Bishops of Canada-Atlantic - 2

Bishops of Canada-Atlantic - 2

Pope Benedict XVI

Diocesan reorganization is an 'exercise of spiritual renewal'

On Saturday, 20 May, in his Private Library, the Holy Father addressed a second group of Canadian Bishops from the Atlantic Region, in Rome for their ad limina visit. The following is the Pope's Address for the occasion, given in English and French.

Dear Brother Bishops,

"Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" (I Tim 1:2). With fraternal affection I cordially welcome you, the Bishops of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. I thank Bishop Lahey for the kind sentiments expressed on your behalf. I warmly reciprocate them and assure you and those entrusted to your pastoral care of my prayers.

Your visit ad Limina Apostolorum is an opportunity to give thanks to God for the work of those who have tirelessly preached the Gospel throughout the length and breadth of your Country. It is also an occasion to strengthen in faith, hope and charity your bonds of communion with the Bishop of Rome, and to affirm your commitment to make the face of Christ increasingly more visible within the Church and society, through consistent witness to the Gospel that is Jesus Christ himself.

Fighting a pervasive secularism

Canada enjoys a proud heritage steeped in rich social diversity. Central to the cultural soul of the Nation is Christ's immeasurable gift of faith, which has been received and celebrated over the centuries with deep rejoicing by the peoples of your land.

Like many countries, however, Canada is today suffering from the pervasive effects of secularism. The attempt to promote a vision of humanity apart 'tour God's transcendent order and indifferent to Christ's beckoning light, removes from the reach of ordinary men and women the experience of genuine hope.

One of the more dramatic symptoms of this mentality, clearly evident in your own region, is the plummeting birth rate. This disturbing testimony to uncertainty and fear, even if not always conscious, is in stark contrast with the definitive experience of true love which by its nature is marked by trust, seeks the good of the beloved and looks to the eternal (cf. Deus Caritas Est, n. 6).

Faced with the many social ills and moral ambiguities which follow in the wake of a secularist ideology, Canadians look to you to be men of hope preaching and teaching, with passion the splendour of the truth of Christ who dispels the darkness and illuminates the way to renew ecclesial and civic life, educating consciences and teaching the authentic dignity of the person and human society.

Particularly in districts which also suffer from the painful consequences of economic decline, such as unemployment and unwanted emigration, ecclesial leadership bears much fruit when, in its concern for the common good, it generously seeks to support civil Authorities in their task of promoting regeneration in the community.

In this regard, I note with satisfaction the success of the anniversary events celebrated last year in the Archdiocese of Saint John's, marked by a spirit of cooperation with various civic Authorities. Such initiatives manifest a recognition of the need for spiritual strength at the heart of society. In fact, "it is quite impossible to separate the response to people's material and social needs from the fulfilment of the profound desires of their hearts" (Papal Message for Lent 2006).

Praise for the work of catechists

Dear Brothers, your reports clearly indicate the seriousness with which you are responding to the need for pastoral renewal. I understand that with aging clergy and many isolated communities the challenges are great. Yet, if the Church is going to satisfy the thirst of men and women for truth and authentic values upon which to build their lives, no effort can be spared in finding effective pastoral initiatives to make Jesus Christ known.

Thus, it is of great importance that the catechetical and religious education programmes which you are implementing continue to deepen the faithful's understanding and love of Our Lord and his Church, and reawaken in them the zeal for Christian witness which has its root is the Sacrament of Baptism.

In this regard, particular care must he taken to ensure that the intrinsic relationship between the Church's Magisterium, individuals' faith and testimony in public life is preserved and promoted. Only in this way can we hope to overcome the debilitating split between the Gospel and culture (cf. Evaugelii Nuntiandi, n. 20).

Of notable importance are your catechists. They have embraced with great courage the burning desire that was St. Paul's: "deliver... as of primary importance what I also received" (I Cor 15:3).

Teaching the faith cannot be reduced to a mere transmission of "things" or words or even a body of abstract truths. The Church's Tradition is alive! It is the permanent actualization of the active presence of the Lord Jesus among his people, brought about by the Holy Spirit and expressed in the Church in every generation. In this sense it is like a living river that links us to the origins which ate ever present and which leads us to the gates of eternity (cf. General Audience, 26 April 2006).

