WASHINGTON - 17 April 2008 - 430 words
Pope
advises US Bishops: 'live Christ-centred lives'
At 5.45 pm local time yesterday, the Holy Father presided at
the celebration of Vespers with bishops of the United States at
the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington
DC.
At the beginning of his homily, the Holy Father highlighted the
American people's "great vitality and creativity" and
their generosity towards the poor and needy, which also finds
expression in "the many forms of humanitarian assistance
provided by American Catholics through Catholic Charities and
other agencies".
"America is also a land of great faith" said the Pope,
noting how its people are well-known for "their religious
fervour" and "do not hesitate to bring moral arguments
rooted in biblical faith into their public discourse". At
the same time, "respect for freedom of religion is deeply
ingrained in the American consciousness".
"People today need to be reminded of the ultimate purpose
of their lives", said Pope Benedict. "Without God ...
our lives are ultimately empty. ... The goal of all our pastoral
and catechetical work, the object of our preaching, and the focus
of our sacramental ministry should be to help people establish
and nurture that living relationship with 'Christ Jesus, our hope'".
He went on: "At a time when advances in medical science bring
new hope to many, they also give rise to previously unimagined
ethical challenges. This makes it more important than ever to
offer thorough formation in the Church's moral teaching to Catholics
engaged in healthcare". In this context he told the bishops
that "yours is a respected voice that has much to offer to
the discussion of the pressing social and moral questions of the
day. ... It falls to you to ensure that the moral formation provided
at every level of ecclesial life reflects the authentic teaching
of the Gospel of life".
In this regard, the Pope identified a "matter of deep concern
to us all" as being "the state of the family within
society. ... Divorce and infidelity have increased, and many young
men and women are choosing to postpone marriage or to forego it
altogether". At the same time there exists "an alarming
decrease in the number of Catholic marriages in the United States
together with an increase in cohabitation, in which the Christ-like
mutual self-giving of spouses, sealed by a public promise to live
out the demands of an indissoluble lifelong commitment, is simply
absent".
"It is your task to proclaim boldly the arguments from faith
and reason in favour of the institution of marriage, understood
as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, open to the
transmission of life. This message should resonate with people
today, because it is essentially an unconditional and unreserved
'yes' to life, a 'yes' to love, and a 'yes' to the aspirations
at the heart of our common humanity, as we strive to fulfil our
deep yearning for intimacy with others and with the Lord.
"Among the countersigns to the Gospel of life", the
Pope added, "found in America and elsewhere, is one that
causes deep shame: the sexual abuse of minors" by the clergy.
"It is your God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up
the wounds caused by every breach of trust, to foster healing,
to promote reconciliation and to reach out with loving concern
to those so seriously wronged".
"While it must be remembered that the overwhelming majority
of clergy and religious in America do outstanding work in bringing
the liberating message of the Gospel to the people entrusted to
their care, it is vitally important that the vulnerable always
be shielded from those who would cause harm".
Children, said the Holy Father, "have a right to be educated
in authentic moral values rooted in the dignity of the human person.
... We need to reassess urgently the values underpinning society,
so that a sound moral formation can be offered to young people
and adults alike. ...Indeed, every member of society can contribute
to this moral renewal and benefit from it".
Turning his attention to priests, the Pope highlighted the fact
that they too "need your guidance and closeness during this
difficult time. ... At this stage a vital part of your task is
to strengthen relationships with your clergy, especially in those
cases where tension has arisen between priests and their bishops
in the wake of the crisis. It is important that you continue to
show them your concern, to support them, and to lead by example".
"We need to rediscover the joy of living a Christ-centred
life, cultivating the virtues and immersing ourselves in prayer",
the Pope concluded his homily. "Time spent in prayer is never
wasted, however urgent the duties that press upon us from every
side".
During the course of his meeting with the U.S. prelates, three
bishops posed questions to the Holy Father.
