________________________________________________________

X ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY

THE BISHOP:

SERVANT OF THE GOSPEL

OF JESUS CHRIST

FOR THE HOPE OF THE WORLD

LINEAMENTA

VATICAN CITY

1998

The Lineamenta can be found on the Internet at the Vatican website:

http://www.vatican.va

© The General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops and Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

This text can be reproduced by Bishops' Conferences, or at their authorization, provided that the contents are not altered in any way and two copies of the same be sent to the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, 00120 Vatican City State.

PREFACE

The topic assigned by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II to the Tenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is "The Bishop: Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Hope of the World". This synodal assembly, to be celebrated during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, carries a double significance: to celebrate episcopal communion and to bring to a logical conclusion the recent series of synodal assemblies.

The synod of 1987 on the vocation and mission of the laity in the Church and in the World began a series of assemblies which could be termed: "The life of the ecclesial body in the wake of Vatican II".

The Synod, with its origin in the Council, has become a faithful Traditio Concilii, mirroring, in a certain way, its structure, method and spirit. Primarily, however, the synod deserves this distinction because it transmits, reflects upon and further treats conciliar subjects and proposals.

Thus it happened that the "corpus laicorum", "the faithful who by Baptism are made one body with Christ" (Lumen gentium, 31), figured greatly in the Seventh Ordinary General Assembly of 1987. In this assembly all the lay sons and daughters of the Church through Baptism first passed as if in procession.

In 1990, during the Eighth Ordinary General Assembly, which treated the topic of the formation of priests, the next group entered, i.e., the "corpus presbyterorum", in which "priests...are united in a priestly fraternity" forming "one presbytery". (Presbyterorum ordinis, 8).

Then, in taking up the subject of the consecrated life in the Ninth Ordinary General Assembly still another group arrived–the "corpus vitae consecratae", that is, those persons who practice the evangelical counsels and follow Christ with major freedom, imitating him more closely (cf. Perfectae caritatis, 1).

To conclude, the Tenth Ordinary General Assembly is now to examine the topic of the Bishop as servant-proclaimer of the Gospel. Taken together, the Bishops form a "college or corpus episcoporum" (Lumen gentium, 22).

The synodal journey, having started with the reflection on the vocation and mission of the laity, passed to the other states of life, that of priests and then that of consecrated persons. It now reaches its conclusion in the Tenth Ordinary General Assembly by looking to the Bishop, the servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 1:1, 9).

Since the mystical body of Christ is one, the variety of its members cannot functionally subsist if not in a superior unity which confers compactness and vitality to the whole body, the Church. In fact, "sacred pastors know... That they themselves were not meant by Christ to shoulder alone the entire saving mission of the Church towards the world" (Lumen gentium, 30).

It is for this reason that the laity, priests, consecrated persons and bishops tend towards a single end and together have one unique purpose: to build up in communion the one and only Body of Christ until it reaches full maturity (cf. Eph 4:13), since "in various types and duties of life, one and the same holiness is cultivated by all who are moved by the Spirit of God, and who obey the voice of the Father...(and) follow the poor Christ, the humble and cross-bearing Christ, in order to be made worthy of being partakers in his glory." (Lumen gentium, 41).

The synodal journey, which is a "communion of paths" (John Paul II, Discourse to Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe [2 December 1992], 2: L'Osservatore Romano: Weekly Edition in English, 9 December 1992, p. 4), begins in communion, is developed in communion and finds its realization in communion.

This Lineamenta document is intended to generate a response from all those who, already in the local Churches, are walking the synodal path of communion, and are seeking with prayer and meditation to express the features and intents of their community.

These proposals, indications and expectations should be studied and drafted into responses by the Bishops in the Episcopal Conferences or similar episcopal bodies, and then submitted to the General Secretariat of the Synod. The Series of Questions serves to focus attention on particular points of doctrine and pastoral practice in the Church. At the same time, one should feel free to touch upon related subjects not actually mentioned in the questions. Indeed, every initiative is appreciated to examine thoroughly and enrich the study of the synod topic.

The official responses to the Series of Questions should be sent by those concerned to the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops by 30 September 1999, so as to permit the drafting of the Instrumentum laboris, the point of reference for the Synod Fathers at the Jubilee Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, an event which will be a highpoint in the history of Christianity and in ecclesial communion.

Jan P. Card. SCHOTTE,C.I.C.M.

General Secretary

INTRODUCTION

1. The mystery of Christ in its infinite richness is lived again in the mystery of the Church. This is seen in the variety of vocations and the diversity of states of life in which ecclesial communion is manifested. In a concrete manner and in different ways, this variety and diversity correspond to the manifold gifts which the Holy Spirit pours forth on all the baptized (cf.1 Cor 12:4-6). The diverse states of life, having a singular and common source in the Trinity, are intimately bound together so as to be ordered to each other, and, when lived with an awareness of their respective identities and complementarity, lead to an upbuilding of one and the other. Each one individually and all of them together are ordered to the increase and growth of the Church so that, through the display of their organic unity, they might contribute to the fulfillment of the mission of the Church in the world.(1)

Vatican Council II has given prominence to the great reality of ecclesial communion. Since this mystery takes many forms and is a gift of the Spirit, ecclesial communion touches upon the variety of charisms and states of life. In the Council's aftermath, attention has been given to the need to show this communion better in the identity, vocation and specific mission of the Church.(2) This work occupied the Synod Fathers in the last three ordinary general assemblies of the Synod of Bishops, resulting in the three post- synodal apostolic exhortations of Pope John Paul II, Christifideles laici on the vocation and mission of the lay faithful, Pastores dabo vobis on the ministerial priesthood and Vita consecrata on the state of the many women and men who more closely follow Christ through the profession of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience. These synods have brought about a keener awareness of the importance and value of each state of life in the overall make-up of the Church, as willed by the Lord.(3) Thus, in the Church --as Vatican II recalled-- both the hierarchical as well as the charismatic aspects are essential to each other and come together to be renewed, albeit in different ways but always with an ongoing mutual exchange.(4)

2. In the years since the Second Vatican Council, experience has shown that, if the desired conciliar renewal is to take place, much rests and depends on the Bishops. This is an inescapable fact, since, as a result of their ministry, the Bishops are builders, guarantors and guardians of the Christian community over which, in Christ's name, they have been set as Pastors. In their particular Churches, every Bishop is in effect the promoter of the life of the lay faithful and the watchful guardian of the consecrated life. The priests are the Bishops' "necessary helpers and counselors in the ministry and in the task of teaching, sanctifying and nourishing the People of God.(5)

Consequently, as a result of the directives of the Second Vatican Council, the Bishops urgently needed in past years to commit themselves with determination and courage to the exercise of their ministry and its renewal in such a way that through their work of renewal the world might be "fashioned anew according to God's design and reach its fulfillment.(6) The work of renewal is even more urgent today as the Church approaches the threshold of the Third Millennium.

