the requirement of reciprocal knowledge which stems from the reality itself of this communion (cf. Pastores Gregis ). Bishop Antoine Ganyé, President of your Bishops' Conference, has presented to me on your behalf some facts about the life of the Church in Benin, and I cordially thank him. Through you, I would like to greet warmly all the members of your diocesan communities, priests, men and women religious, seminarians, catechists and all the lay people, inviting them to grow in faith in Jesus, the one Saviour of humankind. Please be kind enough also to convey my affectionate greeting to dear Cardinal Bernardin Gantin. Lastly, I offer cordial good wishes to all the People of Benin, so that they may courageously persevere in their commitment to building a society that is increasingly fraternal and respectful of every person.

In past years you have given proof of great evangelical courage in steering the People of God through the numerous difficulties that your society has experienced, thereby showing your pastoral interest in the important issues that confronted it, especially in the field of justice and human rights.
In all these situations, you tirelessly proposed the Church's teaching based on the Gospel, thus inspiring hope in your People's hearts and helping to preserve national unity and concord. In the face of the many challenges confronting you today, I strongly encourage you to develop an authentic spirituality of communion in order "to make the Church the home and the school of communion" (Novo Millennio Ineunte NM 43). In fact, this communion, which Bishops are first of all required to live with one another in order to find strength and support in their ministry, fosters missionary dynamism, "always ensuring the witness of unity so that the world may believe and making ever greater room for love, so that all people may attain to the Trinitarian unity [communion] from which they have come forth and to which they are destined" (Pastores Gregis ).

I also ask you to encourage this communion in your presbyterium, helping your priests by the quality of your relationship with them to assume their priestly ministry fully. I would like to warmly encourage each and every one of them to keep a balance in his apostolic life, making ample room for an intense spiritual life in order to create and reinforce his relations of friendship with Christ, so as to serve generously the section of the People of God entrusted to him and to proclaim the Kingdom of God to all. It is then that the Gospel will be made truly present in society. In conformity with the Church's wisdom, may priests also be able to discern in their people's "traditions" the true goodness that favours growth in the faith and in genuine knowledge of God, and rejects all that is in opposition to the Gospel.

On the other hand, your quinquennial reports show how strongly traditions continue to influence social life. Although their best aspects must be encouraged, manifestations that are harmful, stir up fear or exclude others must be challenged. Christian faith must inculcate in hearts the inner freedom and responsibility that Christ gives to us as we face the events of life. A sound Christian formation will therefore be an indispensable support in helping the faithful compare the faith with the "traditional" beliefs. This formation must always enable them to learn to pray confidently, so as to be close to Christ always and in times of distress, in order to find support in the Christian communities through the effective signs of God's love which sets people free. The collaboration of catechists makes an invaluable contribution to this demanding task. I know of their devotion and of the care you take to train them and to enable them to live a dignified life. I offer them my cordial greetings, and tell them how grateful the Church is for their commitment to serving her.

Dear Brothers, the Institutes of Consecrated Life in your Dioceses make a generous contribution to the mission. May men and women religious always keep their heart and gaze fixed on Our Lord Jesus, so that through their works and through the total gift of themselves, they may communicate their own experience of God's love to all! In serving society's most deprived without distinction, which is an essential commitment for most of them, they must never leave aside God and Christ, whom it is right to proclaim but without seeking to impose the faith of the Church. "A Christian knows when it is time to speak of God and when it is better to say nothing and to let love alone speak" (Deus Caritas Est ). I also invite the members of contemplative communities, by being a discreet presence, to remain a permanent appeal for all believers to seek God's Face ceaselessly and to thank him for all his goodness.

In your Country's cultural context, it is necessary that the Church's presence be expressed in visible signs that show the true meaning of her mission to men and women. Among these signs, warm and fervent liturgical celebrations have an eminent place. At the very heart of society, they eloquently witness to the faith borne by your communities. Thus, it is important that the faithful take part in the liturgy in a way that is full, active and fruitful. To encourage this participation it is legitimate to permit certain appropriate adaptations to the different cultural contexts, with respect for the norms established by the Church. However, in order to avoid the introduction into the liturgy of cultural elements incompatible with the Christian faith or actions that give rise to confusion, seminarians and priests must be given a sound liturgical formation which enables them to deepen their knowledge of the theological foundations, importance and value of the liturgical rites.

