SEVENTH GENERAL CONGREGATION

VATICAN CITY, OCT 4, 2001 (VIS) - The Seventh General Congregation of the 10th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops began today at 5 p.m. in the presence of the Holy Father and 247 synod fathers. The president delegate on duty was Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

Following are excerpts from several of this evening's speeches:

CARDINAL ALFONSO LOPEZ TRUJILLO, PRESIDENT OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE FAMILY. "Bearing witness to the truth is essential for the courage to be a bishop, especially in the most significant and urgent causes, which today are the Gospel of the family and of life. If the dimension of the challenge is alarming, the capacity of joyful proclamation of this central cause of humanity is stimulating, the growing dynamic of the defence of the family and humanity, which is vital for the future of the Church. Beyond what the dioceses, conferences, parishes and movements may do within the Catholic Church, and in dialogue with peoples, there is increasing hope unfolding in the ecumenical sphere, as we have recently experienced in Romania. ... This good fight, which is also hard and difficult, is a service to humanity in truth, the universe of freedom. It is a service of charity and of maternal tenderness. Is not ensuring a decent way of living, a lifestyle in the family without false alternatives, the way of preserving dignity and freedom, in the realm of a common universal good?"

BISHOP ANTHONY THEODORE LOBO OF ISLAMABAD-RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN. "In many countries, there are serious problems with seminary formation, and consequently with priests. Both diocesan and religious priests, as well as religious women, are abandoning their vocation, even after ten or fifteen years. There is a tendency to be mediocre. This shows itself in the lack of a 'sensus fidei', and a 'sensus ecclesiae' and the lack of priestly piety and zeal. What is missing is the deep, growing, person-to-Person intimate relationship to Christ. One cause of this could be the neglect (if not total exclusion) of popular devotions in the life of seminarians; and later on as priests. According to Karl Rahner, we need both: the objective spirituality of the Bible and Liturgy as well as the subjective spirituality of popular devotions. These are complementary. Without the subjective dimension, there is no foundation or basis on which to build a liturgical life or to live the Word of God. Ironically, neglect of the subjective dimension (devotions) has often led to the neglect of the objective dimension (the breviary, the sacrament of penance)."

ARCHBISHOP RAPHAEL S. NDINGI MWANA'A NZEKI OF NAIROBI, KENYA. "I would like to address the concept of the episcopate as service - a testimony for the world, under the heading of 'availability'.
I. The bishop's availability to God in prayer, meditation and reflection on the Gospel before the Blessed Sacrament on a daily basis. ... This availability to God in prayer and meditation cannot be replaced by anything else. ... II. The bishop's availability to himself. We are human, poor and weak and we carry a heavy responsibility on our shoulders. To serve our people well and to enkindle in them hope and give them courage, we need time to rest. Time to be on our own. ... Time to be for the people and with the people. Time to talk to ourselves, to listen to ourselves. Time to faithfully answer questions concerning our vocation. ...
III. The bishop's availability to his people. Our followers as well as others want us to be there when they need us. Often there is too much delegation of our availability to our collaborators on the pretext that we are too busy. Busy doing what? People come first and then our administration. ... The Petrine ministry has a real meaning for the people here - a concrete and personalized focus."

ARCHBISHOP TADEUSZ GOCLOWSKI OF GDANSK, POLAND. "In his homily at the beginning of the synod, the Pope spoke about the poverty of the bishops. ... Asserting the rights of the poor without politicizing the problem, collaborating with government and non-government organizations above political divisions - this seems to be the right path for the Church to face the problem of poverty in the world. It is not enough to 'dress like a poor man,' rather we must love poverty as Christ. The living image does not only concern poverty. Jesus Christ still exemplifies, as the model to follow, simplicity and humility, so important in the life of the bishop. The bishop must be a father, brother and friend. He cannot be a 'guru', but must be, speaking in contemporary language, a spiritual leader, a leader who guides the society of Christians. The bishop must be the spiritual authority for the brethren. He is the leader in the field of his mission. In this context, we must consider the danger of today's democratic mentality which also seeks to enter the Church. In some places, we can see the people of God who want to elect the bishops or decide, according to their own opinion, what the teaching of the Church should be. At this time we should recall the statement of St. Augustine: 'With you I am a Christian, for you I am a bishop'."