3. For this reason, the topic chosen by Pope John Paul II for the Tenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is: "The Bishop: Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Hope of the World". The title intends to highlight, above all, that Jesus Christ is the hope of humanity, the hope of each person individually and the hope of everything related to humanity.(7)

The same topic also proposes that every aspect of the Bishop's work is geared to hope. Since Christ is the hope who is proclaimed, the service rendered by the Bishop is one of proclaiming and bearing witness to him. Therefore, in this way every Bishop is illustrative of the words of St. Augustine: "Whatever we may be, don't let your hope rest in our person as such, but in the Person of Christ. I would readily make little of myself, so as to speak like a true bishop; I want to rejoice over you and not be exalted by you. Without a doubt, if I find any people placing their hope in my person, I would not commend them for this; they are to be corrected, not confirmed in their attitude; to be changed, not to be left to continue in doing this...Don't let your hopes rest in us as persons, don't let your hopes rest on men. If we are good, we are ministers; if we are bad, we are also ministers. But, if indeed we be good, we are being ministers faithful to Christ, really and truly his ministers.(8)

The preparation of the Tenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, and the work this will entail, must be done with an eye on all that the Second Vatican Council has taught about the Bishops, the successors of the Apostles, "who together with the successor of Peter, the Vicar of Christ and the visible Head of the whole Church, govern the house of the living God.(9)

4. Every Bishop, because he possesses the fullness of the Sacrament of Orders, is the principle and visible source of unity in the Church entrusted to his pastoral service. By means of the three-fold office, which the Bishop is called to exercise, namely, to teach, to sanctify and to govern, he works to increase the growth of his particular Church as the Family of the Father, the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Spirit. In this way, he brings about the real, living presence of Christ, "Pastor and Bishop" of souls (1 Pt 2:25); he stands as Christ's vicar in the particular Church not only in speaking for him but also in his very person.(10) At the same time, since the Church is the communion of all the particular Churches, the Bishop, in building his particular Church, contributes to the upbuilding of the whole Church, which in Christ is a kind of sacrament or sign of the intimate union of humanity with God, and of the unity of the whole human race.(11) As the Church grows so does "the body of a new human family, a body which even now is able to give some kind of foreshadowing of the new age.(12)

The Second Vatican Council has also placed in relief the reality of the episcopal college which follows in succession the College of Apostles. This college expresses in a particularly significant way the pastoral service which is exercised by Bishops in communion among themselves and with the Successor of Peter. As members of this college, instituted and willed by Christ, all Bishops have been "consecrated not just for some one diocese, but for the salvation of the entire world(13) and "are obliged to have a solicitude, which, though it is not exercised by an act of jurisdiction, contributes immensely to the welfare of the universal Church.(14)

While the above teaching is an underlying principle of all the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the pastoral mission of Bishops has specific treatment in the Council's Decree Christus Dominus. In 1983, The Code of Canon Law also addressed the subject of the Bishop, supplying its juridical aspect. However, ten years earlier, the Congregation for Bishops published the Directory Ecclesiae imago (22 February 1973), whose purpose was to set forth the perfect model of the Bishop, seeking to adapt the figure to our times and to describe more explicitly its moral-ascetic-mystical features. This document retains its validity, even today.(15)

5. The First Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, celebrated in October, 1969, treated the topic of the collegiality of Bishops in the Church. This synodal assembly had the opportunity to reflect deeply on the conciliar doctrine concerning the sacramental communion among Bishops. The Synod of Bishops itself is a very valid instrument of episcopal communion. Gathered together in synod cum Petro et sub Petro, the Bishops bring their experience as Pastors of the particular Churches and "render manifest and operative that coniunctio which constitutes the theological basis and the ecclesial and pastoral justification for synodal meetings.(16)

Without a doubt, the Tenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will provide occasion for affirming that the stronger the communion of Bishops among themselves, the richer will be the communion of the Church. From this it follows that even the Bishops' ministry will be strengthened and confirmed by the mutual exchange. As part of the preparation of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 and through focusing on the image of the Bishop as minister of the Gospel for the hope of the world, the next ordinary synodal assembly has as one of its goals that of highlighting that the Bishops have "the noble task of being the prime proclaimers of the 'reasons for hope' (cf. 1 Pt 3:15); that hope which is based on the promises of God and on fidelity to his word, and which has as an unshakable certitude the resurrection of Christ, his definitive victory over evil and sin.(17) Therefore, the approach of the Third Millennium is an urgent call to all Christians–particularly to the Bishops–to evaluate and examine thoroughly in the Church and civil society "the signs of hope which are present in the last part of this century, even though they often remain hidden from our eyes.(18)

Christian hope is intimately bound to the courageous and complete proclamation of the Gospel, a task which ranks among the principal responsibilities of the office of the Bishop. For this reason, beyond the Bishop's multiple duties and tasks, "beyond all the concerns and difficulties which are inevitably connected to the daily faithful exercise of his work in the Lord's vineyard, before all else, there must be hope.(19)

CHAPTER I

THE MISSION OF THE BISHOP TODAY

6. At the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, the Council Fathers returned to their particular Churches, to their primary collaborators the priests and to the other members of the People of God. In addition to bringing the Council's doctrinal and pastoral texts, the Bishops took along a new model of the Bishop, conformed to the Church's aspect of communion, which the same Council brought to light in recalling her basic source and transcendent model in the divine mystery of Trinitarian communion.(20) At the same time, they brought not only the teaching about the character and collegial nature of the episcopal order, but also the richness of their unique experience of collegiality at the Council. From that time onwards, it was understood that the figure of the Bishop would no longer be the same.

A New Evaluation of the Image of the Bishop

7. By necessity, a different outlook towards the office and function of the Bishop emerged. With Paul VI's moto proprio Letter Pontificalia insignia (21 June 1968) and with the Instruction Ut sive sollicite (31 March 1969), the Holy See addressed, at an early stage, the external aspects of the office of the Bishop. Both documents treated episcopal bearings and attire, seeking to simplify them and imbue them with a more humble and modest spirit, qualities which are paramount in those who have a special responsibility of service to the faithful. The changes, however, were not limited solely to external aspects.

Above all, the renewed consideration of the image of the Bishop concerned its spiritual and moral significance which was based upon the fundamental charism of the Bishop as successor of the apostles, that is, the Bishop as the minister of the grace of the High Priest, and the authentic Teacher who proclaims with authority the word of God in matters of faith and morals.

8. In the apostolic letter written in preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, Pope John Paul II mentions that it is right and just for the Church to invite Her sons and daughters to pass through the Holy Door, purifying themselves through repentance, from error, infidelity and indecision. Indeed, the Church intends to take upon Herself the sin of Her members.(21)

Therefore, it is appropriate at the end of the Second Millennium, that the Tenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops recognize, in a humble gesture of repentence, that at certain moments in history the episcopal ministry was seen by some more as a form of power and prestige and less an expression of service.

9. The teachings of the Second Vatican Council have often quoted the doctrine of St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, and his idea of the mutual inclusion of the Church in the Bishop and the Bishop in the Church. The Church is the people united to its priest, the flock united to its shepherd.(22) This same idea recurs in the Decree Christus Dominus when it describes the particular Church as a portion of the People of God with its Pastor, who, assisted by the presbyterate, unites it in the Holy Spirit by means of the Gospel and the Eucharist.(23)

In this regard, many positive factors can be cited, e.g., the earnest desire and growing involvement of many faithful in living Church communion with their local Bishops and their wish to meet with him personally for dialogue, for discussing ideas in analyzing and treating local situations, and for pastoral planning. Many persons, who have a strong sense of the Church, are asking some pressing questions. One of these concentrates on the necessity that the Bishop be an increasingly powerful sign of the communion of charity(24) of which the Church Herself is the sacrament in the world.

New Occurrences and Difficulties for the Episcopal Minister

10. The above manifestations have resulted in the institution of certain structures which correspond to specific areas of participation in the life of the particular Church, such as Presbyteral Councils, Pastoral Councils and the celebration of Diocesan Synods. In addition to the challenges associated with these structures in the regular exercise of the episcopal ministry, a further difficulty exists. The shear number of various types of responsibilities, coming in rapid succession, can sometimes completely fill the Bishop's day. Particular circumstances, coming in no small part from the public role assigned him in civil society, can also divert much of his attention from primary concerns. It can sometimes happen that the Bishop becomes totally consumed by such demands, causing administrative and bureaucratic aspects of the office to prevail, all to the detriment of his personal spiritual role as Pastor to his flock. Furthermore, this public role of the Bishop also needs careful discernment.

In some cases, other difficulties arise, for example, from the shear vastness of territory of some dioceses, or from the huge numbers of the faithful or even by the persistent idea in some places of viewing the Bishop as a person of influence to be contacted to obtain favors or facilitate various matters.