Moreover, the Church's presence in society is also expressed through the public interventions of her Pastors. On various occasions, you have courageously defended the values of the family and respect for life when they were threatened by ideologies that proposed models and attitudes in opposition to an authentic conception of human life. I encourage you to continue this policy which is a service to the whole of society. In this perspective, the formation of young people is also one of your pastoral priorities. I would like here to pay a tribute to the work carried out by all the people who contribute to their human and religious education, especially in Catholic teaching whose quality is widely recognized. In helping young people to acquire human and spiritual maturity, help them to discover God, help them discover that it is in the gift of themselves to the service of others that they will become freer and more mature! Since young couples may meet obstacles - obstacles often linked to culture and tradition - to committing themselves to Christian marriage and in living with fidelity to the commitments taken, they need a serious preparation for this Sacrament as well as on-going guidance of families, particularly at the most difficult moments.

Lastly, I would like to tell you of my pleasure at noting that relations between Christians and Muslims take place on the whole in an atmosphere of mutual understanding. Therefore, to prevent seeing the development of some form of intolerance and to avoid all violence, it is right to encourage a sincere dialogue based on an ever truer reciprocal knowledge, especially through respectful human relations, through an agreement on the values of life and through mutual cooperation in all that furthers the common good. Such a dialogue also requires that competent people be trained to help spread knowledge and understanding of the religious values that we share and to respect loyally the differences.

Dear Brothers, now that our meeting is drawing to a close, I encourage you to persevere in your mission at the service of the People of God in Benin, living ever more intensely the mystery of Christ. Do not be afraid to propose the radical newness of life brought by Christ and offered to every human being so that he may fulfil his whole vocation! I entrust each one of you to the motherly intercession of Mary, Queen of Africa. May she intercede for the priests, men and women religious, seminarians, catechists and faithful of each one of your Dioceses. To you all, I warmly impart an affectionate Apostolic Blessing.


TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE CONFERENCE OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF CENTRIST DEMOCRATIC INTERNATIONAL Papal Summer Residence, Castel Gandolfo Friday, 21 September 2007


Mister President,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to welcome you during the conference of the Executive Committee of Centrist Democratic International, and I extend cordial greetings to the Delegates present from many nations throughout the world. I thank your President, the Honourable Pier Ferdinando Casini, for the kind words of greeting he has offered to me on your behalf. Your visit gives me an opportunity to bring to your attention some of the values and ideals that have been moulded and deepened in a decisive way by the Christian tradition in Europe and throughout the world.

Notwithstanding your different backgrounds, I know that you share several basic principles of this tradition, such as the centrality of the human person, a respect for human rights, a commitment to peace and the promotion of justice for all. You appeal to fundamental principles, which, as history has shown, are closely interconnected. In effect, when human rights are violated, the dignity of the human person suffers; when justice is compromised, peace itself is jeopardized. On the other hand, justice is truly human only when the ethical and moral vision grounding it is centred on the human person and his inalienable dignity.

Ladies and Gentlemen, your activity, inspired by these principles, is subject to increasing challenges today due to the profound changes taking place in your respective communities. For this reason, I wish to encourage you to persevere in your efforts to serve the common good, taking it upon yourselves to prevent the dissemination and entrenchment of ideologies which obscure and confuse consciences by promoting an illusory vision of truth and goodness. In the economic sphere, for example, there is a tendency to view financial gain as the only good, thus eroding the internal ethos of commerce to the point that even profit margins suffer. There are those who maintain that human reason is incapable of grasping the truth, and therefore of pursuing the good that corresponds to personal dignity. There are some who believe that it is legitimate to destroy human life in its earliest or final stages. Equally troubling is the growing crisis of the family, which is the fundamental nucleus of society based on the indissoluble bond of marriage between a man and a woman. Experience has shown that when the truth about man is subverted or the foundation of the family undermined, peace itself is threatened and the rule of law is compromised, leading inevitably to forms of injustice and violence.

