VATICAN CITY, 10 OCT 2008 (VIS) - The Eighth General Congregation of the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops took place in the Vatican's Synod Hall this morning in the presence of the Holy Father. The president delegate on duty was Cardinal George Pell, archbishop of Sydney, Australia.
Extracts from some of the speeches are given below:
CARDINAL VINKO PULJIC, ARCHBISHOP OF VRHBOSNA AND PRESIDENT OF THE BISHOPS' CONFERENCE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. "With all my heart, I support the idea that 'the service of lay people requires different competencies and skills which call for a specific biblical formation'. ... In this context the 'Instrumentum' recalls that 'catechesis in families, with deeper study of certain biblical episodes and the preparation of the Sunday liturgy, is a privileged way to encounter God Who speaks to us'. ... In countries that have recently emerged from socialist regimes, the Church needs lay faithful who live the Gospel of Christ intensely in the family and in society, and who once again take on their role in the mission of the ecclesial community. Family preparation for the Day of the Lord can be a real 'kairos' for them".
BISHOP EMMANUEL FELEMOU OF KANKAN, GUINEA. "The effectiveness of the revealed Word of Jesus Christ lies in its divine power which frees peoples from the imperfections in their knowledge of God, from their fear and errors, from their uncertainties and doubts. God's love is perceived by the various African social classes as the fulfillment of their expectations. ... The nearness of Jesus Christ and the positive transformation of all cultures through His Word are characteristics that attract and convince our people, enabling them to purify their culture, particularly their vision of God's will and of truth in all its splendor. Although the one God was already known in our cultures, what was missing was that clarity and perfection in which love is no longer only to be shared with brothers in blood but with everyone, that clarity and perfection in which, when we want to demonstrate how powerful we are, we forgive our enemy instead of poisoning him. I do not mean to suggest that forgiveness did not exist before, but this reality needed the word of Christ, His knowledge and His example".
HIS BEATITUDE FOUAD TWAL, PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM OF THE LATINS. "The Israel-Palestinian conflict creates problems in reading and understanding certain passages of the Bible. Thus, Arab Christians, in general, often find difficulties in reading the Old Testament, not because of the Word of God, but because of the political and ideological interpretations. Two principles protect us from political and ideological interpretations. (1) To read and interpret the Word of God in the light of Christ. Jesus said: 'Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them'. Christ took back and summarized all categories of the Old Testament in Himself, to give them new impulse and new meaning (He 'fulfilled' them). The Old Testament is read and understood in Him and through Him. (2) The second principle for interpretation is the Church. Any interpretation outside the Church is a dangerous one. To conclude, I would like to take the occasion of the presence of the Holy Father and of all the Synod Fathers to make an appeal for the Holy Land and ask for more prayer, more solidarity and more pilgrimages to help us be the witnesses of Christ, Messiah, Saviour 'not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to earth's remotest end'".
ARCHBISHOP CHARLES MAUNG BO, S.D.B., OF YANGON, MYANMAR. "The Gospel mandate of 'feeding the hungry, clothing the naked' emerged forcefully after the recent attack of the deadly cyclone Nargis. Nearly 150,000 people died and 2 million people became refugees in their own land. The nation was in mourning. With the help of the Lord we have brought life back to many communities. The churches became the refugee camps. In those camps we had a unique liturgy - of breaking the Word through our accompaniment and sharing the bread through assistance. The world became our altar and we broke bread of human fellowship with the shattered masses. The Gospel preached was the food to the hungry that provoked life and the light that we gave the last five months".
ARCHBISHOP JESUS PEREZ RODRIGUEZ, O.F.M., OF SUCRE, BOLIVIA. "In undertaking catechesis in the community attention must be given to forms of textual analysis that ensure, on the one hand, respect for the holy text and, on the other, correct interpretations for the lives of individuals and peoples. The Bible must be understood as the source of catechesis and not just as an education resource or a simple support to content. It is important to distinguish catechesis in a general sense from biblical catechesis. It is necessary that the biblical text should reach everyone, beginning with children. The Church in Bolivia finds herself unable to guarantee this; hence she asks other Churches with greater financial resources to help those with less to acquire copies of Sacred Scripture. In the same way, we feel that a World Bible Day could be established, because a number of countries already have not just a Bible Day but also a Bible Month".
BISHOP MIGUEL ANGEL SEBASTIAN MARTINEZ M.C.C.I., OF LAI, CHAD. "I speak to you in name of the Episcopal Conference of Chad. This central African country has not been evangelised for many years. ... Christians come together on Sundays, but many of them do so only for the celebration of the Word because we do not have enough priests. In our country we are experiencing a conflictory social and political situation, above all due to an interminable war that has lasted more than 40 years. We are convinced that the Word of God is a Word of peace, a Word that announces and invokes peace, that calls for forgiveness, reconciliation and justice. Prayer and listening to the Word of God are essential to the life and mission of our Church. This is a challenge for us. The Word of God illuminates us and encourages us to commit to promoting the men and women of Chad".