11. Indeed, such a situation highlights the difficulty of the Bishop in making himself in real way "all things to all people". In each case, the Bishop is bound to find and achieve in his daily duties a rightful balance between being ad intra the guide of the Church community and the missionary obligation ad extra to proclaim the Gospel to all people. At the same time, equally necessary is seeking to achieve a proper balance between the contemplative and the active life.

Since the episcopal ministry is such a serious yet demanding task, the collaboration of priests takes on a major importance. In this case, it is not a matter of simply offering ample assistance, since the collaboration required of priests is based on a common sacramental reality.(25) At the same time, all Christians–as individuals or as a group–have the duty and the right to collaborate in the mission of the Church, in keeping with their vocation and their gifts of the Spirit. Therefore, the Bishop has the responsibility to acknowledge and respect this healthy pluralism of duties, to embrace it, to appreciate it and to coordinate it with pastoral wisdom, and thereby to avoid a useless and dangerous dispersion of efforts.(26) In so doing, his presence in the particular Church will be endowed not only with the strength of his unique personality, but better still, with the features of a person devoted to ministerial service who brings about communion through his presence.

Occurrences in the Christian Community

12. The Second Vatican Council was for the Church a genuine grace of God and a great gift of the Holy Spirit. This Council brought about many spiritual benefits for the universal Church and for the particular Churches as well as for all people in our time. In particular, the Second Vatican Council was a great act of love towards God, towards the Church and towards humanity. The conciliar texts speak of the Church's nature and Her fundamental structure as willed by the Lord, Her ecumenical vocation and Her apostolic and missionary activity.

The Second Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (1985) attested with a sense of satisfaction and hope that a good number of the faithful, in response to the prompting of the Spirit, have accepted the Council's teaching with enthusiasm and great spiritual adherence as evidenced in the growth of the sensus Ecclesiae. Since this sensus Ecclesiae brings about a deeper consciousness of the Church and a greater love for the Church, not to mention a lively feeling of belonging to the Church, the Church's missionary activity was also re-energized as well as the commitment to ecumenical dialogue in an effort to re-establish in a visible way the union of all Christians.

Above all, the synodal assemblies recognized in the lay faithful a genuine sensitivity to their co-responsibility in the life and mission of the Church and their desire to participate in the Church's life and mission. In the years after the Council, there arose and developed, alongside the traditional Church associations of the lay faithful, diverse new groups with specific features and aims which can be seen today to participate in the mission of the Church in proclaiming the Gospel as the source of hope and renewal for society.(27) At the same time, the need to appreciate the particular gifts of women is increasingly being felt in the community of the faithful. The consecrated life, present everywhere in the Church and flourishing in some Churches with surprising vigor, was the topic of the last Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the deliberations of which were followed by the publication of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata. These happenings bring much encouragement, since they are closely connected with the spiritual renewal resulting from a faithful following of Christ who is the Light of All People and the Hope of Humanity.

Decrease in Fervour and Subjectivism in the Faith

13. The growth mentioned above, however, has not always been such as to withstand, above all among people of long-standing Christian heritage, the strong force of secularism which for sometime now has been encroaching upon the religious roots in the human heart. In some areas of the Church, other troubling and negative things exist, such as the inadequate knowledge of the faith among many believers, which is unfortunately persistent and on the rise; the decreased incidence of catechesis, a problem compounded by the more diffuse and ever-present messages of the means of social communications; the improper understanding of theological, cultural and pastoral pluralism; enduring attitudes of dissent and also intolerance for the magisterium of the hierarchy; and one-dimensional approaches to the Gospel and the watering down of the richness of the Gospel message.(28)

Among the effects of these situations is the rise in a "lack of fervour, all the more serious because it comes from within; it is manifested in fatigue, disenchantment, compromise, lack of interest and above all lack of joy and hope.(29) The list further includes the separation of faith from life, and the problem of accepting the Gospel yet not translating it concretely into practice and daily choices, as well as the increase among the faithful of subjectivism --at times extreme-- which is seen above all in ethics and morality and also regarding the teachings of the faith.

The existence of subjectivism in the faith --accompanying the rise in individualism-- is unfortunately present in a large number of Christians. This has resulted in a lessened appreciation of the complex and objective nature of the teachings of the faith. As subjectivism grows, a person adheres more and more to whatever is personally pleasing and becomes conformed to one's own "experience". Difficulties such as this require that the Bishops above all, together with their priests, devote greater efforts to ensure that the word of God reaches the faithful whole and entire. At the same time, it is incumbent upon them to manifest clearly to the faithful the splendor and intensity of the love "of the truth which saves" (2 Thes 2:10).

The Gospel message and the authoritative teaching of the Church need to be applied to the principles underlying and sustaining the moral life, as presented in Veritatis splendor (25 March 1995), where Pope John Paul II has again proposed the fundamentals of Christian actions and the essential relationship between truth and freedom.

14. Undoubtedly, under different conditions, when the Church could more easily inspire cultures and more readily participate in their forms of expression, the exercise of the episcopal magisterium was relatively easier. However, in the present when patterns of thought and the manner of speaking are undergoing great changes, all this has become obviously more difficult and demanding. Indeed, in proclaiming the truth, the Bishop is often viewed by people as not credible, a situation which puts the Bishop's faith and courage to a hard test.

However, in his person, the Bishop has the supreme duty of being a guardian of the Truth. He fulfills this duty mindful of the many problems which are encountered today by believers who rightly desire to advance in their knowledge of the faith. St. Paul exhorts every Bishop always to draw strength from the grace which is in Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Tim 2:1) and to proclaim the Word on every occasion --opportune and inopportune--, to be vigilant while bearing up under suffering, and to fulfill the work of being a herald of the Gospel (cf. 2 Tim 4:1-5).

For this purpose, it is very important to maintain an active and visible hierarchical communion with the Bishop of Rome and to increase the sense of fellowship among the Bishops in the Episcopal College, particularly among the Bishops in various episcopal assemblies.(30)

Married and Family Life

15. In his Letter of 2 February 1994, Pope John Paul II lists the family as one of the most important "paths" for the Church to follow as the Third Millennium approaches. A look at the life of the Church today reveals that Christians are increasingly more convinced that the married couple and the Christian family are the means towards sanctification. Spouses, in particular, are becoming increasingly aware of their vocation to holiness and of the positive Christian meaning of sexuality. In this regard, the Church has offered essential support over the years through her Magisterium, from that of the Second Vatican Council, set forth in the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, to that of the Holy See in its many discourses, and from the Encyclical Letter Humanae vitae of Pope Paul VI to Familiaris consortio of Pope John Paul II.

Today, however, the family is facing many threats, ranging from a consumer mentality to a widespread hedonism, and from a moral permissiveness to a harmful promotion of deviant forms of sexuality. The means of social communication often advocate behaviour which degrades the dignity of the person. Such conduct is opposed to the moral life set forth in the Gospel and taught by the Church. Added to this situation is the myth of a "demographic explosion" and the fear of an over-population which would keep humanity from providing for vital needs. These occurrences and fears pave the way for the great evils of abortion and euthanasia, above all, because they are nourished by a widespread and oftentimes deceitful "culture of death", against which Pope John Paul II has raised his voice in the Encyclical Evangelium vitae (25 March 1995).

In the field of human life, biology and bio-engineering have concentrated their efforts on the most hidden powers of nature. By pursuing daring methodologies to control and make use of these powers, they have made many significant advances. However, this progress comes with the notable risk of abuse and going beyond legitimate moral bounds. Very important questions are being raised concerning the human person and morality, questions resulting from medical procedures which are unacceptable forms of manipulation and alteration, because they are an assault on the life and dignity of the person.

