SEVENTH GENERAL CONGREGATION

VATICAN CITY, OCT 6, 2005 (VIS) - The Seventh General Congregation of the Eleventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops began at 4.30 p.m. today in the Vatican's Synod Hall. The president delegate on duty was Cardinal Francis Arinze, and 243 Synod Fathers participated. The Holy Father was present from 6 p.m.

  Following are excerpts from a number of the speeches given:

BISHOP LUCIO ANDRICE MUANDULA OF XAI-XAI, MOZAMBIQUE. "On the basis of the supposition that the Eucharist is the 'source and summit of the life and mission of the Church,' and considering the fact that current statistics confirm the great shortage of priests in the world, I feel we must ask to what point an ecclesial community deprived of the Sacrament of the Eucharist can achieve the dynamism of life that enables it to transform itself into a missionary community, one capable of joyfully accomplishing the missionary project with which the Lord Jesus Himself entrusted us? ... For this reason we must insist on a fair redistribution of priests in the world, as Synod Fathers have so often asked. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to propose once again to the entire Church, and especially to priests, a 'Eucharistic spirituality' characterized by gratitude for the sacrifice of Christ, Who gives Himself as Eucharistic bread that we might all achieve the new life of grace."

CARDINAL ANTONIO MARIA ROUCO VARELA, ARCHBISHOP OF MADRID, SPAIN. "Vatican Council II brought together, in a beautifully concise theological synthesis, the doctrinal and pastoral fruits of the liturgical, spiritual and apostolic renewal of Church life in the first half of the twentieth century. ... (But) attention must also be given to the antithesis of the Council, as represented by radically secularized interpretations of the content, significance and ways of celebrating the Eucharistic Sacrament 'fons et culmen totius vitae christianae.' Nor must we forget the obstacle presented by the questioning of liturgical reform on the part of small groups. And so, we have reached the moment for a new doctrinal and pastoral synthesis in order to clarify and overcome this antithesis: by way of a Paschal renovation of the doctrine, catechesis and practical experience of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, wherein Christ's sacrifice and priestly oblation are conveyed ... by way of canonical and pastoral education ... that eliminates subjectivism and arbitrariness in the celebration of the Eucharist; ... and by fomenting a Eucharistic spirituality based on the habit and experience of adoring the Sacrament par excellence, 'the Sacrament of the Love of Loves'."

CARDINAL GODFRIED DANNEELS, ARCHBISHOP OF MALINES-BRUXELLES, BELGIUM. "This Eucharistic Synod has two objectives. In the first place, we wish to reflect upon and deepen our knowledge of the richness of the mystery of the Eucharist. ... The second objective is to work so that all this richness may take root in a postmodern culture which, ... at first view, is unfavorable to such a seed. And yet our culture is full of paradoxes. ... It is difficult for modern man to perceive the invisible, yet there exists real interest in what lies beyond the horizon, beyond the realm of the senses, beyond the rational, beyond efficiency and productivity. Modern man is, above all, a man of action, yet the same man also conceals within a great thirst for gratitude, for giving; he does not like rites because of their repetitiveness and monotony, yet he is always inventing his own rites. Christian eschatology appears to be forgotten, even deceptive, yet never has there been so much thirst for a better world, nor so much need for hope. ... Modern man wants to move, and our liturgies have frequently become very active, even activist. But we forget that many of our contemporaries have a real need for silence. Not always have we well understood the meaning of 'actuosa participatio,' which also implies silence in the face of the mystery. All these elements of our culture carry within themselves the seeds for an evangelization of that culture."

ARCHBISHOP LUCIAN MURESAN OF FAGARAS AND ALBA IULIA OF THE ROMANIANS, ROMANIA. "In Romania the communists tried to give man material bread alone, and sought to expel 'the bread of God' from society and from the human heart. ... Priests were imprisoned simply for being Catholic, so they could not celebrate or speak about God. Even lay people who participated in clandestine Masses suffered the same fate. In the famous period of 're-education' and 'brainwashing' in the Romanian prisons, to compromise priests, to ridicule the Eucharist and to destroy human dignity, the persecutors made them celebrate with excrement, but they never succeeded in destroying their faith. ... How many humiliations, when during winters at minus 30 degrees they were undressed for body searches; how many days spent in the famous 'black room' as a punishment for having been caught in prayer? No one will ever know, ever. These modern martyrs of the 20th Century offered all their suffering to the Lord for dignity and human freedom. ... There is no lack of hope, and I think first of all of the deep religious sense of our people, the deep devotion with which they approach liturgical celebrations and the Eucharist."

BISHOP NESTOR NGOY KATAHWA OF KOLWEZI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. "In a country such as Congo-Kinshasa, the Catholic faithful must be 'initiated to bring their sufferings to the altar,' sufferings which are those of all the people and which have existed for decades. The frustration that arises from injustice and social inequalities, the rancor of living in extreme poverty on an extremely rich soil and under soil, scandalously exploited for the well being of others, the wars that lead to destruction and forced displacement, the upheavals of tribal and ethnic hatred, to mention just a few examples, are tragedies that mark the way of the cross of the people of the Congo. Being the victims and, at the same time, 'authors of their own misery,' the people must be illuminated 'by the mystery of the sacrificed Body and spilt Blood' to find grace of conversion, purification of sin, sincerity of reconciliation with God and with others, and commitment to fight evil under all forms and in all areas of public and private life. May all the people of the Congo, together with the pastors of the Church, find in the Eucharist the necessary consolation and strength, the source of their hopes for improving the country as quickly as possible."

ARCHBISHOP CHARLES MAUNG BO, S.D.B., OF YANGON, MYANMAR. "Over 2,500 parishes around the world now have perpetual Eucharistic adoration. About 500 in the Philippines, the United States has about 1,100 chapels of perpetual adoration, the Republic of Ireland about 150, South Korea has about 70 and lesser numbers in India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Holy Father, if the perpetual adoration chapels were to be established in all the dioceses in the world and in all possible parishes, what a magnificent result that  would be for the Eucharistic Year. ... This is true: until the Church cries out that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is worthy of perpetual adoration for all He has done for our salvation, she will continue to be defeated by her enemies. I believe that the best, the surest and the most effective way of establishing everlasting peace on the face of the earth is through the great power of perpetual adoration of the blessed Sacrament."
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