Through you, I acknowledge the true service of the catechists in your Dioceses and encourage them in their duty and privilege of making known to others the extraordinary 'yes' of God to humanity (ct. II Cor 1:20).

Further, I directly appeal in a special way to the young adults of your Dioceses to take up the rewarding challenge of catechetical service and share in the satisfaction of handing on the faith. Their example of Christian witness to those younger than themselves will strengthen their own faith, while bringing to others the happiness that flows from the sense of purpose and meaning in life which the Lord reveals.

Reorganization: spiritual renewal

In your plan of pastoral renewal you must address the delicate work of reorganizing parishes and also Dioceses. This can never be accomplished appropriately by adhering simply to social models of restructuring. Without Christ, we can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:5). Prayer roots us in the truth, making us constantly remember the primacy of Christ and, in union with him, the primacy of the interior life and of holiness.

Parishes are therefore, and rightly so, considered first of all homes and schools of communion. As a result, the reorganization of parishes is basically an exercise of spiritual renewal. This requires a pastoral promotion of holiness so that the faithful remain attentive to the will of God, whose true life we share, becoming participants in divine nature (cf. Dei Verbum, n. 2).

Such holiness, or such intimate communion through Christ and in the Spirit, is reinforced, among other ways, by an authentic pedagogy of prayer, by an introduction to the lives of the saints and the multiple forms of spirituality that adorn and inspire the life of the Church, by regular participation in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and by a convincing catechesis on Sunday as "the day of faith", "an indispensable day", "the day of Christian hope" (cf. Dies Domini, nn. 29-30; 38).

I am certain that a rediscovery of Jesus Christ, Word made flesh, our Saviour, will lead to a rediscovery of the faithful's personal, social and cultural identity. Rather than confusing the diversity and complementarily of the charisms and functions of ordained ministers and the lay faithful, a reinforced Catholic identity will revive the passion for evangelization, which is proper to the vocations of each believer and to the nature of the Church (cf. Instruction, The Priest, Pastor and Guide of the Parochial Community, nn. 23.24).

Key work of promoting vocations

Within the universal call to holiness (cf. I Th 4:3) is found the particular vocation to which God summons every individual, in this regard, I encourage you to remain vigilant in your duty to promote a culture of vocation. Your reports attest to the admiration you have of your priests, who labour with great generosity for the Church's mission and the good of those whom they serve. I pray that their daily journey of conversion and self-giving love will awaken in young men the desire to respond to God's call to humble priestly ministry in his Church. Additionally, you have with good reason underlined the fine contribution of Religious Sisters and Brothers to the mission of the Church. This deep appreciation of consecrated life is rightly accompanied by your concern for the decline in Religious vocations in your Country.

A renewed clarity is needed to articulate the particular contribution of Religious to the life of the Church: a mission to make the love of Christ present in the midst of humanity (cf. Instruction Starting Afresh From Christ: A Renewed Commitment to Consecrated Life in the Third Millennium, n. 5). Such clarity will give rise to a new kairos, with Religious confidently reaffirming their calling and, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, proposing afresh to young people the ideal of consecration and mission.

I again assure Religious Priests, Brothers and Sisters of the vital witness they provide by placing themselves without reserve in the hands of Christ and of the Church, as a strong and clear proclamation of God's presence in a way understandable to our contemporaries (Homily for the World Day of Consecrated Life, 2 February 2006).

Dear Brothers, with affection and fraternal gratitude I offer these reflections to you and assure you of my prayers as you seek to shepherd the flocks entrusted to you. United in your proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ, go forward now in hope!

With these sentiments I commend you to the protection of Mary, Mother of the Church, and of St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse. To you and to the priests, deacons, Religious and lay faithful of your Dioceses, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.

Taken from:
L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
7 June 2006, page 5

L'Osservatore Romano is the newspaper of the Holy See.
The Weekly Edition in English is published for the US by:

The Cathedral Foundation
L'Osservatore Romano English Edition
320 Cathedral St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
Subscriptions: (410) 547-5315
Fax: (410) 332-1069
lormail@catholicreview.org