Another cause highly esteemed by all of you is the defence of religious liberty, which is a fundamental, irrepressible, inalienable and inviolable right rooted in the dignity of every human being and acknowledged by various international documents, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The exercise of this freedom also includes the right to change religion, which should be guaranteed not only legally, but also in daily practice. In fact, religious liberty corresponds to the human person’s innate openness to God, who is the fullness of truth and the supreme good. An appreciation for religious freedom is a fundamental expression of respect for human reason and its capacity to know the truth. Openness to transcendence is an indispensable guarantee of human dignity since within every human heart there are needs and desires which find their fulfilment in God alone. For this reason, God can never be excluded from the horizon of man and world history! That is why all authentically religious traditions must be allowed to manifest their own identity publicly, free from any pressure to hide or disguise it.

Moreover, due respect for religion helps to counter the charge that society has forgotten God: an accusation shamelessly exploited by some terrorist networks in an attempt to justify their threats against global security. Terrorism is a serious problem whose perpetrators often claim to act in God’s name and harbour an inexcusable contempt for human life. Society naturally has a right to defend itself, but this right must be exercised with complete respect for moral and legal norms, including the choice of ends and means. In democratic systems, the use of force in a manner contrary to the principles of a constitutional State can never be justified. Indeed, how can we claim to protect democracy if we threaten its very foundations? Consequently, it is necessary both to keep careful watch over the security of civil society and its citizens while at the same time safeguarding the inalienable rights of all. Terrorism needs to be fought with determination and effectiveness, mindful that if the mystery of evil is widespread today, the solidarity of mankind in goodness is an even more pervasive mystery.

In this regard, the social teaching of the Catholic Church offers some points for reflection on how to promote security and justice both at the national and international levels. This teaching is based on reason, natural law and the Gospel: that is, principles that both accord with and transcend the nature of every human being. The Church knows that it is not her specific task to see to the political implementation of this teaching: her objective is to help form consciences in political life, to raise awareness of the authentic requirements of justice, and to foster a greater readiness to act accordingly, even when this might involve conflict with situations of personal interest (cf. Deus Caritas Est ). In this her mission, the Church is moved only by love for humanity and the desire to work together with all people of goodwill to build a world in which the dignity and inalienable rights of all persons will be safeguarded. For those of you who share a faith in Christ, the Church asks you to bear witness to that faith today with even greater courage and generosity. The integrity of Christians in political life is indeed more necessary than ever so that the “salt” of apostolic zeal does not lose its “flavour”, and so that the “lamp” of Gospel values enlightening the daily work of Christians is not obscured by pragmatism or utilitarianism, suspicion or hate.

Your Excellencies, I thank you once again for this welcome opportunity to meet with you. Wishing you success in your respective missions, I assure all of you of a remembrance in my prayers, that Almighty God may bless you and your families, and that you may receive the wisdom, integrity and moral strength to serve the great and noble cause of human dignity.


TO THE BISHOPS ORDAINED DURING THE PAST YEAR Hall of the Swiss, Papal Summer Residence, Castel Gandolfo Saturday, 22 September 2007



Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,

For several years now it has been customary for recently appointed Bishops to gather in Rome for a meeting experienced as a pilgrimage to the tomb of St Peter. I welcome you with special affection. As well as encouraging you to reflect on a Bishop's responsibilities and tasks, this experience enables you to revive in your souls the knowledge that you are not alone in governing God's Church, but that together with grace you have the support of the Pope and of your confreres.

Being at the heart of Catholicism in this Church of Rome opens your minds to a more vivid perception of the universality of the People of God and develops your concern for the whole Church.

I thank Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re for his words expressing your sentiments and address a special thought to Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, as I greet each one of you and remember your Dioceses.

On the day of Episcopal Ordination, before the imposition of hands, the Church asks the candidate to take on certain commitments which, as well as proclaiming the Gospel faithfully and safeguarding the faith, also include the resolution "to pray for the People of God without ceasing". I would like to reflect with you precisely on the apostolic and pastoral character of the Bishop's prayer.

