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BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

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10/12/2012 06:21
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Pope tells bishops of the Americas
that the Church needs 'irreplaceable'
contributions of their faithful

Adapted from the English service of

December 9, 2012

In an appearance that had not been pre-announced, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and laity from the American continents, after the opening Mass Sunday afternoon of the International Congress on the Church in America, marking 15 years since Blessed John Paul II's Apostolic Exhortation following the 1990 Bishops' Synodal Assembly on the Americas.

He told them that “the universal Church expects and needs the missionary spirit, zealous generosity and irreplaceable contribution” of the Church in America, North and South.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, as well as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, celebrated the Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica. After the Mass, he joined the Pope in the sacristy and accompanied him to the Altar of the Chair to address the assembly.

For the first time, the Pope was wheeled into the basilica on a lower mobile platform equipped with a chair.


[This novelty appeared to have monopolized the news photographers' attention, as the Yahoo newsphoto service only has two generic photos of the Pope presumably at the altar, none at all of the assembly, and two photo series on the Pope arriving and leaving on the platform.]

In his address, the Pope noted that the post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in America, cited challenges and difficulties that are still current, such as secularism and Christian sects which are proliferating and attracting their members from disaffected Catholics.

The Pope underscored the urgent need to educate the faithful in 'a culture of life' in order to counter the spread of a mentality “that undermines the dignity and protection of life” and does not favor the institutions of marriage and family. But he also touched on other outstanding social problems in the Americas.



Here is the full text of the Pope's address, the first half of which was delivered in Spanish. [That explains why the English service of Vatican Radio was only able to reproduce the English part...]

Eminences,
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate and Priesthood,
Esteemed Knights of Columbus:

I am very grateful for the words of Cardinal Marc Ouellet, president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, an d I am happy that, together with the Knights of Columbus, he wished to promote this International Congress in order to deepen reflection and concrete projection of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America by the Blessed John Paul II, which synthesizes the contributions of the 1990 Special Assembly of the Bishops' Synod on the Americas.

I greet the cardinals,bishops, priests and consecrated persons, as well as the many lay faithful who have come to take part in this important initiative.

Your faces bring me back in mind and heart the heartbeat of the American continent, ever [resent in the Pope's prayers, and whose devotion to the Apostolic See I have gratefully experienced, not just during my apostolic visits Vuestros rostros me traen nuevamente a la to some of your countries, but every time that I meet here with the pastors and faithful of your beloved lands.

My venerated predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, had the clear-sighted intuition to increase the relationships of cooperation among the local Churches in all the Americas - North, South and Central - and at the same time, to inspire better solidarity among nations.

Today, those proposals deserve to be taken up again so that the redeeming message of Christ may be put into practice with greater intensity and that it may produce abundant fruits of holiness and ecclesial renewal.

The theme that guidedthe reflections of the 1990 Synodal Assembly could also serve as inspiration for your work in the coming days: "The encounter with the living Christ - the way to conversion, communion and solidarity in America".

In effect, love for the Lord Jesus and the power of his grace must continue to take root intensely in the hearts of men, families and the Christian communities of your nations, in order for them to advance with dynamism along the paths of concord and just progress.

That is why it is a gift of Providence that your Congress takes place shortly after the start of the Year of Faith and after the General Assembly of the Synod which was dedicated to the new evangelization. Your deliberations will contribute valuably to the arduous and imperious task of making the Gospel of Christ resound with clarity and daring.

The aforementioned Exhortation already indicated challenges and difficulties which continue to be present today with singularly complex characteristics. Indeed, secularism and various religious groups are expanding on all sides, giving rise to numerous problems.

Education and the promotion of a culture of life constitute a fundamental urgency in the face of the spread of a mentality that attacks the dignity of the person and does not favor protection of the institutions of marriage and the family.

How can we not worry about the painful situations of migration, uprooting of peoples, or violence, especially those caused by organized crime, drug trafficking, corruption and the arms trade? What about the searing inequalities and pockets of poverty caused by questionable economic, political and social measures?


He continued in English:
All these important questions require careful study. Yet in addition to their technical evaluation, the Catholic Church is convinced that the light for an adequate solution can only come from encounter with the living Christ, which gives rise to attitudes and ways of acting based on love and truth. This is the decisive force which will transform the American continent.

Dear friends, the love of Christ impels us to devote ourselves without reserve to proclaiming his Name throughout America, bringing it freely and enthusiastically to the hearts of all its inhabitants.

There is no more rewarding or beneficial work than this. There is no greater service that we can provide to our brothers and sisters. They are thirsting for God.

For this reason, we ought to take up this commitment with conviction and joyful dedication, encouraging priests, deacons, consecrated men and women and pastoral agents to purify and strengthen their interior lives ever more fully through a sincere relationship with the Lord and a worthy and frequent reception of the sacraments.

This will be encouraged by suitable catechesis and a correct and ongoing doctrinal formation marked by complete fidelity to the word of God and the Church’s magisterium and aimed at offering a response to the deepest questions and aspirations of the human heart.

The witness of your faith will thus be more eloquent and incisive, and you will grow in unity in the fulfilment of your apostolate. A renewed missionary spirit and zealous generosity in your commitment will be an irreplaceable contribution to what the universal Church expects and needs from the Church in America.

As a model of openness to God’s grace and of perfect concern for others, there shines forth on your continent the figure of Mary Most Holy, Star of the New Evangelization, invoked throughout America under the glorious title of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

As I commend this Congress to her maternal and loving protection, I impart to you, the organizers and participants, my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of abundant divine graces.







Two practical considerations about the mobile platform used today. 1) It is large enough to accommodate a chair, which the Pope used going to the Altar of the Chair. Because there was no congregation in the nave as there is during a Papal liturgy, there was no need for the Pope to be standing up during the more than 500-meter distance from the sacristy to the Altar of the Chair. 2) For the the same reason, the platform can be low because there is no need for him to stand high above the floor when there is no large congregation who must be able to see him conveniently.

But as usual, our Caterina also noticed a detail showing that this platform was one used by John Paul II - because the frame around the bottom carries his papal seal:



As much as one is saddened by the gradual and natural toll that age is taking on the Holy Father's physical strength, one must thank God that he does not appear to have any serious health problem, and that he is obviously very prudent about conserving his energies. May God keep him healthy and well for many more years to come. [Remember Leo XIII!] AD MULTOS ANNOS, SANCTE PATER!
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 10/12/2012 22:57]
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