All this does not cease to be a source of alarm and worry, primarily for the Bishop. He is well aware that the family will be strengthened only to the extent that it conforms to the vocation of the Heavenly Father, who calls his children to live the conjugal life with fidelity, to exercise the power of procreation in a responsible manner and to commit themselves lovingly to the rearing of children.

At a time when many seem to think that the connection between truth, well-being and freedom is lost, the Bishops urgently remind the people of the duty to remember that --in the words of the holy Bishop Irenaeus of Lyons-- "the glory of God is the person fully alive and the life of man is the vision of God.(31) From this comes the necessity that the person live in compliance with his dignity as created by God and a child of the Son who is the Redeemer of Man. A pre-eminent form of charity towards others is not lessening in any way the doctrine of salvation in Christ, but instead, accompanying the proclamation of the truth with the same patience and goodness shown by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Vocations to the Priestly Ministry and the Consecrated Life

16. The Bishop's attention to the formation of future priests and his concern for the diminished number of clergy have received continuous treatment in the discussions of the various assemblies of the Synod of Bishops, particularly that of 1990. In that time, many particular Churches have witnessed an encouraging revival and increase in vocations to the priestly ministry, a situation for which everyone should give praise to the Lord. However, in other Churches, primarily in Western Europe and North America, there still exists a notable decrease, further aggravated by the increase of the median age of priests actively engaged in pastoral work. On the other hand, in those places where an increase in vocations is being seen, a difference always exists between the rise in number and the needs of the faithful.

This situation poses an obvious difficulty for the episcopal ministry and causes notable concerns for many Bishops. Each Christian community has its enduring source in the Sacrament of the Eucharist of which the priest is the minister. Priestly vocations, then, are a necessary pre-requisite for the growth of the Church and an unmistakable sign of its spiritual vitality.

The increase of vocations to the consecrated life is also very important for the Church, always in need of these witnesses of "the age to come". Their presence in the Church is indispensable in the work of the new evangelization. For this reason, the promotion of vocations to the sacred ministry as well as to the consecrated life, not to mention their proper formation, should be seen as the duty of all the People of God, but primarily that of the Bishop. In this way, hope in spreading the Gospel will be fortified and the Body of Christ, the Church, constantly built up.

The Challenge of the Sects and New Religious Movements

17. Moral permissiveness and subjectivism in matters of faith, not to mention a lack of proper religious formation and an infrequent participation in liturgical and ecclesial life, witnessed among the faithful in many Christian communities in Europe, America and Africa, expose Church members to the attraction coming from the proliferation of sects or "new forms of religion", as they are called today. This subject gained attention during the Second Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (1985), when many questioned whether a lack of a sense of the sacred was to blame, even in Church circles.(32) Since then, the Holy See has treated the subject in documents prepared by various Departments of the Roman Curia.(33) Episcopal Conferences, primarily the General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate, also reflected on the topic. Pope John Paul II makes frequent reference to the matter not only when he receives the Bishops in their ad limina visits but also during his many apostolic visitations around the world.

It is clear that very few of these "new religious movements" have anything in common with an authentic search for God. As a result, both in their teachings and methods they promote themselves as alternatives not only to the Catholic Church but also to other Churches and ecclesial communities.

The widespread expansion of these new religious movements requires a pastoral response in works which have the person as their central principle, each person's need to be part of a community and each person's yearning for an authentic intimate relationship with God. The existence of these new religious movements suggest in each case the need to re-vitalize catechesis at all levels, using catechetical methods which take into account the people's mentality and their manner of speaking, always making central the unfathomable riches of Christ, the one and only Saviour of Humanity. Primarily, it is the responsibility of the Bishops of the particular Church where these things are happening to guide pastoral activities along the above lines and to safeguard the values of popular expressions of piety. In this way, it will be possible to stem the proselytism of the sects, without engaging in personal attacks or adopting a manner of acting contrary to the spirit of the Gospel. Instead, the Church's activity will be characterized by the spirit of charity which prompts a person to go out to welcome others so as to evangelize him.

The Context of Human Society

18. These occurrences in the life of the Church today --a few of the most significant have been briefly recalled above-- come together and are indicative of where the Church finds Herself in this moment of human history. The Church is the Pilgrim People of God straining towards the future and lasting city (cf. Heb 13:14). Although, by vocation, She transcends time and the confines of any one nation, She has the duty to extend Herself throughout the world. According to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, the Church enters human history,(34) participates in its affairs and shares the joys and hopes, the sadness and trials of all people, especially the poor and those who suffer.(35)

It is true that the world today is dramatically different from that at the time of the Council. On the other hand, many of the present changes were not foreseen by the Council Fathers of Vatican II, not at least in their present form.

Diverse Situations in the World

19. What is happening within nations and in the relations between nations is indeed different. Progress in science and technology in almost every field has posed new questions. In the area of bio-engineering and social communications a genuine technological revolution has occurred, opening new possibilities to exercise control over nature, over various processes in the social order and over human life itself. Today's atheism is also different from that of the past. Instead of having science and humanism as its prevalent form, contemporary atheism takes a more practical form and is seen in an indifference to religion. This form of atheism has always been present in history. Today, however, it is becoming more widespread yet almost goes unnoticed, especially in parts of the world with a long- established Christian tradition.

Consequently, along with the enormous possibilities mentioned above, there has also come about new threats to human life. The great change in ways of acting pose many challenges to the Church which are impossible to recount at length here. They concern the human person and human life, from the first moment of conception to natural death, the environment threatened in its most fundamental balance, living together in society and the development of peoples, and the untold power of the new means of communication in creating and changing culture and in influencing economic and political processes. In such a situation, the Encyclical Letter Centesimus annus addressed the tri-partite subject of human, social and environmental ecology.(36)

20. Even the great topic of peace in the world, in the final years of this century is seen in different ways. The subject is presented from the new perspective of "globalization". Because of advances in the field of social communication, the world is becoming more and more a "global village". At the same time, however, a tendency is also developing in the opposite direction, leading towards fragmentation, signs of which can be seen in people making assertions–done with strong insistence yet sometimes without foundation–concerning cultural, political, social or religious identity.

Thus it happens that, while some long-standing walls are coming down, others are being built up. At the same time, if a global war is not to be found today, those of a more localized and internal variety are indeed taking place in various nations, a situation which appeals to the conscience of entire populations in every part of the world. The loss of so many human lives and the enormous number of refugees and survivors, wounded in body and spirit, has the negative effect of impeding the development of human rights, of prolonging the crisis in the processes for peace and of inhibiting the pursuit of the common good of society.

Oftentimes persons wrongly cite religious motives to justify fighting and conflicts between people. Fundamentalism or religious fanaticism is to be absolutely condemned. Such situations in which only a religious motive be given need careful examination, because in certain cases religious sentiment is simply the mask of the real motive, e.g., political, economic or social.

21. An equally serious situation is the poverty and misery inflicting entire populations, while a sense of solidarity is on the decline in economically developed countries. The stark line of separation between the rich and the poor is evident not only between richer nations and those on the road of development, but also within these same societies.

Today, the social question is complicated by the existence within populations of various groups having different cultures and value systems which do not always correspond to the level of their economic development, but instead contribute to creating greater distances between people. This situation is worsened by other problems, e.g., illiteracy, the existence of various forms of exploitation and oppression --for economic, social, political and even religious motives-- of the human person and human rights, discrimination of every variety, especially the worst kind founded upon racial differences. Other forms of poverty are the following: the difficulty or impossibility of higher education, the incapacity of participating in building one's nation, and the denial or limitation of human rights, among which is the right to religious freedom.

Without doubt, the list could be further amplified, adding other factors which can weary heart and mind as well as seriously threaten hope for a better future, for example, corruption in public life, verified in various countries; the drug trade and pornography, phenomena which further erode the moral fabric of society and put strains on the people's resistance and hope; the enormous sums of money spent for arms, not only for the purpose of self-defense but also to inflict death; improper behaviour in international relations and commercial enterprises at the expense of developing countries; and restrictions on the freedom to profess one's faith, still in force in certain nations.

