VATICAN CITY, JUN 26, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning received the bishops of Ireland at the conclusion of their quinquennial "ad limina" visit and focussed on the Great Jubilee, saying that this "requires the Shepherds of the Church to intensify their efforts in the new evangelization needed to lay solid foundations for Christian living in the next millennium."
He remarked that "recent years have witnessed many changes in Irish society," some making it difficult to evangelize, while others demonstrate that "many of the faithful are eager to have a more enlightened knowledge of the faith." Examples of the latter, he said, are "the spread of prayer groups, Eucharistic adoration and pilgrimages, as well as the laity's increased involvement in evangelization."
"It is also true that the exaggerated individualism which sometimes accompanies increased material prosperity has brought in its wake a declining sense of God's presence and of the transcendent meaning of human life. The relativism which then takes hold often leads to a rejection of the objective foundations of morality and an overly subjective understanding of conscience."
The Holy Father underscored that "today it is often the laity who must be in the forefront in seeking to apply the Church's teaching to the ethical, moral and social questions which arise in their communities or at the national level. ... In this they look to the bishops for encouragement and leadership."
The Pope then turned to the fact that "the knowledge of the truth of the faith and religious practices, especially among young adults, is declining. Certainly, some of the reasons for this are external to the Church. But others fall within that watchfulness which is an essential part of the ministry of bishops."
"In the new evangelization," affirmed John Paul II, "marriage and the family must be the subject of intense pastoral action," in particular through "pre-marriage preparation. ... New ideas and new energies are needed to meet the needs of couples in difficulty, and in particular to reach out promptly and efficaciously to women facing pressures to reject the unborn life they bear. The new evangelization involves a strenuous defense of the right to life, the most basic of all human rights - more basic than any individual's, group's or government's right to choose."
The Pope urged the bishops to "have a close relationship with" and "to offer inspiration and encouragement to "their priests, their closest collaborators. He said he had been "close" to the bishops "in suffering and prayer" in the question of "those who have been victims of sexual abuse on the part of clerics or religious. ... These scandals, and a sociological concept of the Church, sometimes lead to a call for a change in the discipline of celibacy. ... The difficulties involved in preserving chastity are not sufficient reason for overturning the law of celibacy."
He observed that "a rejuvenation of the faith in Ireland can only come from a genuine renewal of liturgical and sacramental life, especially in the Eucharist, the source and summit of the Church's life. ... Reverence for the True Presence ... is particularly needed now when so much of today's culture tends to remain at the level of the ephemeral and superficial."
In concluding remarks, Pope John Paul quoted his Apostolic Letter "Tertio Millennio Adveniente" and reiterated his intention that the forthcoming Jubilee Year be "a year of the remission of sins and of the punishments due to them, a year of reconciliation between disputing parties, a year of manifold conversions and of sacramental and extra-sacramental penance." He urged them to "emphasize" the Sacrament of Penance in order to counteract "prevailing trends in contemporary culture (which) weaken the sense of sin, particularly because of a diminished consciousness of God."
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