Vatican City, 16 April 2015 (VIS) –
This morning the prelates of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops
were received in audience by Pope Francis at the end of their “ad
Limina” visit. In the written discourse he handed to them, the Holy
Father writes that for many of them this visit to Rome will recall
the time spent in the Italian capital during their preparation for
ordination to the priesthood. “The many seminarians studying in
this city, like the numerous seminarians in your own country, are an
eloquent sign of God’s goodness to the universal Church and to your
dioceses”.
“While the seeds of a priestly
vocation are sown long before a man arrives at the seminary, first in
the heart of the family”, he notes, “it pertains to seminary
formators to nurture the growth of these vocations. For this reason,
it is imperative that seminarians’ goodwill and earnest desires be
met with a formation that is humanly sound, spiritually deep,
intellectually rich, and pastorally diverse. I am aware of the
challenges which this entails, and I encourage you to strengthen your
efforts, individually within your Dioceses and collectively in your
Episcopal Conference, so that the good work which the Lord is
accomplishing in your candidates for priestly Orders will be brought
to completion”.
“In this Year of Consecrated Life, my
heart is also close to the men and women religious who have renounced
the world for the sake of the kingdom thus bringing many blessings to
the Church and society in Kenya. … The united and selfless efforts
of many Catholics in Kenya are a beautiful witness and example for
the country. In so many ways, the Church is called to offer hope to
the broader culture, a hope based on her unstinting witness to the
newness of life promised by Christ in the Gospel. In this regard,
without wishing to interfere in temporal affairs, the Church must
insist, especially to those who are in positions of leadership and
power, on those moral principles which promote the common good and
the building up of society as a whole. In the fulfilment of her
apostolic mission, the Church must take a prophetic stand in defence
of the poor and against all corruption and abuse of power. She must
do so, in the first place, by example. … In a particular way, I
wish to offer a word of appreciation to the many humble and dedicated
workers in Church-run institutions throughout your country, whose
daily activities bring spiritual and material benefit to countless
people. The Church has contributed, and continues to contribute, to
all of Kenya through a diverse array of schools, institutes,
universities, clinics, hospitals, homes for the sick and dying,
orphanages and social agencies”.
Pope Francis goes on to emphasise that
“the Church in Kenya must always be true to her mission as an
instrument of reconciliation, justice and peace. In fidelity to the
entire patrimony of the faith and moral teaching of the Church, may
you strengthen your commitment to working with Christian and
non-Christian leaders alike, in promoting peace and justice in your
country through dialogue, fraternity and friendship. In this way you
will be able to offer a more unified and courageous denunciation of
all violence, especially that committed in the name of God. This will
bring deeper reassurance and solace to all your fellow citizens”.
He affirms, “With you, I pray for all those who have been killed by
acts of terror or ethnic or tribal hostilities in Kenya as well as
other areas of the continent. I think most especially of the men and
women killed at Garissa University College on Good Friday. May their
souls rest in peace and their loved ones be consoled, and may those
who commit such brutality come to their senses and seek mercy”.
The Pope encourages the prelates in
their pastoral care for the family, and declares his conviction that
as the Church prepares for the Ordinary Synod dedicated to the
pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelisation
“you will continue to assist and strengthen all those families who
are struggling because of broken marriages, infidelity, addiction or
violence”, and asks them to “intensify the Church’s ministry to
youth, forming them to be disciples capable of making permanent and
life-giving commitments – whether to a spouse in marriage, or to
the Lord in the priesthood or religious life”.
Finally, he prays with them the the
forthcoming Jubilee of Mercy may be “a time of great forgiveness,
healing, conversion, and grace for the entire Church in Kenya” and
that, “touched by Christ’s infinite mercy, may all the faithful
be signs of the reconciliation, justice and peace that God wills for
your country, and indeed, all of Africa”.
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