Vatican City, 29 January 2016 (VIS) –
"Mercy is the foundation of the life of the Church: the first
truth of the Church, indeed, is Christ's love", were the opening
words of the Holy Father's discourse to the participants in the
plenary assembly of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
whom he received in audience this morning in the Clementine Hall. The
Pope went on to urge all the Christian people, both pastors and the
faithful, to rediscover during this Jubilee the corporal and
spiritual works of mercy as when, in the twilight of life, we are
asked if we have given food to the hungry and given the thirsty water
to drink, we will also be asked "if we have helped people to set
their doubts aside, if we have committed ourselves to welcoming
sinners, admonishing them and correcting them, if we have been able
to combat ignorance, especially in relation to the Christian faith
and the righteous life".
"In faith and in charity a
cognitive and unifying relationship is established with the mystery
of Love, which is God Himself. The effective mercy of God became, in
Jesus, affective mercy, as He made Himself man for the salvation of
mankind. The task entrusted to your Dicastery here finds its ultimate
foundation and and adequate justification. Christian faith, indeed,
is not only knowledge to be committed to memory, but also truth to
live in love. Therefore, along with the doctrine of the faith, it is
also necessary to safeguard the integrity of customs, particularly in
the most delicate areas of life. Adhering to faith in the person of
Christ implies both an act of reason and a moral response to His
gift. In this respect, I thank you for all your commitment and the
responsibility you exercise in treating cases of abuse of minors by
members of the clergy".
"Safeguarding the integrity of
faith and customs is a delicate task. Performing this mission well
requires collegial commitment. … The correct synodality must be
promoted at all levels of ecclesial life", added the Pope,
citing in this respect the meeting organised by the Congregation with
the Doctrinal Commissions of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe,
enabling various doctrinal and pastoral challenges to be faced in a
collegial way and thus inspiring in the faithful "a new
missionary impulse and greater openness to the transcendent dimension
of life, without which Europe runs the risk of losing its humanist
spirit that it nevertheless loves and defends".
Another significant contribution of the
Congregation to the renewal of ecclesial life was its study on
complementarity between hierarchical and charismatic gifts, called
upon to collaborate in synergy for the good of the Church and the
world, and whose relationship evokes the Trinitarian root, the bond
between the divine Word made flesh and the Holy Spirit, which is
always a gift of the Father and the Son.
"It is precisely this root, if
acknowledged and listened to humbly, that permits the Church to let
herself be renewed at any time. … Unity and plurality are the seal
of a Church that, moved by the Spirit, knows how to walk with a sure
and faithful step towards the purpose that the Risen Lord has
indicated to them throughout history. Here we see clearly how the
synodal dynamic, if correctly understood, is born from communion and
leads towards an increasingly implemented, deepened and extended, in
the service of the life and the mission of the People of God".
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