Pope: at this troubled time in history, bishops must comfort, help, and encourage everyone, without distinction
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis spoke this afternoon before the 68th assembly of Italian Bishops’ Conference, currently underway until next Thursday, on the theme of ‘Verifying the reception of the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium’.
In his address, the Holy Father said that his “questions and concerns arise from a global view,” but “especially from the many meetings I had in the past two years with bishops’ conferences.” Bishops should aim at “disavowing and defeating” a mind-set of corruption, defend the people of God "from ideological colonisations that take away their human identity and dignity,” reinforce “the essential role of lay people who want to assume the responsibilities that fall to them,” translate pastoral choices and documents “into concrete and understandable proposals”, and promote collegiality and communion.
"At this historic moment,” the pope said, “when we are often hemmed in by discouraging news, by local and international situations that make us feel afflicted and troubled, in such an unpleasant context, our Christian and episcopal vocation is to go against the current: namely be joyful witnesses to the Risen Christ and convey joy and hope to others.”
“Our vocation is to listen to what the Lord asks of us: "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God’ (Is, 40:1). Indeed, we are asked to comfort, help, and encourage, without distinction, all our brothers and sisters who are oppressed under the weight of their crosses, and accompany them, without ever getting tired of working to lift them up with the strength that comes from God alone."
"As Jesus told us, ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot' (Mt, 5: 13). Thus, it is very bad to meet a consecrated person who is despondent, apathetic or listless. He is like a dry well where people find no water to quench their thirst.”
This underscores "the importance of what might be called ecclesial sensibility: the capacity of seizing Christ’s own feelings of humility, compassion, mercy, concreteness and wisdom. Ecclesial sensitivity also means not shying away or being irrelevant in disavowing and defeating the broad mind-set of public and personal corruption that has shamelessly impoverished families, seniors, honest workers, Christian communities; discarded especially the young, who have been systematically deprived of any hope in their future; and marginalised above all the weak and the needy. Like the good shepherds we are, this ecclesial sensibility bring us out, towards the people of God, to defend it from ideological colonisations that take away their human identity and dignity."
"Ecclesial sensitivity also manifested itself in pastoral choices and documents, which do not require theoretical-doctrinal abstractions. [Sadly,] Our guidelines appear as if they were not intended for our people or our country but only for a few scholars and specialists. Instead, we must pursue our efforts to translate them into concrete and understandable proposals."
"Ecclesial and pastoral sensitivity becomes real by reinforcing the essential role of lay people who want to assume the responsibilities that fall to them. In fact, lay people who have a genuine Christian education should not need a bishop driver or clerical input to assume their responsibilities at all levels, from the political to the social, from the economic to the legislative! What everyone needs is a bishop shepherd!"
"Finally, ecclesial sensitivity manifests itself concretely in collegiality and the communion between bishops and their priests; between bishops themselves; between the materially and vocationally rich churches and those in need; between centre and periphery; between episcopal conferences, and between bishops and the Successor of Peter.
“In some parts of the world, we see a weakened collegiality in terms of pastoral planning and economic and financial sharing. The habit of following up plans and the implementation of projects is missing. For example, by putting forward the same people, a conference or an event puts communities to sleep, and backs the same choices, opinions and people instead of letting ourselves to be carried towards those horizons where the Holy Spirit is asking us to go.”
“Another example: Why are so many religious institutes, monasteries, and congregations allowed to get old, so that they no longer bear faithful evangelical witness to their foundational charism? Why are they not amalgamated before it is too late in so many ways?”
“I’ll stop here, after citing some examples of the weakened ecclesial sensibility caused by huge world problems and by the crisis that spares no one, not even spare Christian and ecclesial identity itself.
Speaking about the Jubilee of mercy that will begin on 8 December, the pope called on the Lord to grant us “the joy of rediscovering and rendering fruitful God’s mercy, with which we are all called to give comfort to every man and every woman of our time. Do not forget that God forgives all, and God forgives always. Let us never tire of asking forgiveness. Let us henceforth entrust this Year to the Mother of Mercy, that she turn her gaze upon us and watch over our journey” (Homily, 13 March 2015)."
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