SE/EIGHTH CONGREGATION/... VIS 20081010 (1050)
Extracts from some of the speeches are given below:
CARDINAL VINKO PULJIC, ARCHBISHOP OF VRHBOSNA AND PRESIDENT OF THE BISHOPS' CONFERENCE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. "With all my heart, I support the idea that 'the service of lay people requires different competencies and skills which call for a specific biblical formation'. ... In this context the 'Instrumentum' recalls that 'catechesis in families, with deeper study of certain biblical episodes and the preparation of the Sunday liturgy, is a privileged way to encounter God Who speaks to us'. ... In countries that have recently emerged from socialist regimes, the Church needs lay faithful who live the Gospel of Christ intensely in the family and in society, and who once again take on their role in the mission of the ecclesial community. Family preparation for the Day of the Lord can be a real 'kairos' for them".
BISHOP EMMANUEL FELEMOU OF KANKAN, GUINEA. "The effectiveness of the revealed Word of Jesus Christ lies in its divine power which frees peoples from the imperfections in their knowledge of God, from their fear and errors, from their uncertainties and doubts. God's love is perceived by the various African social classes as the fulfillment of their expectations. ... The nearness of Jesus Christ and the positive transformation of all cultures through His Word are characteristics that attract and convince our people, enabling them to purify their culture, particularly their vision of God's will and of truth in all its splendor. Although the one God was already known in our cultures, what was missing was that clarity and perfection in which love is no longer only to be shared with brothers in blood but with everyone, that clarity and perfection in which, when we want to demonstrate how powerful we are, we forgive our enemy instead of poisoning him. I do not mean to suggest that forgiveness did not exist before, but this reality needed the word of Christ, His knowledge and His example".
HIS BEATITUDE FOUAD TWAL, PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM OF THE LATINS. "The Israel-Palestinian conflict creates problems in reading and understanding certain passages of the Bible. Thus, Arab Christians, in general, often find difficulties in reading the Old Testament, not because of the Word of God, but because of the political and ideological interpretations. Two principles protect us from political and ideological interpretations. (1) To read and interpret the Word of God in the light of Christ. Jesus said: 'Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them'. Christ took back and summarized all categories of the Old Testament in Himself, to give them new impulse and new meaning (He 'fulfilled' them). The Old Testament is read and understood in Him and through Him. (2) The second principle for interpretation is the Church. Any interpretation outside the Church is a dangerous one. To conclude, I would like to take the occasion of the presence of the Holy Father and of all the Synod Fathers to make an appeal for the Holy Land and ask for more prayer, more solidarity and more pilgrimages to help us be the witnesses of Christ, Messiah, Saviour 'not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to earth's remotest end'".
ARCHBISHOP CHARLES MAUNG BO, S.D.B., OF YANGON, MYANMAR. "The Gospel mandate of 'feeding the hungry, clothing the naked' emerged forcefully after the recent attack of the deadly cyclone Nargis. Nearly 150,000 people died and 2 million people became refugees in their own land. The nation was in mourning. With the help of the Lord we have brought life back to many communities. The churches became the refugee camps. In those camps we had a unique liturgy - of breaking the Word through our accompaniment and sharing the bread through assistance. The world became our altar and we broke bread of human fellowship with the shattered masses. The Gospel preached was the food to the hungry that provoked life and the light that we gave the last five months".
ARCHBISHOP JESUS PEREZ RODRIGUEZ, O.F.M., OF SUCRE, BOLIVIA. "In undertaking catechesis in the community attention must be given to forms of textual analysis that ensure, on the one hand, respect for the holy text and, on the other, correct interpretations for the lives of individuals and peoples. The Bible must be understood as the source of catechesis and not just as an education resource or a simple support to content. It is important to distinguish catechesis in a general sense from biblical catechesis. It is necessary that the biblical text should reach everyone, beginning with children. The Church in Bolivia finds herself unable to guarantee this; hence she asks other Churches with greater financial resources to help those with less to acquire copies of Sacred Scripture. In the same way, we feel that a World Bible Day could be established, because a number of countries already have not just a Bible Day but also a Bible Month".
BISHOP MIGUEL ANGEL SEBASTIAN MARTINEZ M.C.C.I., OF LAI, CHAD. "I speak to you in name of the Episcopal Conference of Chad. This central African country has not been evangelised for many years. ... Christians come together on Sundays, but many of them do so only for the celebration of the Word because we do not have enough priests. In our country we are experiencing a conflictory social and political situation, above all due to an interminable war that has lasted more than 40 years. We are convinced that the Word of God is a Word of peace, a Word that announces and invokes peace, that calls for forgiveness, reconciliation and justice. Prayer and listening to the Word of God are essential to the life and mission of our Church. This is a challenge for us. The Word of God illuminates us and encourages us to commit to promoting the men and women of Chad".
SE/EIGHTH CONGREGATION/... VIS 20081010 (1050)
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