The Evangelist Luke wrote that Jesus Christ chose the Twelve Apostles after spending the whole night on the mountain in prayer (cf. Lc 6,12); and the Evangelist Mark explained that the Twelve were chosen "to be with him, and to be sent out" (cf. Mc 3,14).

Like the Apostles, dear Confreres, we too have been called primarily to be with Christ, to know him more deeply and to share in his mystery of love and his relationship full of trust in the Father. Through intimate personal prayer, the Bishop, just as and more than all the faithful, is called to grow towards God in a filial spirit, learning confidence, trust and faithfulness, Jesus' own attitudes in his relationship with the Father, from Jesus himself.

And the Apostles understood well that prayerful listening and the proclamation of what they had heard were to take priority over the many things to be done, so they decided: "we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Ac 6,4). This apostolic programme is more timely than ever.

In a Bishop's ministry today the organizational aspects are absorbing, the commitments many and the needs always numerous, but the first place in the life of a successor of the Apostles must be kept for God. Especially in this way will we help our faithful.

St Gregory the Great had formerly recommended in his "Pastoral Rule" that the Pastor should in a singular way lead all the others in prayer and contemplation (cf. II, 5). This is what tradition was subsequently to formulate in the well-known saying: "Contemplata aliis tradere" (cf. St Thomas, Summa Theologiae, IIa-IIae, q. 188, art. 6).

In the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, by referring to the account of the biblical episode of Jacob's ladder, I wished to emphasize how it is that precisely through prayer the Pastor becomes sensitive to the needs of others and merciful to all (cf. n. 7).

And I remembered the thought of St Gregory the Great, who held that the Pastor wrapt in contemplation is able to regard the needs of others as his own in prayer: "per pietatis viscera in se infirmitatem caeterorum transferat" (cf. Pastoral Rule, ibid.).

Prayer teaches people to love and opens hearts to pastoral charity in order to welcome all who turn to the Bishop. Modelled from within by the Holy Spirit, the Bishop consoles with the balsam of divine grace, enlightens with the light of the Word and reconciles and edifies in fraternal communion.
Dear Confreres, your priests must have a special place in your prayers so that they may always persevere in their vocation and be faithful to the presbyteral mission entrusted to them.

It is particularly edifying for every priest to know that the Bishop, from whom he has received the gift of the priesthood or who in any case is his father and friend, is close to him in prayer and affection and always ready to receive him, listen to him and encourage him.

Likewise, the entreaty for new vocations must never be absent from the Bishop's prayers. They must be insistently implored from God so that he may call "those whom he desires for the sacred ministry".

May the munus santificandi that you have received also involve you in being animators of prayer in society. In the cities where you live and work, often chaotic and noisy, where man hurries on and loses himself, where people live as though God did not exist, may you be able to create places and opportunities for prayer, where in silence, in listening to God through lectio divina, in personal and communal prayer, man may encounter God and have a living experience of Jesus Christ who reveals the authentic Face of the Father.

Never tire of ensuring that parishes and shrines, places of education and of suffering, but also families, become places of communion with the Lord. I would especially like to urge you to make the cathedral an exemplary house of prayer, particularly liturgical prayer, where the diocesan community, reunited with its Bishop, can praise and thank God for the work of salvation and intercede for all people.

St Ignatius of Antioch reminds us of the power of communal prayer: "If the prayer of one or two possesses such power, how much more that of the Bishop and the whole Church!" (Epistle to the Ep 5).

In brief, beloved Bishops, be men of prayer! The "spiritual fruitfulness of the Bishop's ministry depends on the intensity of his union with the Lord. It is from prayer that a Bishop must draw light, strength and comfort in his pastoral activity", as is written in the Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops (Apostolorum Successores ).

In addressing God, for you yourselves and for your faithful, may you have the trust of children, the daring of a friend and the perseverance of Abraham who was tireless in intercession: like Moses, raise your hands to Heaven, while your faithful fight the good fight of faith; like Mary, praise God every day for the salvation that he brings about in the Church and the world, convinced that for God nothing will be impossible (cf. Lc 1,37).

With these sentiments, I impart a special Apostolic Blessing to each one of you, to your priests, to the men and women religious, to the seminarians and to the faithful of your Dioceses.



Speeches 2005-13 13097