Date:
2004-12-10
Papal
Address to Bishops of
"Need
for an Evangelization of Culture in General"
* * *
Dear Brother Bishops,
1. In this, the last of my meetings with the pastors of the Church in
the United States making their quinquennial visits
"ad limina Apostolorum,"
I offer a warm greeting to you, the bishops of Minnesota, North Dakota and
South Dakota.
In the course of this year, I have engaged with you and your fellow bishops in
a series of reflections on the threefold office of teaching, sanctifying and
governing entrusted to the successors of the apostles. Through a consideration
of the spiritual gifts and the apostolic mission received at episcopal ordination, whereby each bishop is sacramentally configured to Jesus Christ, the Head and
chief Shepherd of his Church (cf. 1 Peter 5:4), we have sought to deepen our
appreciation of the mystery of the Church, the mystical Body of Christ,
enlivened by the Holy Spirit and constantly built up in unity through a rich
diversity of gifts, ministries and works (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; "Lumen
Gentium," No. 7).
2. In these past eight months, I have been blessed with an opportunity to meet
with each of the American bishops, and, through them, to hear the living voice
of the Church throughout the
From the beginning of our meetings, I have stressed that your duty of building
up the Church in communion and mission must necessarily begin with your own
spiritual renewal, and I have encouraged you to be the first to indicate, by
your own witness of conversion to the word of God and obedience to the
apostolic Tradition, the royal way that leads the pilgrim Church to Christ and
the fullness of his Kingdom. In particular, I have called you to adopt a
lifestyle marked by that evangelical poverty which represents "an
indispensable condition for a fruitful episcopal
ministry" ("Pastores Gregis,"
No. 20). As the Council itself stated, the Lord himself
carried out the work of redemption in poverty and persecution, and his Church
is called to follow along this same path (cf. "Lumen Gentium,"
No. 8).
3. Now, at the conclusion of this series of meetings, I leave two charges to
you and your brother bishops. The first is a fraternal encouragement to
persevere joyfully in the ministry entrusted to you, in obedience to the
authentic teaching of the Church. Can we not see in the pain and scandal of
recent years both a "sign of the times" (cf. Matthew 16:3) and a
providential call to conversion and deeper fidelity to the demands of the
Gospel? In the life of each believer and the life of the whole Church, a
sincere examination of conscience and the recognition of failure is always
accompanied by renewed confidence in the healing power of God's grace and a
summons to press on to what lies ahead (Philippians 3:13). In her own way, the
Church in the
In this light, I once more praise your efforts to ensure that each individual
and group in the Church understands the urgent need for a consistent, honest
and faithful witness to the Catholic faith, and that each of the Church's
institutions and apostolates expresses in every
aspect of its life a clear Catholic identity. This is perhaps the most
difficult and delicate challenge which you face in your role as teachers and
shepherds of the Church in
4. The second charge is a heartfelt appeal to keep your gaze fixed on the great
goal set before the whole Church at the dawn of this third Christian
millennium: the proclamation of Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of humanity. If
the events of the past few years have necessarily focused your attention on the
interior life of the Church, this should in no way distract you from lifting
your eyes to the great task of the new evangelization and the need for "a
new apostolic outreach" ("Novo Millennio Ineunte," No. 40). "Duc in altum!"
"The Church in America must speak increasingly of Jesus Christ, the human
face of God and the divine face of man" ("Ecclesia in America,"
No. 67), devoting the best of her efforts to a more compelling proclamation of
the Gospel, the growth of holiness, and the more effective transmission of the
treasure of the faith to the younger generation.
Since a clear sense of mission will naturally bear fruit in unity of purpose
among all the members of the Christian community (cf. "Christifideles
Laici," No. 32), such a missionary outreach will
surely promote the work of reconciliation and renewal within your local
Churches. It will also consolidate and advance the Church's prophetic witness
in contemporary American society. The Church feels responsible for every human
being and for the future of society (cf. "Redemptor
Hominis," 15), and this responsibility falls in
a particular way to the lay faithful, whose vocation is to be a leaven of the
Gospel in the world. As we look to the challenges lying before the Church in
the United States today, two urgent tasks immediately present themselves: the
need for an evangelization of culture in general, which, as I have stated, is a
unique contribution which the Church in your country can make to the mission
"ad gentes" today, and the need for
Catholics to cooperate fruitfully with men and women of good will in building a
culture of respect for life (cf. "Evangelium
Vitae," No. 95).
5. Dear Brothers, I give thanks to God for the many blessings bestowed during
this series of meetings of the Successor of Peter with the American bishops.
Having come to the heart of the Church and been confirmed in communion with the
Chair of unity, may you now return to your local Churches with renewed
enthusiasm for your mission of teaching, sanctifying and governing the flocks
entrusted to your care. As you bear "the burden of the day and the
heat" (cf. Matthew 20:12) in the service of the Gospel, may you always be
reassured by the knowledge that, at every step of her earthly journey,
"the Church draws strength from the power of her Risen Lord to overcome,
in patience and in charity, her sorrows and her difficulties, both those from
within and those from without, so that she may reveal in the world, faithfully
albeit amid shadows, the mystery of her Lord, until in the end it shall be
manifested in the fullness of light" ("Lumen Gentium,"
No. 8).
Our meetings have fittingly come to an end during the week in which the Church
celebrates the sesquicentenary of the definition of
the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patroness of
the Church in the
To all of you, with great affection in the Lord, I cordially impart my
apostolic blessing.