TENTH GENERAL CONGREGATION

VATICAN CITY, OCT 7, 2001 (VIS) - The Tenth General Congregation of the 10th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops began 9 a.m. today in the presence of the Holy Father and 228 synod fathers. The resident delegate on duty was Cardinal Ivan Dias, archbishop of Bombay, India.

Following are excerpts from the speeches of three auditors and four synod fathers:

THERESA EE-CHOI, O.C.D.S., MEMBER OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE LAITY. "We need bishops who have clearly imbibed the very message they are trying to disseminate to the laity by concretely living that message. We also need bishops who are ready to listen to those they are called to serve. Authority in the Church is not in order to have power but rather to empower. True authority consists in activating the potential of those to whose service one is given responsibility. In our Church today, we find in our laity a huge reservoir of talent and expertise just waiting to be called on in the service of the Kingdom. Lay people need to be invited and challenged, not just because in many places there is a decreasing number of priests and religious, but because the lay vocation is a true following of the Gospel message."

ANNE-MARIE PELLETIER, PROFESSOR AT THE "INSTITUT CATHOLIQUE" AND THE "ECOLE-CATHEDRAL", PARIS, FRANCE. "A growing number of Christians today open the Scriptures without having the means of an authentic Christian reading. Some approach the text exclusively as a critical problem, and never know it as the Word of God. Others approach it from an emotional point of view which dangerously impoverishes the biblical message. In these conditions, it becomes necessary more than ever for the episcopal ministry to be concerned about opening for the baptized the ways of a fuller reading of the Word of God, favoring the formation of solid exegetes, carrying out in the dioceses a teaching of the lectio divina, since they are, according to the example of the Fathers of the Church, the ones who break the bread of the Word of God."

MARIA CHRISTINA NORONHA DE SA', DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL PASTORAL CARE, ARCHDIOCESE OF SAO SEBASTIAO DO RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL. "I speak from my experience of the Church as the director, for the past 30 years, of the social pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, for homeless children and youth in difficulty. These young people lose the richest part of humanity and lack compassion and solidarity. Christ, however, is there. The most divine humanity is protected in the hearts of these children. Here is where the Church accomplishes her prophetic task, beside the many who are born in the 'mangers' of the streets of the world. It is important to transcend the dichotomy between assistance and social change, it is necessary to convert the world. ... We ask the bishops to help us to discover and live the meaning of the Church, visible presence of Christ, who has conquered sin and death. ... The bishops know they are not alone. They can count on their faithful in the complementarity of communion."

BISHOP CHARLES MAUNG BO, S.D.B., OF PATHEIN, MYANMAR. "We are grateful to the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences for their profound commitment in helping the bishops to become effective guides offering a formation of guidance to the newly ordained bishops. In our opinion, this initiative must be advanced and supported. On the same track, we think that it would be a benefit for the bishops-elect and their future dioceses if the Holy See could gather them together in Rome or another location to offer them some months of formation and direction in the period between election and ordination. With all of this, and, ensuring at the same time that the plans of the preceding bishops and of their pastoral councils continue to be implemented, it would perhaps be possible to establish precise terms for the office of bishop. A term of ten or fifteen years, renewable only once, would give the new bishop a clear idea of what his position is at the outset of his ministry and would enable him to develop his plans accordingly. He can decide to do his best during those years to truly succeed in realizing something during the period in which he is in charge. Knowing he must leave the post to another, he can also be more prudent in his lifestyle and work habits. ... The transferral of a bishop from one diocese to another, certainly also creates great difficulties: a bishop is not a lone guide in the pastoral realm, but is the head of educational programs and development."

CARDINAL JOSEPH RATZINGER, PREFECT OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH. "The munus docendi entrusted to the bishop is a service for the Gospel and for hope. Hope has a face and a name: Jesus Christ, God-with-us. A world without God is a world without hope. Being at the service of hope means to proclaim God with His human face, with the face of Christ. The world thirsts for knowledge, not for our ecclesial problems, but the fire that Jesus brought to the earth. Only if we have become contemporary with Christ and the fire is kindled in us, the proclaimed Gospel will touch upon the hearts of our contemporaries. This proclamation requires the courage of truth and the disposition to suffer for the truth. To enter the apostolic succession also implies entering this battle for the Gospel. In our agnostic and atheistic culture, the bishop, teacher of the faith, is called to discernment of the spirits and of the signs of the time. The problem central to our time is the emptying of the historical figure of Jesus Christ. An impoverished Jesus cannot be the sole Savior and mediator, the God-with-us: thus, Jesus is substituted with the idea of the 'values of the kingdom' and becomes a vain hope. We must clearly turn back to the Jesus in the Gospel, since He alone is also the true historical Jesus. If the bishops have the courage to judge and to decide with authority about this battle for the Gospel, the so hoped for decentralization is automatically achieved. This does not mean making decisions on theological questions by the specialists, but the recognition of the baptismal faith, the foundation of every theology. Faith is the true treasure of the Church."

ARCHBISHOP PAUL JOSEF CORDES, PRESIDENT OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL "COR UNUM". "The great spreading of assistance agencies, active in many nations and often competing among themselves, has effected the objective nature of their work. The charitable institutions hire specialists, create programs, and plan projects. Sources of non-ecclesial funding exclude pastoral and spiritual goals and limit the programs to the social dimension of assistance. Fiscal legislation and the control of the media urge the use of all persons and means offered by the market. This tendency is not completely regrettable per se; in fact, it certainly reinforces the efficacy of assistance given by the Catholic Church and gives it a positive public resonance. However, without a doubt it also contributes to its secularization. Thus, de facto, today many programs for Christian charity are often interchangeable with those of the 'Red Cross' or of the 'United Nations'; Christian management does not influence their goals. Consequently, some ecclesial institutions only see themselves as humanitarian and philanthropic agencies."

CARDINAL GIOVANNI BATTISTA RE, PREFECT OF THE CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS. "Today, much is asked of the bishop:
1. A bishop must, first of all, be conscious of the challenges that today's de-Christianized society bears with it and have the courage to face them with fidelity and coherence, in order to be a witness of hope. A bishop must be a guide, a spiritual leader, who indicates the path to be trodden with words and with witness.
2. To be a true sower of hope, the bishop must dedicate special attention to his clergy, establishing a cordial, direct, simple relation of faith and trust. The bishop must be close to his priests, he must be a father that educates, encourages, guides and corrects them, but he must also be an older brother and a friend.
3. To be an effective witness of hope, the bishop must inspire collaboration. Dialogue is important; it is important that the bishop be accompanied in carrying out decisions and he must know how to listen, but he must be the one to decide, and must decide according to his conscience, in full truth and liberty before God and not based on the numeric weight of his councilors.
4. In these days we have spoken about the various aspects of collegiality. I would like to point out one aspect on the local level: it might prove pastorally efficacious for the metropolitan to exercise a more incisive role, promoting greater collegiality at the local level among the voting bishops, with intense pastoral coordination. Often, the dispositions of the Code about metropolitans are not followed and his role has become insignificant."

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