Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
1. I joyfully welcome you, the third group of Pastors of God's Church in Spain
to make your ad limina visit to Rome, the city that preserves the memory
of Sts Peter and Paul. I extend my cordial greetings to the Cardinal Archbishop
of Barcelona, with his Auxiliaries, to the Archbishop of Oviedo, with his
Auxiliary, and to the Bishops of León, Astorga and Santander; to the Archbishop
of Tarragona, with the Bishops of Urgell, Lleida, Vic, Solsona and Tortosa, with
a special thought for the Bishop of Girona, absent because of surgery. Through
you I would like to extend my greetings to the priests, deacons, men and women
religious and faithful of your particular Churches, telling them once again
of the affection and esteem I owe them as Pastor of the universal Church
(cf.
Lumen gentium, n. 22).
I am grateful for Cardinal Ricardo María Carles Gordó's kind words on behalf of
you all, telling me of your hopes and concerns as well as the pastoral charity
that motivates you in the ministry of guiding the People of God, at whose head
you have been placed as leaders (cf.
Christus Dominus, n. 4). I thank you and assure you of a constant prayer
to the Lord that amid the trials which your mission sometimes involves, you will
not lack anything; neither fortitude (Acts 4:33) nor the consolation of the Holy
Spirit.
2. In Catalonia, Asturias, León and Cantabria, regions with deep Christian
roots, important changes have taken place, as in other parts of Spain, and
are continuing to occur in the population and in economic activity. In fact,
the accelerated transformation of a rural society into one that is mainly
industrial and commercial has given rise in recent decades to a greater
mobility of people, whose focus of interest and cultural development are
changing, and whose way of life is notably altering the face of society itself.
In your quinquennial reports you reflected on this situation in which you feel
spurred to renew your pastoral activity, new conditions in which the Good News
can be proclaimed and the People of God guided and gathered through the
sacramental presence of Christ. In this regard, I would like to encourage
you, so that God's Church in these noble lands will continue to be a place of
love and hospitality where all the faithful feel they are brothers and
sisters, no one is excluded and there is no distinction of origin or culture, so
that she may be a leaven of unity, "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the
world" (Mt 5:13-14).
3. In hearing my call to prepare suitably for the Great Jubilee of the Year
2000, you, the Bishops in Spain, are carrying out your Pastoral Plan of
Action for the Four-Years 1997-2000, entitled Proclaiming the Year of the
Lord's Favour. In this plan, echoing my Apostolic Letter
Tertio millennio adveniente, you recall that "the primary objective of
the Jubilee [is] the strengthening of Christians' faith and witness" (n. 42). In
fact, faith, a gift of God and a person's free response, and witnessing to it
are based on one overall pastoral objective at this time. I am pleased in this
regard to recall, as you have pointed out: "In order that no separation may
arise between faith and life and that they do not run parallel to each other
without converging, it is necessary to inspire and encourage our faithful to be
consistent in their faith and life in each personal situation and in the
concrete circumstances of contemporary society, where new questions are being
raised in various areas, many of which are also new" (Pastoral Plan of Action,
n. 107).
4. One of these areas, so called into question in our times but so important for
the present and future of society, is the family. I am aware of your
commitment to defending and promoting this institution which originates in God
and his plan of salvation (cf.
Familiaris consortio, n. 49). Today we see a trend, very widespread in
some regions, which tends to weaken its true nature. Indeed, there are many
attempts to put the family on the same level in public opinion and civil
legislation as mere unions not recognized by constitutional law. Some even seek
the recognition of same-sex unions as families. The crisis of marriage and the
family impels us to proclaim with pastoral firmness, as an authentic service to
the family and to society, the truth about marriage and the family as God
has established it. To neglect to do so would be a grave pastoral omission that
would lead believers into error as well as those who have the important
responsibility of taking decisions for the common good of the nation. This truth
is valid not only for Catholics but for all men and women without distinction,
since marriage and the family are an irreplaceable good of society, which cannot
remain indifferent to their degradation or disappearance.
Moreover, it should not be forgotten that the family must give witness to its
own values before society and itself: "The role that God calls the family to
perform in history derives from what the family is; its role represents the
dynamic and existential development of what it is. Each family finds within
itself a summons that cannot be ignored, and that specifies both its dignity and
its responsibility: family, become what you are" (ibid., n. 17). In this regard,
Pastors and married couples involved in the Church must delve deeper into the
theology of marriage, help young married couples and families in difficulty to
recognize more clearly the value of their sacramental commitment and receive the
grace of the covenant. Married lay persons must likewise be the first to witness
to the greatness of conjugal and family life based on commitment and fidelity.
Through the sacrament, their human love acquires an infinite value so that the
couple can manifest Christ's love for his Church in a particular way and assume
an important responsibility in the world: to give birth to children called to
become children of God, and to help them in their human and spiritual growth.