Some Signs of Human Hope

22. In preparing to celebrate the Third Christian Millennium, the Church does not underestimate the seriousness and gravity of the situations which she describes and examines closely. However, despite them all, she continues to be optimistic because of the Christian virtue of hope, treated by the Second Vatican Council in the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes. Anyone taking a close look at the history of humanity on the threshold of the new millennium can detect reasons for hope; indeed, hope shows itself in the form of an intense pursuit of freedom taking hold of men and women in every part of the world.

Pope John Paul II, in his address to the United Nations, 5 October 1995, attested to this fact and pointed to its meaning in the clear demands of the universal moral law. He even invited all nations to take the risk of freedom by affirming fundamental human rights and the dignity and value of the human person in the contemporary setting of a multi-ethnic, multi-racial society and of the growing globalization of the economy. Included also in this risk of freedom is a search for a just balance between the two extremes of individual and universal needs. Indeed, the rights of nations are none other than individual human rights applied to a specific level of community life. From this understanding comes a basic respect for "differences", seeing them as means to a deeper comprehension of the mystery of man.(37)

In passing from the Second to the Third Christian Millennium, humanity is displaying powerful and promising signs of hope, though nonetheless fragile, considering the many worries and anxieties of various people. An interest in spiritual values, an increasing need for the interior life, a greater attention to a person's duty towards nature and a growing awareness of the many opportunities existent in today's world, all work towards building a new and better civilization and a world which sees everyone involved in a strong and courageous collaboration towards the objectives of peace and justice, and a re-awakening of a morality which respects human dignity and human rights in the world.

Bishops: Witnesses and Servants of Hope

23. The Church experiences in her Body the same strife and tension which afflict today's men and women. Through her members she wishes to participate in the defense of the dignity of the human person and the full and total human promotion of each individual. Jesus identified himself with all the poor of this world and warned that on this basis he will make his judgment at the end of time (cf. Mt 25:31-46).

On the threshold of the Third Millennium, the Church is aware "that her social message will gain credibility more immediately from the witness of actions, than as a result of its internal logic and consistency. This awareness is also a source of her preferential love for the poor, which is never exclusive or discriminatory towards other groups.(38) After the example of Jesus who, "when he saw the crowds, (he) had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Mt 9:36), the Bishop is also called upon in his person to assume such a task.

24. Church history provides many examples of Bishops who, as a result of the imperatives of their episcopal ministry, were deeply committed to human promotion and the courageous defense of the dignity of human life. Such a work, flowing from the values set forth in the Gospel, can never be under-rated without grave offense to the Creator. The good example of Bishops does not belong only to past epochs, but is present today as well. Some Bishops have borne witness to the point of shedding their blood in the midst of their particular Churches and the Universal Church. Many Bishops–together with their priests, religious and laity–have suffered through imprisonment and emarginization under totalitarian regimes of the East as well as in the West in these last decades. These are joined in the present-day by others who, like the Good Shepherd, have laid down their life for their sheep.

Their sacrifice, united to that of the many faithful, adds contemporary members to the martyrology of the one Church, thus manifesting that the Church at the end of the Second Millennium, "has once again become the Church of martyrs.(39) Their example shows in an effective manner that the social message of the Gospel is not abstract theory but a life given as a gift.

25. To plant the seeds of hope means to bring to fulfillment the Church's required mission. The entire episcopal service is geared to hope; on behalf of the People of God and each individual, the Bishop is the minister of "rebirth to a living hope" (1 Pt 1:3). The Bishop, therefore, has to direct all his efforts in evangelization to the service of hope, especially among the young who are threatened by illusion and pessimism resulting from broken dreams. The Bishop preaches this same message to those who are afflicted by the many forms of poverty and look to the Church as their only defense, since her hope comes from a source beyond the confines of time.

In service of hope, the Bishop is also to safeguard the soundness of this virtue in himself. Hope is the gift of the Risen Lord at Easter. Hope is grounded in the fact that the Gospel, which the Bishop is principally commissioned to serve, is a total good; it is at the center of the episcopal ministry. Without this hope, all the Bishop's pastoral actions would be fruitless. The secret of his ministry lies in the fact that his hope is on a firm basis which cannot be moved.

CHAPTER II

SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF

THE BISHOP'S MINISTRY

26. The Second Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, in using the terms Koinonia - Communio, highlighted the central concept of Vatican II ecclesiology. This ecclesiology, present in the living Tradition of the Church and the common patrimony of East and West during the entire First Millennium of the Christian era, was the path followed by the Church in renewal and the foundation of the Church's pastoral ministry in her pilgrimage through human history.(40)

Where the mystery of communion is reflected in the Church's exterior structures, this mystery more appropriately pertains to her inner nature and reality which touches the very heart of the mystery of the Holy Trinity. The Church–as the Council recalled–is a people gathered together in the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit;(41) in the Trinity she has Her origin; from the Trinity she draws her sustenance and towards the Trinity she proceeds in this world. The Church's nature and mission, "given her by Christ, her Founder and Foundation, determine and define the nature and mission of the episcopate.(42)

The Ministry of the Bishop in Relation to the Holy Trinity

27. The identity of each Christian is drawn within the mystery of the Church which is the mystery of Trinitarian communion always seeking to manifest itself in mission. The meaning and purpose of the episcopal ministry is also founded in the Ecclesia de Trinitate. The Bishop is sent forth to teach all peoples and to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (cf. Mt 28:18-20).

For this reason, the relationship of the Bishop with the faithful of the particular Church entrusted to his care has to reflect the unity of relations among the Divine Persons of the Trinity: the Father is the source of authority, the Son is the source of service and the Spirit is the source of communion. Thus, "the word ?communion' brings us to the very source of the life of the Trinity (cf. 1 Jn 1:3), which converges in the grace and ministry of the episcopate. The Bishop is an image of the Father; he makes Christ present as the Good Shepherd; he receives the fullness of the Holy Spirit from which spring up teachings and ministerial initiatives for the purpose of building up, in the image of the Trinity and through the word and sacraments, that Church which is the place of God's gift to the faithful who have been entrusted to it.(43)

The Episcopal Ministry in Relation to Christ and the Apostles

28. In the Church, the episcopal ministry is likened to that received in succession from the Apostles. The uninterrupted witness of Tradition acknowledges Bishops to be those who "pass on the apostolic seed(44) and succeed the apostles as Pastors of the Church.

Just after the Lord's Passover, the Twelve became unique witnesses of the mystery of the Word Incarnate, Crucified and Risen. Upon the departure of the Apostles from this life, the Bishops became heirs of their mission in the period which remains until the Lord comes again in glory. Rooted in the apostolic eph'apax in virtue of the Sacrament of Orders, they are invested with an exousia which, lived in communion with the Successor of Peter, "is meant to give continuity in time to the face of the Lord, represented by the Church as a whole, and to be particularly alert to ensure that his essential characteristics and the specific features which make him unique among all the world's faces are not altered.(45)

29. As ministers of the apostolic character of the whole Church, willed by Christ, and invested with the power of the Spirit of the Father, who rules and guides (Spiritus principalis), the Bishops are the Successor of the Apostles, not only in authority and in the sacra potestas but also in the Apostles' manner of life, in their suffering for the proclamation and spreading of the Gospel, in their tender care and mercy towards the faithful entrusted to them, in their defense of the weak and in their constant concern for the People of God.

Configured in a special way to Christ through the fullness of the Sacrament of Orders and made sharers in his mission, the Bishops make Christ sacramentally present. For this reason, they bear the names of "vicars and legates of Christ" in the particular Churches over which, in his name, they preside.(46) By means of their ministry, the Lord Jesus continues to proclaim the Gospel, to pour forth upon humanity his holiness and grace in the sacraments of faith and to guide the People of God on its earthly pilgrimage until it possesses eternal happiness.