ARCHBISHOP LEONARDO Z. LEGASPI, O.P., OF CACERES, THE PHILIPPINES. "We bishops also wonder what God intends for us to accomplish in this synod whose unexpected rescheduling set it providentially at this crucial moment of humanity's history. Thus, the world awaits our message, our witness, our evidence that in truth we possess credibly and authentically the formula of hope. There are two sectors of humanity that are especially in need of the hope we can offer - the poor and youth. ... What both the poor and youth expect of us are not platitudes but the 'witness of action' which our Instrumentum Laboris emphasized, because hope arises only when it is lived. It is a living and witnessing hope that we must offer, not only as bishops of individual dioceses but as bishops gathered collegially here, that the world might see the universal Church as possessing the message and power to renew and save the world. What witness of lived hope can we offer? For the poor whose despair arises from their servitude to an unjust economic system, the hope we offer must include concrete measures to promote justice and bring about a more equitable distribution of the world's resources. For the youth whose despair arises from the loss of meaning and purpose in life, we need to offer the vision of a Church as a courageous and vibrant community of hope in who's life and work youth can participate as co-architects of a new, Christ-centered humanity."

ARCHBISHOP RAMON OVIDIO PEREZ MORALES OF LOS TEQUES, VENEZUELA. "The laity 'form the numerical majority' of the ecclesial community. Ecclesial and ecclesiological renewal has reinterpreted the layperson as an active and participating protagonist of the prophetic, priestly and regal people. ... The 'new evangelization' is currently being enriched and stimulated thanks to the ministries conferred upon the laypeople, both men and women. This collaboration of the laity with the ordained ministry, parallel with other forms of cooperation 'ad intra' of the ecclesial community (services, councils, etc.) in spite of everything cannot dilute or make us forget that which is specific to the laity: their secular character. ... The 'new evangelization', and consequently the evangelization of culture, involves the entire People of God, though not all of its members and sectors in the same way. The task of the layperson, within the family and in the very heart of the secular world, is to turn the Gospel into lifeblood and leaven of the economy, politics and culture. Thus the laity do not need an 'appointment' for their activity of evangelization of culture. Indeed, they need a bishop to accompany them with adequate spirituality, to respect and understand their decisions, to encourage and comfort them in their commitments, to help and direct them in their formation."

BISHOP MARIO DE GASPERIN GASPERIN OF QUERETARO, MEXICO. "The divine mission of nourishing His people, entrusted by Christ to the Apostle, continues in the bishops, His legitimate successors. ... It is therefore of interest not only to the Supreme Pontiff but all the bishops, that each bishop may have all the legal and pastoral means to fulfil his mission. The Third Conference of the Latin American Episcopate noted 'pastoral planning as a specific, conscious and intentional response to the necessities of evangelization'. ... The bishop must count on the comprehension and collaboration of movements, congregations and religious orders, eliminating parallel pastoral missions and those which decidedly ignore the pastoral plan. This synod must present to the Holy Father proposals which are practicable and operational in order to help correct this situation."

HIS BEATITUDE GREGOIRE III LAHAM, B.S., PATRIARCH OF ANTIOCH FOR THE GREEK-MELCHITES, SYRIA. "It is incorrect to include the Patriarchal Synod under the title of Episcopal Conferences. It is a completely distinct organism. The Patriarchal Synod is the supreme instance of the Eastern Church. It can legislate, elect bishops and patriarchs, and decide disputes. ... The patriarchal institution is a specific entity unique in Eastern ecclesiology. With all respect due to the Petrine ministry, the Patriarchal ministry is equal to it, 'servatis servandis', in Eastern ecclesiology. Until this is taken into consideration by the Roman ecclesiology, no progress will be made in ecumenical dialogue. Furthermore, the Patriarchal ministry is not a Roman creation, it is not the fruit of privileges, conceded or granted by Rome. Such a concept can only harm any possible understanding with Orthodoxy."

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