VATICAN CITY, OCT 30, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning welcomed the bishops of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and the newly-established territory of Nunavit as they conclude their quinquennial "ad limina" visit.
In his speech to them, in both English and French, the Pope spoke of time and of eternity, highlighted the fact that "Christian living embraces elements both incarnational and eschatological; and our prime concern as pastors is to ensure that there is a balance between them, that the Churches over which we preside in Christ's name are neither too worldly nor too unworldly. ... Crucial here is the question of the relationship between the Church and the world."
"As pastors," John Paul II stated, "we must guide Christ's flock on a path which must avoid the temptations to suppress or to develop in an exaggerated way the separation between the Church and the world, between the Christian message and the culture which prevails in the current world." Above all, he said, the Church, which has been "for men and women of all times and places a precious gift," must have a fruitful dialogue with the world.
"An integral part of this gift," the Pope continued, "is the truth about the human person, created in the image of God." He said that one of the ways that bishops must "humbly and resolutely" serve this truth is in "the defense of the inalienable dignity and the value of life itself. ... The 'Gospel of life' ... is an essential dimension of our obedience to God. Each one has a serious obligation to be at the service of this Gospel."
The Holy Father urged the bishops to make good use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in forming Christians and in helping them to become defenders of life and to have "a solid knowledge of faith and the rules of Christian life."
"To teach the faith and to evangelize," observed Pope John Paul, "is to speak an absolute and universal truth to the world, but it is our duty to speak in appropriate and meaningful ways which make people receptive to that truth. In considering what this entails, Paul VI specified four qualities: ... clarity, humanity, confidence and prudence."
These qualities, the Pope underlined, will serve bishops well because they "are called to be above all ... teachers of the truth."
"Clarity means that we must explain comprehensibly the truth of Revelation and the Church's teachings. We should not simply repeat but explain. In other words, we need a new apologetic ... The new apologetic will also need to breathe a spirit of humanity, that compassionate humility which understands people's anxieties and questions and which is not quick to presume in them ill will or bad faith."
"To speak with confidence will mean that ... we must never lose sight of the fact that the Gospel of Christ is the truth for which all people long, no matter how distant, resistant or hostile they may seem."
"And finally," he said, "prudence, which Paul VI calls practical wisdom and good sense, ... will mean that we can give a clear answer to people who ask: 'What must we do?"
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