The Episcopal Ministry in Relation to the Church

30. The Bishop is a gift of the Spirit to the Church. At the same time, however, the Bishop, like any other Christian, is also a son and member of the Church. From this Holy Mother he has received the gift of divine life in the Sacrament of Baptism and initial instruction in the faith. With the other members of the faithful he shares the unsurpassable dignity of being a child of God and of living the mystery of ecclesial communion in a spirit of grateful fellowship. While remaining among the others as a member of Christ's Faithful, the Bishop, in virtue of the fullness of the Sacrament of Orders, also stands before the faithful as the teacher, sanctifier and Pastor, acting in the name and person of Christ. Obviously, this is not a question of two parallel relations but two relations of one intimately bound reality. Ordered as they are, one to the other, they both draw on the richness of Christ, the One and Only High Priest.(47) The Bishop becomes a "Father" precisely because he is fully a "Son" of the Church.

For this reason–the Directory Ecclesiae imago states–the Bishop "should combine in himself, at one and the same time, the qualities both of a brother and a father, a disciple of Christ and a teacher of the faith, a son of the Church and, in a certain way, a father of the Church, for he ministers the spiritual birth of Christians (cf. 1 Cor 4:15).(48)

The bond uniting the Bishop to the Church has often been described as mystical and spousal. Christ is indeed the one and only Spouse of the Church. In so far as the Bishop is the sacramental sign of Christ, the Head, he is also a sign of Christ, the Spouse. Mirroring in a visible and special manner the image of Spouse, the Bishop is to be a credible witness in the community. Clothed in the charity of Christ, the Spouse and Redeemer, the Bishop is committed to bring about a flowering in the Church of the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ, and to fill all with the fullness of God (cf. Eph 3:18ff).

In this way, the Bishop exercises his task to feed the Lord's sheep, both as a response to love and as an officium amoris.(49) At the same time, the Bishop brings an increase in hope to his particular Church, since, as a result of his service, hope conserves the certainty that the pastoral charity of Christ–in which the Bishop shares–will never fail Her.

The Bishop in Relation to His Presbyterate

31. The Bishop's ministry is determined in relation to the diverse vocations of the members of the People of God. First among these is the Bishop's relation to his priests, including priest-religious, and the presbyterate of which they are members in the particular Church.(50) The documents of Vatican II(51) have shed new light on the ancient reality of the presbyteral college as an organic body, constituted by all the incardinated priests in a particular Church, and priests in its service, united around the Bishop in the pastoral governance of each Church. Such a deep bond is based on participation–though not in the same degree–in the one and only priesthood of Jesus Christ and in the same apostolic mission which that priesthood confers. Because of its nature and mission, the ministerial priesthood appears in the structure of the Church as a gift of the Spirit, as a charism, a "sign of the absolute priority and gratuitousness of the grace given to the Church by the Risen Christ.(52)

The Second Vatican Council has described the reciprocal relationship between the Bishop and priests by using a definite terminology and various images. It has referred to the Bishop as the "Father" of the priests(53) and has united to this image of spiritual paternity those of fraternity, friendship, collaboration and counsel. At the same time, it remains true that the priest receives sacramental grace through the ministry of the Bishop and that this same grace is given to him in light of the subordinate collaborative role the priest has with his Bishop in apostolic mission. This same grace associates priests to the various roles included in the episcopal ministry. In virtue of this sacramental and hierarchical bond, priests–the bishop's necessary collaborators, counselors and helpers in the episcopal ministry–assume, according to their degree, the offices and the pastoral concern of the Bishop and render him present in the individual community.(54)

32. The sacramental-hierarchical relationship is fulfilled in the Bishop's continuous, active pursuit of affective and effective communion with the members of his presbyterate. This relationship also brings consistency and meaning to the interior and exterior attitude of the Bishop towards his priests. Forma factus gregis ex animo (cf. 1 Pt 5:3). In the first place, the Bishop has to put these words into action among his clergy, for whom he is to be an example of prayer, apostolic zeal, the sensus Ecclesiae, dedication to the program of pastoral activity and collaboration with the rest of the faithful.

The Bishop has the primary responsibility to provide for the sanctification of his priests and their ongoing formation. While taking into consideration the spiritual needs and individual mental attitude of his priests as well as seeking to respond to their working requirements in a pastoral program and to the good of the faithful, the Bishop is to act in such a manner as to incorporate the ministry of priests into his own in the most appropriate way possible.

33. Besides his attitude towards individual priests, the Bishop has to be conscious of the diocesan presbyterate gathered around him. To this end, he is to nourish in them the spirit of fellowship which sacramentally unites them. He is also to promote among them a spirit of collaboration in an effective plan of pastoral activity.

Furthermore, the Bishop is to commit himself in his daily efforts to help all priests know and understand in concrete ways that they are not isolated or alone, but members and sharers of the "one single priesthood, although comprised of different functions.(55) In this sense, the Bishop is to have a high regard for Priests' Councils and all other structures–formal or informal–for dialogue and cooperation with his priests, fully aware that the witness of affective and effective communion among the Bishop and his priests has the collateral effect of vitalizing communion in the particular Church at all other levels.

34. In the Church's ministerial and hierarchical communion, deacons come after the priests; they are ordained not for the priesthood but for service. In serving the mysteries of God and the Church through diaconia of the word, liturgy and charity, and according to their degree in Sacred Orders, deacons are closely bound to the Bishop and the presbyterate.(56) From this it follows that the Bishop has a prime responsibility in the discernment of this vocation among candidates,(57) and in the deacon's proper spiritual, theological and pastoral formation. The Bishop is always the one who, after taking into account pastoral necessities as well as the family situation and professional qualifications of the candidate, entrusts deacons with ministerial tasks, ensuring that their presence is organically included in the life of the particular Church and that their ongoing formation is not neglected.

The Ministry of Bishop in Relation to Those in Consecrated Life

35. A particularly significant expression of the Church as Spouse of the Word is the consecrated life. From the very beginning of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata the consecrated life is referred to as the Church's integrating part, placed "in the very heart of the Church as a decisive element of Her mission.(58) Through the consecrated life, in the variety of its forms which have a particular expression and an enduring visibility, the characteristic features of Jesus' life–virginity, poverty and obedience–are in some way made present in the world and are shown to have an absolute and eschatological value. The whole Church expresses her thankfulness to the Holy Trinity for the gift of the consecrated life. Its presence demonstrates how the Church's life is not fully complete in a hierarchical structure comprised of sacred ministers and the lay faithful only. Instead, in the Church's make-up the consecrated life is a particularly rich, inclusive and well-defined fundamental structure which is both charismatic and institutional, a structure willed by Christ Himself and all-encompassing.(59)

For this reason, the consecrated life is indeed a gift of the Spirit, an undeniable gift and a part of the Church's make-up and her holiness. By necessity, the consecrated life stands in hierarchical relation to the sacred ministry, especially with that of the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops. In the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Pope John Paul II has recalled the unique bond of communion which the various forms of consecrated life and the societies of apostolic life have with the Successor of Peter, who gives them their universal character and their meaning beyond a particular diocese.

