VATICAN CITY, 14 OCT 2008 (VIS) - The Thirteenth General Congregation of the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops took place this morning in the presence of the Holy Father and 241 Synod Fathers. The president delegate on duty was Cardinal George Pell, archbishop of Sydney, Australia.
Following are excerpts from the speeches given:
CARDINAL SECRETARY OF STATE TARCISIO BERTONE S.D.B. "There exists widespread indifference towards a faith communicated through Sacred Scripture, ... an indifference accompanied by considerable levels of ignorance and above all by a difficulty in perceiving the importance Scripture has for life. ... Nonetheless in many young people we note a surprising openness to the Bible ... not so much - at least not at first - for the authoritative nature of a biblical text called Word of God, but for the adults who accompany them as patient educators and credible witnesses to the greatest figure, that of Jesus, in other words people who when they say 'Word of God' demonstrate it with their lives. If the adult, as friend-educator, manages to open the door of a young person's heart, then Scripture may be seen as a gift that brings with it all the qualities of the Word of God".
CARDINAL EMMANUEL III DELLY, PATRIARCH OF BABYLON OF THE CHALDEANS, IRAQ. "I am a son of the land of Abraham, Iraq. ... We have tried everything to obtain peace and serenity for the country. The situation in some parts of Iraq is disastrous and tragic. Life is a Calvary: peace and security are lacking , just as the fundamental elements in daily life. Electricity, water, fuel continue to be lacking. ... All fear kidnapping, abduction and intimidation. ... Not to mention the ever growing number of deaths caused by car bombs and kamikazes wearing explosive belts. To live the Word of God means to us to bear witness to it to the cost of our own lives, as has occurred and still occurs till now with the sacrifice of the bishops, priests and faithful. ... Because of this, I beg of you to pray the Lord Jesus, the Word of God, for us and with us, and share our concern, our hopes and the suffering of our wounded, so that the Word of God made flesh stay in His Church and with us as a good news and as support. Sixteen of our priests and two bishops have been kidnapped and were released after paying a very high ransom. Some of them belong to a line of new martyrs that today pray for us from the heavens: Archbishop Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Fr. Raghid Ganni, other two priests and other six young persons".
BISHOP JAVIER ECHEVARRIA RODRIGUEZ, PRELATE OF OPUS DEI. "In the lives of the saints the meeting with the Word of God through the reading of Holy Scripture produced a radical existential change We must all, priests and lay persons, seek to have a profound thirst for Jesus Christ, living every scene from the Gospel as one character among the others. ... It is appropriate that during the Sacrament of Confession we pastors frequently advise the faithful to read the Gospel, teaching them how to participate in what is recounted there and urging those who confess to give the same advice to colleagues, family members and friends. ... What all we Christians must do, like the saints, is seek to bring these texts into our daily lives that they may be transformed. ... It would be advantageous to promote initiatives fostering the spread of this attitude of prayer and interior concentration towards the Gospel, so that real impact on our daily lives can be made. Furthermore I believe it would also be appropriate to ensure that the texts of the Mass are read well, that is to say truly lived, not as declamation but with the certainty that God is speaking to the community".
BISHOP JOSEPH NGUYEN CHI LINH, OF THANH HOA, VIETNAM. "The Gospel was proclaimed for the first time in our land at the beginning of the 16th century within the painful context of a civil war between two kingdoms of fraternal enemies. ... Immersed in a history interwoven with hatred, ideological wars and discrimination, our Christians remain more than ever convinced that only in the Word of God can they persevere in love, joy, peace, communion and tolerance. ... One episode merits particular mention to show how the Word of God continues to sustain the Church in Vietnam: the mass conversion of thousands of members of ethnic minorities shortly after the canonisation of 117 Vietnamese martyrs in 1988. The strange thing is that many of them admitted they had listened to a Protestant radio station in Manila, Philippines, but converted to Catholicism. Thus the Protestants sow and the Catholics reap. The Word of God, ringing out from afar and reaching their ears, became a source of hope for these people, who live among the mountains deprived of everything and without a future. In conclusion, as a Vietnamese Christian I would like to reiterate my conviction that amidst persecutions our greatest grace is faithfulness to the Word of God".
ANDREA RICCARDI, FOUNDER OF THE SANT'EGIDIO COMMUNITY. "Gregory the Great teaches us that the Word grows with he who reads it. It enlightens the poor, guiding us to understand that to be close to them is to be close to Christ Himself. Thus emerges the structural dimension of the Christian: the disciple. ... At a time of a whirlwind of words, the Word matures in silence. ... At times the Word is chained by projects, protagonists, and ideological readings. ... To evangelize is not a technique, but to overflow with the Word. The Synod can be the right moment to promote a mature season of love for Scripture in the people of God. Strengthened by a century of biblical culture, is it not time to develop devotion to the Sacred Text among the people of God? Christian men and women will thus become - as Chrysostom says - 'simple with intelligence' in a complex world".
LUIS FERNANDO FIGARI, SUPERIOR GENERAL OF THE "SODALITIUM VITAE CHRISTIANAE", PERU. "In 'Ecclesiam suam', Pope Paul VI pointed out the communicative dimension of divine Revelation. ... The incarnated Eternal Word speaks a human language and makes manifest the mystery of God and His Plan, just as it indicates the mystery of human beings, the greatness of their vocation and the horizon of their personal fulfillment. ... Fundamental to this path is mastering active silence. This involves not only listening but doing so 'in Ecclesia', opening the heart to interior life and to adherence to the Word of God. The Word, heard and accepted, inspires faith in our minds transforming our criteria until we attain the 'mind of Christ'. ... And it promotes faith in action, in the awareness that blessed are they who 'listen to the Word, put it into practice'".