Dear Brothers: guide Christian families, encourage the family apostolate
in your Dioceses and promote movements and associations of marital spirituality;
stir up their apostolic zeal so that they will make their own the task of the
new evangelizaiton, open the doors to those who are homeless or living in
difficult situations, and bear witness to the great dignity of disinterested and
unconditional love.
5. For the defence and promotion of the family institution, it is important that
those who intend to contract the sacrament of marriage be properly prepared for
it (cf. can. 1063,
1061 CIC). This is the way to encourage the formation of
authentic families who live according to God's plan. To do this, not only must
the anthropological aspects of human love be explained to the engaged couple,
but also the basis of a genuine conjugal spirituality, by understanding marriage
as a vocation that enables the baptized to incarnate faith, hope and charity in
their new social and religious situation.
The completion of this specific preparation can also lead to the
re-evangelization of the baptized who approach the Church to ask for the
sacrament of marriage. Indeed, as you have pointed out, "many adolescents and
young people, having participated in the catechesis or catechumenate for
Confirmation, later give up their Christian formation, which must be ongoing" (Pastoral
Plan of Action, n. 127). Although today, because of widespread education,
young people have aquired a culture superior to that of their parents, in many
cases Christian life is not at the same level, since not only ignorance of
religion but a certain moral and religious emptiness can be noted in the younger
generations.
In this area it is important for you to prepare the ecclesial communities so
that once they have experienced and can witness to God's love they will be able
effectively to show its depth to those who need to know it.
6. I would also like to mention the urgent need to encourage catechesis at all
levels, since in order to strengthen faith and the witness to it, evangelization
must be intensified by ardently proclaiming Jesus Christ as the one Saviour of
the world, in the total reality of his mystery, expressed in his life and his
word, and confessed by the Church. Catechesis introduces the person of Jesus to
the men and women of our time so that they will follow him, thereby
strengthening their life in the Spirit, which encourages full human development.
I therefore urge you to spare no effort to ensure that catechetical activity, an
essential aspect of the evangelizing mission the Lord has entrusted to us, is
always carried out in your Dioceses, relying on properly formed catechists and
adequate means in order to offer the faithful a more vivid knowledge of Christ's
mystery. For this I appreciate and admire the generosity of the many catechists
who work in parishes and other pastoral centres and dedicate their time and
energy to an activity so essential to the Church. Lack of religious instruction
or poor assimilation of the faith would leave the baptized unprepared for the
real dangers of secularism, moral relativism or religious indifference, with
the consequent risk of losing your people's deep piety, which is beautifully
expressed in the worthy and evocative Christian displays of popular devotion. I
encourage you then, before the Great Jubilee, to promote a new phase of
catechesis which will help contemporary man to be conscious of God's mystery and
his own, and which will foster a prayer of praise and thanksgiving for the gift
of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and his redemptive work (cf. Tertio
millennio adveniente, n. 32).
7. There is a continual need for the Church to be involved in the education of
young people and children, giving a pastoral response to their educational
requirements. She does so through her option for man and her desire to
collaborate in the school with families and society, advocating integral
formation and defending the right of parents to give their children a religious
and moral upbringing in accordance with their own beliefs. In this task, the
Church is present through Catholic educators whose work is inspired by their
faith, as well as through her own educational institutions. This is a service to
society, which must be recognized and encouraged.
In any formation that claims to be complete, the religious dimension cannot be
neglected; young people must be educated in a way that develops all the
capacities of the human being. In this regard, the Church, while respecting
other possible ways of thinking, has the right to teach the values that flow
from the Gospel and the moral norms proper to Christianity.
However, as you have said, "the teaching of Catholic religion and morality, or
ethical teaching, in the context of primary education and especially in middle-
or secondary-school education, has been marginalized for many years by the
public authorities" (Pastoral Plan of Action, n. 51). Taking into account
the primary aspect of service, which must also seek continuous improvement in
the quality of teaching and the careful selection and qualification of the
teaching staff who impart it, I encourage you to continue your effort to find as
quickly as possible, together with the competent civil administration, the
solution to pending problems regarding the juridical status of religion and
those who teach it.
8. Dear Brothers, I wanted to present these reflections to you and to share with
you some desires that will certainly help you in your pastoral work. In closing
this meeting, I would like once again to express to you my joy at having shared
the concerns and hopes of your episcopal ministry and at having observed your
efforts to strengthen the Church's vitality in your Dioceses. I hope that this
visit to the Successor of Peter, your prayer at the tombs of the Apostles and
your meetings with the dicasteries of the Roman Curia will be a source of energy
and confidence in the future for you, in communion with the universal Church.
I encourage you to continue preparing for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000,
inviting all the Catholics of Spain to reach out to their brothers and sisters
in order to proclaim this Good News to them.
May the Blessed Virgin Mary, so deeply venerated in your lands and at whose
shrines in Covadonga and Montserrat I have had the opportunity to kneel in
prayer asking for her maternal intercession for this important portion of God's
People on pilgrimage in those lands, help you in your episcopal mission. With
these sentiments, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to each of you and to
all the priests, religious and faithful of your Dioceses.
© Copyright
1998 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
