Vatican City, 9 May 2015 (VIS) – The
bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique were received this
morning by the Pope at the end of their “ad Limina” visit. In the
written discourse that he handed to them during the audience, he
first recalls Jesus' question to the apostle Peter: “Do you love
me?”, and before the latter's affirmative response He asked him to
be the shepherd to His flock. Christ, Who made Himself poor for us,
requires of the bishops the same love for their own flock, along with
their full availability and complete commitment. He calls them to set
aside false presumptions in order to “wash the feet of those the
Lord has entrusted to us”.
Francis goes on to emphasise that in
the pastoral ministry of the bishops, priests occupy a very special
role as “if God sends us to love our neighbour, the closest
neighbours of a bishop are the priests, indispensable collaborators”,
for whom they must always keep their “heart, hand and door” open.
“Time spent with them is never wasted”, he remarks. The Pope also
comments that the fruitfulness of the episcopal and priestly mission
cannot be measured by the number of collaborators, the prestige of
the institution, or the quantity of resources available. Instead,
what counts is “being pervaded with Christ's love, allowing oneself
to be led by the Holy Spirit, and grafting one's own existence onto
the tree of life, which is the Cross of the Lord”. From St. Paul,
“insuperable model of the Christian missionary, we know that this
means trying to conform to Jesus in His death to participate in His
resurrection”. In his ministry the apostle “experienced
suffering, weakness and defeat, but also joy and consolation”.
“Jesus' paschal ministry is the heart of the mission of the
Church”, affirms Francis. “If you abide in this mystery, you will
be protected both from a worldly and triumphalist vision of the
mission, and the disappointment that may arise when faced with trials
and failures”.
“However, will there continue to be
missionaries like Paul, men and women holding on to Christ's cross,
denuded of everything so as to be able to embrace the Whole?”, asks
the Pope. “We must rejoice for these men and women totally
consecrated to Christ”. He highlights that the witness of men and
women religious in Mozambique, who devote themselves to assisting the
poor, to the education of abandoned children, and helping those
experiencing all kinds of hardship. He also praises the “heroic
dedication” of many doctors and nurses, priests and nuns, who work
in clinics and hospitals, and he invites the bishops to thank them,
underlining the importance of the inclusion of religious communities
in diocesan life. “They are not merely reserve material for the
diocese, but rather, charisms that enrich”, he stressed.
The Pope exhorts the prelates to live
among their faithful, also in the peripheries of their dioceses and
in particular in the “existential peripheries”, where there is
suffering, loneliness and human degradation, as “a bishop who lives
among his faithful keeps his ears open to listen to what the Spirit
says to the Churches and to the voice of his sheep”. He also notes
the importance of the diocesan bodies which have the task of advising
the bishops and assisting them “through the promotion of loyal and
constructive dialogue: presbyteral council, pastoral council, council
of economic affairs. It is unthinkable for a bishop not to count on
these diocesan bodies. This also means being with the people. I also
think at this point of your duty to reside in the diocese: listen to
what your people want, what they want to see in their bishop, walk
with them, stay close to them. You need this presence to live and, in
a certain sense, to breathe”.
“The pastors and the faithful of
Mozambique need to further develop a culture of encounter”, the
Pope observes. “Jesus asks only one thing: that you go out in
search of the neediest”. Among these, he mentions the victims of
the natural disasters that recently sowed destruction, suffering and
death throughout the country, thus increasing the number of displaced
persons and refugees. “These people need us to share in their
suffering, their worries, their problems. They need us to look upon
them with love and you must reach out to them, like Jesus”.
Finally, the Pope offers an overview of
all Mozambique, where the tensions and conflicts of recent years have
undermined the social fabric, destroyed families and jeopardised the
future of thousands of young people. “The most effective way of
opposing the mentality of arrogance and inequality, as well as social
divisions, it to invest in the field of education, which teaches the
young to think critically, and offers a path towards maturity in
values. In this sense, it is appropriate to raise awareness among
leaders in society and to revive pastoral ministry in universities
and schools, combining the task of education with the proclamation of
the Gospel. The needs are so great that they cannot be satisfied
simply through individual initiatives or by a union of individuals
educated in individualism. Community networks are needed to respond
to social problems. There is a need for a union of forces and unity
of direction: in this, the Episcopal Conference may help as it has
among its functions the unitary dialogue with the political authority
for the whole territory. In this respect, I encourage a decisive
implementation of good relations with the government, not of
dependency, but rather of solid collaboration”.
“Dear bishops”, he concludes,
“spare no efforts in supporting the family and in the defence of
life from conception to natural death. In this sense, remember the
options appropriate to one of Christ's disciples and the beauty of
being a mother, accompanied by the support of the family and the
local community. The family must always be defended as the main
source of fraternity, respect for others and the primary path of
peace”.
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