36. Because the consecrated life is intimately bound to the mystery of the Church and to the ministry of the Episcopate, collegially bound in hierarchical communion to the Successor of St. Peter, the whole Episcopal College has a responsibility towards the consecrated life. The Bishops in union with the Roman Pontiff –as mentioned in the directives of Mutuae relationes– are entrusted by Christ, the Head, with the task "of caring for religious charisms, all the more so because the very indivisibility of their pastoral ministry makes them responsible for perfecting the entire flock. In this way, by fostering religious life and protecting it in conformity with its own definite characteristic, Bishops fulfill a real pastoral duty.(60)

According to the indications given in that document as well as from what has emerged from the Ninth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops and the papal magisterium of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata, the opportunity always exists to increase the mutual relations among the Episcopal Conferences, Major Superiors and their respective Conferences, so as to foster the richness of their charisms and collaboration for the good of the universal Church and particular Churches. This cooperation clearly needs to be done with respect for each's responsibility and a common awareness that communion in the universal Church is achieved through communion in the particular Churches.

Given the fact –as the Council taught– that the particular Churches "are fashioned after the model of the universal Church and in and from such individual Churches there comes into being the one and only Catholic Church,(61) consecrated persons, wherever they may be, live their vocation for the universal Church in a given particular Church where they exercise their specific roles and make the consecrated life present. In particular, by reason of the prophetic character inherent to the consecrated life, they are the living proclamation of the Gospel of hope in each particular Church, an eloquent witness of the primacy of God in the Christian life and forceful testimony of the power of His life in the fragile human condition.(62) On this rests the importance of the harmonious development of diocesan pastoral activity and the collaboration between every Bishop with those in the consecrated life.(63)

37. The Church expresses gratitude to the many Bishops who, throughout her history and in the present-day, have highly esteemed the consecrated life as a unique gift of the Spirit in the midst of the People of God, and have founded religious families, many of which are still active today in service to the universal Church and the particular Churches. A reason for hope for institutes –especially for those which find themselves in difficulty– comes from the fact that the Bishop is dedicated to guarding the institutes' faithfulness to their charism.

The Ministry of the Bishop in Relation to the Lay Faithful

38. The Second Vatican Council, the 1987 Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops and Pope John Paul II's Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles laici have amply set forth the vocation and mission of the lay faithful in the Church and in the world.(64) Their baptismal dignity which makes them participants in the royal priesthood of Christ and the special gift of the Spirit in Confirmation confer upon them a unique place in the Church community and call them to participate, in their own way, in the redeeming mission which the Church exercises in response to Christ's command until the end of time. In their regard, the Church acknowledges and highlights the redemptive value of the secular character of a major part of their activity. The laity exercise their proper Christian responsibility in many areas, including family, civil life, the professional world, society, economy, culture, science, the arts, international relations and the mass- media.

In their many activities, the lay faithful are called to unite their proper personal talents and acquired skills to a forthright testimony of their faith in Jesus Christ. Engaged in the temporal order, the lay faithful, like every other Christian, are called to give account of the hope alive in them (cf. 1 Pt 3:15) and to be conscientious in performing the work which is theirs in the contemporary world, precisely because they are waiting in joyful hope for the world to come.(65)

Through their presence in the world, the laity are in a position to exercise great influence on culture by expanding its perspectives and putting hope on the horizon. In doing so, they make a special contribution to the Church's evangelizing efforts, so necessary today because of the enduring tendency to separate the Gospel from culture. In the world of the mass- media, which greatly affects people's mentalities, the lay faithful above all have the particular responsibility to ensure the proper communication of ethical values.

39. Even though the lay faithful are by vocation concerned primarily with the secular order, it must not be forgotten that they belong to the one Church community of which they form a major part because of their great number. After the Second Vatican Council, new forms of responsible participation for lay women and men developed in the life of diocesan communities and parishes. Thus, the laity now belong to various pastoral councils; they exercise a greater role in various services associated with the liturgy or catechesis; they have the task of teaching Catholic religion in schools, etc..

Certain lay people have also given themselves to various tasks through a long-term –and sometimes life-long– commitment. This collaboration of the lay faithful is certainly invaluable in the requirements of the "new evangelization", particularly where the number of ordained ministers is few.

40. The development of associative groups among the laity is a source of great richness for the post-conciliar Church. In the diversity of their inspirations, these new associative groups, together with the traditional ones, offer to the lay faithful unique assistance in advancing in the Christian life and contributing to the growth of the Church. The Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles laici has recalled that all these associations, movements and groups, while maintaining their legitimate diversity, have to be united in their overall purpose, namely, that of a responsible sharing in the mission of the Church as bearers of the light of the Gospel.(66)

In his pastoral mission, the Bishop has the responsibility of gathering and promoting the complementarity of the various group realities and their diverse inspirations, and of watching over the groups' activities, overseeing the theological and spiritual formation of their leaders and attending to the proper placement of each group in the diocesan community.

41. The Bishop is to be the living sign of the God who calls everyone to the one hope (cf. Eph 4:4). This is particularly true in relation to the lay faithful who, living among the world's many problems and difficulties in their daily lives, are subject in a particular way to anxiety and suffering. At times, because of their strong Christian commitment, they feel alone and sometimes isolated in their relations with others. Under such circumstances, the pastoral presence of the Bishop with his presbyterate ought to offer them, with unwavering hope, support in being Christians and help them live in the certainty that the Lord is always near his children.

Furthermore, various difficulties in life oftentimes lead some of the lay faithful to a kind of "flight from the world" and to looking upon their religious convictions as purely a "private affair". This is another reason why is important that the laity find in the Bishop and his presbyterate a strong support through their example of unity of life and firmness in the faith. Finally, the Bishops ought to have in their pastoral service a particular concern for those Catholics who have made wrong choices in life or who have "drifted" from the Church. They should go in search of them, even with the help of the lay faithful, and provide them with assistance so that they might again enjoy full participation in the life of the Church.

42. The subject of a proper formation for the laity should also be included among these thoughts. The Bishop is well aware that he has to be attentive in offering support, particularly on a spiritual level, to those who collaborate more closely with him in the Church's mission. Especially important in the systematic program of catechesis for the laity is helping them approach the Word of God contained in the Scriptures and authentically interpreted by the Church's Magisterium.

A special place in the formation of the lay faithful has to be given to teaching the social doctrine of the Church so as to enlighten them and inspire their actions in response to the urgent needs of justice and the common good. The lay faithful have a decisive contribution to make in the urgent work and services demanded by society. Equally important is the formation of the young as they contemplate marriage and family life. Their hope and expectations for a deep and genuine love need to find enlightenment in God's plan for marriage and the family. To the measure that their works flow from charity and are authentic to their lay state, the lay faithful serve the coming of God's Kingdom.

The Bishop in Relation to the Episcopal College and Its Head

43. Sent in the name of Christ as Pastor of a particular Church, the Bishop cares for a portion of the People of God entrusted to him, making it grow as a communion in the Spirit through the Gospel and the Eucharist. For this reason, in the person of the Bishop, his ministry is to be the visible principle and foundation of unity of his particular Church–in the unity of faith, sacraments and ecclesiastical governance–and, therefore, to represent it and govern it with the power received.(67)

Because every Bishop is Pastor of a particular Church, he is a member of the College of Bishops. Each Bishop belongs to this college in virtue of his consecration as Bishop and through hierarchical communion with the Head of the College and with its other members.(68) Consequently, some very important matters in the ministry of the Bishop, derived from the above facts, deserve consideration, albeit in a summary manner.

44. The first is the fact that the Bishop never stands alone. This is true not only in respect to his position in his particular Church, as mentioned above, but also in the universal Church, correlated as the Church is–because of the nature of the episcopate itself, one and undivided(69)–to the whole Episcopal College, which is in succession to the College of Apostles.

For this reason, each Bishop stands, at one and the same time, in relation to his particular Church and to the universal Church. As the visible principle and foundation of unity in his particular Church, the Bishop is also the visible link in the ecclesial communion between his particular Church and the Universal Church. Therefore, even though living in various parts of the world, each Bishop stands in watch, with the Head of the Episcopal College and with its members, over hierarchical communion. In this way, the Bishops give substance and form to the catholicity of the Church;(70) at the same time, they confer on the particular Church, over which they preside, the same mark of catholicity.

