Vatican City, 9 May 2014 (VIS) –
“Your visit provides an opportunity for us to reflect together on
the life of the Church in Ethiopia and Eritrea and to discuss the
joys and challenges which you face daily”, writes the Pope in his
text addressed to the prelates of the Bishops' Conference of the two
countries, at the end of their “ad limina” visit. “Though you
are from different countries and belong to different rites, each with
its own particular richness, your mission in service of Christ and
his Church is the same: to proclaim the Gospel and to build up the
faithful in holiness, unity and charity. When that mission is
exercised in collaboration and mutual support, the Church, united in
the Spirit, breathes with the two lungs of East and West and burns
with love for Christ”.
Pope Francis comments that in our
times, “we require again this missionary spirit to announce the
saving message of new life in Christ to all of society, not only to
those who do not know him, but also to the faithful, so they may hear
once more the freshness of the Gospel and be encouraged to find ever
new and creative ways to live and celebrate their faith”.
He encourages the prelates to be “good
and generous fathers to your priests, present to them and attentive
to their human and spiritual needs, and their ongoing formation in
the priesthood”. He continued, “If they are to be holy and
effective heralds of the Gospel, it is essential that they themselves
be constantly evangelised anew. This should first take place in the
seminary through integral human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral
formation.”
He also mentions the support of the
“many men and women religious who, for many generations, have
generously cooperated in building up your local communities,
reflecting the merciful face of Christ and assisting your Churches in
living out the Gospel”. The Holy Father asks the bishops to
“encourage and support their continued efforts to serve the
spiritual and material needs of the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea
today”.
The Holy Father emphasises that “the
work of evangelisation is not reserved to the clergy or religious,
but is the competence of all the Christian faithful”, and it is
therefore “important to continue to identify and prepare qualified
lay leaders to assist in forming the faithful and thus make present
'the fragrance of Christ’s closeness and his personal gaze'”.
“Many years of conflict and
continuing tensions, in addition to widespread poverty and drought
conditions, have brought great suffering to the people” he
continues, thanking the bishops for the “generous social programmes
which, inspired by the Gospel, you provide in collaboration with
various religious, charitable and governmental agencies, aimed at
alleviating this suffering”. He mentions, in particular, “the
many children you serve who experience hunger and who have been
orphaned because of violence and poverty” and “the young people
who like so many of their friends and family would otherwise flee
their homeland in search of greater opportunities, and risk losing
their lives during dangerous journeys”, as well as “the many
elderly who could so easily be forgotten in the midst of such
hardships”.
“Your efforts on their behalf, which
give such a powerful witness to the love of God in your midst, are an
extraordinary grace for the people. In your loving concern for the
poor and downtrodden, may you continue to seek new opportunities to
cooperate with civil authorities in advancing the common good”, he
concludes.
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