THIRTEENTH GENERAL CONGREGATION

VATICAN CITY, OCT 9, 2001 (VIS) - The Thirteenth General Congregation of the 10th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops began today at 9 a.m. in the presence of the Holy Father and 229 synod fathers. The president delegate on duty was Cardinal Bernard Agre, archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Following are extracts from several of this morning's speeches:

ARCHBISHOP NORBERT WENDELIN MTEGA OF SONGEA, TANZANIA. "The pressing cry from developing countries today is an appeal to 'alleviate poverty'. Let the cry of these poor people be heard today by the international community and by the Churches. They cry for a sign and gesture of hope because they are in a hopeless and helpless situation. Poverty is the root cause of much misery. ... It is the cause of many injustices. Poverty can exist in different types and levels. For us in the third world, the worst type of poverty is ignorance. ... The poor will become poorer and the rich will become richer. ... As bishops we must bring hope to the world of the poor and ignorant. Let us invest in education and, where possible, let us coordinate our efforts with those of our governments."

CARDINAL ANTONIO MARIA ROUCO VARELA, ARCHBISHOP OF MADRID, PRESIDENT OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE, SPAIN. "The true reform of the Church and the authentically Catholic reform of the episcopate have always been together in the history of the Church. It is the same in our time, since Vatican II. ... Thirty-six years later, there have been many fruits of theoretical and practical development of collegiality within the structural realities. One has to ask whether the same has happened with the principle of sacramentality within living realities: growth in sanctity of all the members of the Church, of greater vigour and apostolic and missionary dedication, and also growth in the evangelization and sanctification of temporal realities. Answering this issue is the main challenge of this Synod. The answer cannot neglect an essential element: the widely spread crisis of faith in the old countries of Christian tradition, which also does not stop at the door of Christian communities which 'are also globalized'. The answer should pass through the service of the bishop to the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ for the hope of the world, proclaiming it, teaching it, and showing it as an 'authentic witness' to all: priests, consecrated people, lay faithful, theologians and to public opinion."

CARDINAL MILOSLAV VLK, ARCHBISHOP OF PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC. "The reality of the bishop-servant cannot be understood in an individualistic way, as if the bishop was a kind of 'private contractor'. In carrying out his duty, he is connected to those he serves, and, even before this, to the Pope and the other bishops by their collegiality. ... In the life of the bishop there are therefore two closely related realities: his ministry and the spirituality of communion. The personal attitude of being a servant, and the primary duty to build communion through ministry, walk hand in hand. ... This priority of communion is a sign of the times recognized by the Popes and ecclesial teaching, and confirmed by the Spirit through the flowering of new movements. With their radically evangelical life, these movements are committed to spreading a spirit of communion on all levels in the Church and the society."

CARDINAL WALTER KASPER, PREFECT OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN UNITY. "The ecumenical question is not accessory; it is at the center of the bishop's pastoral activity. The ecumenical commitment is one of the great challenges of the beginning of the new millennium. The most important fruit of the ecumenical dialogue of the last 35 years is the re-found fraternity of all Christians. But today we find ourselves facing new challenges. We recognize that the ecumenical journey will presumably still be long and difficult. We must reflect upon the way in which we can structure the current intermediate period. We cannot yet unite around the one table of the Lord, but we can already do much more together than previously: 1. Ecumenism of life. Not in the sense of something that is added to ecumenical activity, but rather an ecumenism of daily life. 2. Reception and formation. It would already be a great deal if the valid results of ecumenical dialogue were received everywhere. This requires an ecumenical formation for the laity, for priests and for bishops. 3. Ecumenism ad intra. We must practice spirituality of communion first of all in ourselves and make our Church welcoming to the other Churches and ecclesial communities. We must therefore create a better balance in the communion between the particular Churches and the universal Church. 4. Ecumenism as spiritual commitment."

ARCHBISHOP FRANCISCO VITI OF HUAMBO, ANGOLA. "Peace is the communion of united hearts in the awareness of a sole origin. ... I speak of complete peace, that of the sons of God. ... And what could be more contrary to peace than to make war to end wars? War is death, it is separation; it will never build a building-together and less still an acting-together. Peace is dialogue, it is reciprocal listening and patient renewal, as John Paul II tells us in his Messages for the World Day of Peace. ... Dialogue is a part of the wisdom of the nations and reveals the meaning of history. ... For those who would like to make war perpetual, there will always be a pretext against the adversary. Nevertheless, entire countries will be condemned to depopulation and fundamental freedoms will be placed in the hands of the strongest, leaving great multitudes in the wake of history."
BISHOP VICTOR ADIBE CHIKWE OF AHIARA, NIGERIA. "Bishops in those areas that lack vocations should feel free to approach their brother bishops with plenty of vocations for help, while assisting them to train these priests. This will truly be an application of communion and mission cooperation. ... One should not be deterred by the fact that some cases exist of priests who refuse to come back to their home dioceses after their studies in Europe and North America, nor of some priests that get into trouble. One should not lose sight of many priests from the mission countries who are missionaries to other third world countries of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean Islands under difficult conditions. The media seems to have a tendency of blowing problems involving priests of the mission territories out of proportion and context, and often generalizing about them. This does not do any good to the image of the Church, rather it is a calculated attempt to ridicule the Church and her discipline of celibacy. While not condoning the bad behavior of some priests in Africa and elsewhere, it must be strongly noted that there are very many priests who are living out the evangelical councils and bearing witness to the faith."

ARCHBISHOP PAUL K. BAKYENGA OF MBARARA, UGANDA. "Investment in youth, investment in young people, investment in young Churches could be one the priorities of the whole Church as Family of God, in the third millennium. There is however a new phenomenon affecting the populations of these young Churches and their young population. This is the menace of the disease AIDS that has yet no medical cure. The young populations of these young Churches are particularly hit by this disease. There is a generation of orphans who are losing hope in life after losing their parents to the AIDS pandemic. Like sheep without a shepherd, a number of orphans, lacking parental support, turn to millenarian sects which exploit their credulity leading to terrible consequences, such as at Kanungu, in South Western Uganda, in March of 2000. In the current situation, the bishop, mindful of his title as Father and Defender of the Poor, must be close to these orphans so that they may at least acquire life skills for their future."

ARCHBISHOP JOHN OLORUNFEMI ONAIYEKAN OF ABUJA, PRESIDENT OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE, NIGERIA. "On the level of the world Church, there has been appreciable attention given to the world of Islam. The Holy Father, especially during his pastoral visits to many parts of the world, supported by the Roman dicastery for Inter-religious Dialogue, has been doing marvelous work in the promotion of Christian-Muslim dialogue. However, these actions at the top level need to be complimented, balanced and confirmed by appropriate action at the local levels. In most countries, there is an Islamic presence to some degree. In some nations it is dominant and dominating. Countries which seem to have made religious intolerance and fanaticism the basis of state policy should not be allowed to continue to get away with gross violation of human rights in the name of religion. Our country, Nigeria presents a privileged situation of Christian-Muslim dialogue and collaboration. ... There are however occasions every now and again when friction and conflict flare up, at times violent and bloody. These difficulties arise from two main reasons: the utterances and activities of fanatics, sometimes on both sides, and the manipulation of politicians who misuse religion for selfish purposes. The attempt to impose the Sharia as state law is a case in point. Our response to all these challenges includes deepening the faith, patient dialogue and commitment to the pursuit of the common good."

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