In the first question, the Holy Father was asked to give his assessment
of the challenges of secularism and relativism, and his advice
on how to confront these challenges more effectively.
"Perhaps", he replied, "America's brand of
secularism poses a particular problem: it allows for professing
belief in God, and respects the public role of religion and the
Churches, but at the same time it can subtly reduce religious
belief to a lowest common denominator. Faith becomes a passive
acceptance that certain things 'out there' are true, but without
practical relevance for everyday life. The result is a growing
separation of faith from life. ... This is aggravated by an individualistic
and eclectic approach to faith and religion: far from a Catholic
approach to 'thinking with the Church', each person believes he
or she has a right to pick and choose".
"What is needed, I am convinced, is a greater sense
of the intrinsic relationship between the Gospel and the natural
law on the one hand, and, on the other, the pursuit of authentic
human good, as embodied in civil law and in personal moral decisions.
In a society that rightly values personal liberty, ... the Gospel
has to be preached and taught as an integral way of life, offering
an attractive and true answer, intellectually and practically,
to real human problems. ... I believe that the Church in America,
at this point in her history, is faced with the challenge of recapturing
the Catholic vision of reality and presenting it, in an engaging
and imaginative way, to a society which markets any number of
recipes for human fulfilment".
The second question put to the Pope concerned Catholics' abandonment
of the practice of the faith, sometimes by an explicit decision,
but often by distancing themselves quietly and gradually from
attendance at Mass and identification with the Church.
"It is becoming more and more difficult, in our Western societies,
to speak in a meaningful way of 'salvation'", said Benedict
XVI. "Yet salvation - deliverance from the reality of evil,
and the gift of new life and freedom in Christ - is at the heart
of the Gospel. We need to discover, as I have suggested, new and
engaging ways of proclaiming this message. ... It is in the Church's
liturgy, and above all in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, that
these realities are most powerfully expressed and lived in the
life of believers; perhaps we still have much to do in realising
the Council's vision of the liturgy as the exercise of the common
priesthood and the impetus for a fruitful apostolate in the world".
Finally, answering a question on the decline in vocations, Pope
Benedict recalled how "the ability to cultivate vocations
to the priesthood and the religious life is a sure sign of the
health of a local Church" and he reaffirmed the importance
of prayer. "Nor am I speaking only of prayer for vocations",
he added. "Prayer itself, born in Catholic families, nurtured
by programs of Christian formation, strengthened by the grace
of the Sacraments, is the first means by which we come to know
the Lord's will for our lives".
Before concluding the Pope also acknowledged "the immense
suffering endured by the people of God in the archdiocese of New
Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina, as well as their courage
in the challenging work of rebuilding". He also presented
Archbishop Alfred Hughes of New Orleans with a chalice, "as
a sign of my prayerful solidarity with the faithful of the archdiocese".
This morning, Benedict XVI was scheduled to celebrate 10am Mass
at the Nationals Park Stadium of Washington D.C., which has capacity
for 45,000 spectators and is the most modern baseball stadium
in the United States.
At 5 pm today, the Pope is due to meet representatives from the
Catholic academic world at the Catholic University of Washington.
Subsequently, he will go on to meet Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist
and Jainist representatives at the Pope John Paul II Cultural
Centre, a structure that includes a study centre on the Magisterium
of the Polish Pontiff and of the Catholic Church, a permanent
exhibition on Karol Wojtyla, and displays of works of art from
the Vatican. Afterwards, in the Pope John Paul II Centre's Polish
National Room, he will briefly greet representatives of the Jewish
community to whom he will consign a Message for the Feast of the
Passover, which begins on Saturday 19 April.
After the ceremony, the Pope will return to the apostolic nunciature
in Washington D.C. where he will dine and spend the night.
© Independent Catholic News 2008
Contact Independent
Catholic News tel/fax:
+44 (0)20 7267 3616 or email
Chaplain • Latest news • Archive • Listings • Pictures •