SE/THIRTEENTH CONGREGATION/... VIS 20081014 (1160)
Following are excerpts from the speeches given:
CARDINAL SECRETARY OF STATE TARCISIO BERTONE S.D.B. "There exists widespread indifference towards a faith communicated through Sacred Scripture, ... an indifference accompanied by considerable levels of ignorance and above all by a difficulty in perceiving the importance Scripture has for life. ... Nonetheless in many young people we note a surprising openness to the Bible ... not so much - at least not at first - for the authoritative nature of a biblical text called Word of God, but for the adults who accompany them as patient educators and credible witnesses to the greatest figure, that of Jesus, in other words people who when they say 'Word of God' demonstrate it with their lives. If the adult, as friend-educator, manages to open the door of a young person's heart, then Scripture may be seen as a gift that brings with it all the qualities of the Word of God".
CARDINAL EMMANUEL III DELLY, PATRIARCH OF BABYLON OF THE CHALDEANS, IRAQ. "I am a son of the land of Abraham, Iraq. ... We have tried everything to obtain peace and serenity for the country. The situation in some parts of Iraq is disastrous and tragic. Life is a Calvary: peace and security are lacking , just as the fundamental elements in daily life. Electricity, water, fuel continue to be lacking. ... All fear kidnapping, abduction and intimidation. ... Not to mention the ever growing number of deaths caused by car bombs and kamikazes wearing explosive belts. To live the Word of God means to us to bear witness to it to the cost of our own lives, as has occurred and still occurs till now with the sacrifice of the bishops, priests and faithful. ... Because of this, I beg of you to pray the Lord Jesus, the Word of God, for us and with us, and share our concern, our hopes and the suffering of our wounded, so that the Word of God made flesh stay in His Church and with us as a good news and as support. Sixteen of our priests and two bishops have been kidnapped and were released after paying a very high ransom. Some of them belong to a line of new martyrs that today pray for us from the heavens: Archbishop Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Fr. Raghid Ganni, other two priests and other six young persons".
BISHOP JAVIER ECHEVARRIA RODRIGUEZ, PRELATE OF OPUS DEI. "In the lives of the saints the meeting with the Word of God through the reading of Holy Scripture produced a radical existential change We must all, priests and lay persons, seek to have a profound thirst for Jesus Christ, living every scene from the Gospel as one character among the others. ... It is appropriate that during the Sacrament of Confession we pastors frequently advise the faithful to read the Gospel, teaching them how to participate in what is recounted there and urging those who confess to give the same advice to colleagues, family members and friends. ... What all we Christians must do, like the saints, is seek to bring these texts into our daily lives that they may be transformed. ... It would be advantageous to promote initiatives fostering the spread of this attitude of prayer and interior concentration towards the Gospel, so that real impact on our daily lives can be made. Furthermore I believe it would also be appropriate to ensure that the texts of the Mass are read well, that is to say truly lived, not as declamation but with the certainty that God is speaking to the community".
BISHOP JOSEPH NGUYEN CHI LINH, OF THANH HOA, VIETNAM. "The Gospel was proclaimed for the first time in our land at the beginning of the 16th century within the painful context of a civil war between two kingdoms of fraternal enemies. ... Immersed in a history interwoven with hatred, ideological wars and discrimination, our Christians remain more than ever convinced that only in the Word of God can they persevere in love, joy, peace, communion and tolerance. ... One episode merits particular mention to show how the Word of God continues to sustain the Church in Vietnam: the mass conversion of thousands of members of ethnic minorities shortly after the canonisation of 117 Vietnamese martyrs in 1988. The strange thing is that many of them admitted they had listened to a Protestant radio station in Manila, Philippines, but converted to Catholicism. Thus the Protestants sow and the Catholics reap. The Word of God, ringing out from afar and reaching their ears, became a source of hope for these people, who live among the mountains deprived of everything and without a future. In conclusion, as a Vietnamese Christian I would like to reiterate my conviction that amidst persecutions our greatest grace is faithfulness to the Word of God".
ANDREA RICCARDI, FOUNDER OF THE SANT'EGIDIO COMMUNITY. "Gregory the Great teaches us that the Word grows with he who reads it. It enlightens the poor, guiding us to understand that to be close to them is to be close to Christ Himself. Thus emerges the structural dimension of the Christian: the disciple. ... At a time of a whirlwind of words, the Word matures in silence. ... At times the Word is chained by projects, protagonists, and ideological readings. ... To evangelize is not a technique, but to overflow with the Word. The Synod can be the right moment to promote a mature season of love for Scripture in the people of God. Strengthened by a century of biblical culture, is it not time to develop devotion to the Sacred Text among the people of God? Christian men and women will thus become - as Chrysostom says - 'simple with intelligence' in a complex world".
LUIS FERNANDO FIGARI, SUPERIOR GENERAL OF THE "SODALITIUM VITAE CHRISTIANAE", PERU. "In 'Ecclesiam suam', Pope Paul VI pointed out the communicative dimension of divine Revelation. ... The incarnated Eternal Word speaks a human language and makes manifest the mystery of God and His Plan, just as it indicates the mystery of human beings, the greatness of their vocation and the horizon of their personal fulfillment. ... Fundamental to this path is mastering active silence. This involves not only listening but doing so 'in Ecclesia', opening the heart to interior life and to adherence to the Word of God. The Word, heard and accepted, inspires faith in our minds transforming our criteria until we attain the 'mind of Christ'. ... And it promotes faith in action, in the awareness that blessed are they who 'listen to the Word, put it into practice'".
SE/THIRTEENTH CONGREGATION/... VIS 20081014 (1160)
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