Therefore, each Bishop can be said to be a link connecting his particular Church to the Universal Church and a visible sign of the one Church of Christ in his particular Church. In the Church's communion, then, the Bishop represents his particular Church and, consequently, he represents the communion of the Churches. Indeed, through the episcopal ministry, the portiones Ecclesiae live the totality of the One-Holy Church and the Catholic-Apostolic Church is present in each of them in its totality.(71)

45. This unity as a college or fraternal communion in charity or collegial affection–as the Council expressed it–is the basis for the solicitude which each Bishop, in virtue of Christ's institution and command, is required to have for the whole Church and for the other particular Churches. For the same reason, the Bishop also shares concern for "those parts of world where the Word of God has not yet been proclaimed or where, chiefly because of the small number of priests, the faithful are in danger of departing from the precepts of the Christian life, and even of losing the faith itself.(72)

The divine gifts, through which every Bishop builds his particular Church, namely, the Gospel and the Eucharist, are the same as those which not only constitute all the other particular Churches as a gathering in the Spirit but also open each particular Church to communion with all other Churches. By the will of the Lord, the proclamation of the Gospel is universal; it is addressed to all people and is unchanging in all ages. The celebration of the Eucharist, by its very nature and like all other liturgical actions, is an act of the whole Church. The Sacrament belongs to the whole Body of the Church which it manifests and implies.(73) From this same source comes the duty of each Bishop, as a legitimate successor of the apostles and member of the episcopal college, to be, in a certain way, guarantor of the whole Church (sponsor Ecclesiae).(74)

From this premise, it is clear that the Episcopal College is, as a result of the active and dynamic principle of communion, the meeting place between each Bishop in the exercise of his ministry with the Bishop of Rome and His brother Bishops, and the point of union between each Bishop united with the Successor of Peter, the Head of the College, and the other Bishops scattered throughout the world.

46. The Bishops–whether individually or united to their brother Bishops–together with all the Church, find in the Chair of Peter the visible principle and foundation of the unity realized in faith and communion. Hierarchical communion with the Bishop of Rome also requires that the Bishops, in the magisterial teaching they exercise in their diocese, faithfully fulfill their duty to adhere to the papal magisterium–even the ordinary magisterium–to propagate it in the most suitable way, to contribute to it in various ways, both personally and through their respective Episcopal Conferences, and, as the case may be, to defend it.

A specific form of collaboration with the Roman Pontiff is the Synod of Bishops, where a fruitful exchange of information and suggestions takes place and, in light of the Gospel and the teachings of the Church, common trends of thought are formulated, which, once approved by the Successor of Peter, return to benefit the local Churches. In this way, the whole Church is effectively sustained by maintaining communion in the plurality of cultures and situations. A similar goal is achieved in the Bishops' ad limina visits.

47. Concerning the collaboration of Bishops, the Second Vatican Council has strongly advocated a return, with renewed enthusiasm, to the venerable institution of provincial and plenary Councils,(75) and also emphasized the usefulness of the current institution of Episcopal Conferences.(76) In a particular way, these institutions gather the Church's common patrimony received from the Lord through Revelation, and, without ever losing sight of its universal character guaranteed by the See of Peter, are adopted so that this common patrimony might be suitably seen among the people where the Church lives.

The reference-point for each Episcopal Conference's activity remains the person and responsibility of each participating Bishop as well as Church communion which leads to mutual support in the work of evangelization and to an effective response to common difficulties in pastoral work. The credibility of preaching, the efficacy of the pastoral ministry and the communion every Bishop is called to serve among the faithful, depend on the communal witness of Bishops.

48. The exchange of information among the Bishops goes well beyond institutional meetings. The living awareness of episcopal collegiality ought to serve to encourage Bishops to manifest among themselves, particularly among those in the same province or ecclesiastical territory, various expressions of sacramental fraternity based on mutual acceptance and esteem for the diverse concerns of charity. The Directory Ecclesiae imago also mentions other forms of collaboration such as mutual assistance through the exchange of priests who might be willing, a communal or regional seminary, or, where useful, a joint effort in apostolic works.(77)

Moreover, communion among Bishops ought to be expressed in those cases where certain necessities in the particular Church warrant the presence of a Coadjutor Bishop or Auxiliary Bishop. When, in determined circumstances, these Bishops are given as an assistance to a Diocesan Bishop in the service of the particular Church, the Council exhorts that, as his prime collaborators, they be gathered around the Diocesan Bishop in obedience and respect. The Diocesan Bishop, for his part, is to love them as brothers and hold them in esteem.(78)

Finally, the Bishops have to show particular attention and concern for their Brother Bishops most in need, above all those who are suffering as a result of isolation, misunderstanding or solitude, and those Bishops who, in sickness or advancing years, have tendered their resignation from office to the Roman Pontiff and have left the governance of their dioceses, for the good of the particular Church and in conformity with present ecclesiastical discipline. These Bishops, besides continuing to be a part of the Episcopal College, continue to give much to the Church, through prayer, experience and counsel.

Each Bishop in the Episcopal College, sustained by the Pope and by his Brothers in the Episcopate, finds, together with the necessary helps to fulfill his mission, a beneficial place to nourish his hope, so that he can courageously face the various problems which arise in the life of the Church, and to sustain the hope of the faithful entrusted to his care as Pastor.

Servants of Communion and Hope

49. The various relations mentioned above have their source in the mystery of Trinitarian communion and extend to the communion of the faithful in a particular Church, in keeping with the various orders and according to the diverse charisms and ministries which flow from that communion. At the same time, these relations grow even wider to include the communion of Bishops and the particular Churches. This understanding gives richness to the image of the Bishop, portraying him as a man of communion, who interests himself in concrete ways in the unity of the faithful. This ministry of communion is sustained by hope, a hope which daily ought to nourish each Bishop's duty to build the Church day by day, under the inspiration of the Spirit, as the community of faith and love for others. The Bishop's hope is grounded in Christ, communicated to the portion of the People of God entrusted to him, and sustained by the communion he has with the Roman Pontiff and with the other Bishops.

For its part, communion opens the way to hope, because the word, which reaches each person by way of the testimony of communion, is a message of hope, and because, as the Apostle writes, charity is the virtue which "hopes all things" (1 Cor 13:7). Working against the tendency towards division present in the life of the Church and the world, the Bishop is a servant, a builder, a promoter, a guarantor, a defender and guardian of Church communion, which is in itself, the seed, the principle and the active agent of communion in humankind.

CHAPTER III

THE PASTORAL MINISTRY OF

THE BISHOP IN A DIOCESE

50. When the Lord Jesus called his Apostles, He sent them –as the Council indicates from the Gospel accounts– first to the children of Israel and then to all nations, so that as "sharers in His power they might make all peoples his disciples, sanctifying and governing them.(79) To those whom the Lord has called to be the Successors of the Apostles in the Church, i.e., the Bishops, Christ confers the three-fold office (triplex munus) of teaching, sanctifying and governing.

The Bishops receive this three-fold office through episcopal ordination and exercise it in the person and name of Christ, thus discharging in notable and visible form the role of Christ as Teacher, Pontiff and Pastor.(80) By means of the Bishops' exalted ministry, Christ is made present in the midst of believers. Through the Bishops Christ preaches the Word of God; Christ administers the sacraments of faith; Christ guides and sets in order the People of the New Testament as it makes its way towards eternal blessedness.(81)

51. The three-fold office of teaching, sanctifying and governing gives form to the mission of the Bishop and underlies all its daily activity. Just as in Christ the three functions are three distinct aspects of his single office as Mediator and three aspects of a single salvific activity, so also in the ministry of the Bishop they have to be considered as a unity. Therefore, while the Bishop teaches, he is also sanctifying and guiding the portion of the People of God entrusted to his pastoral care. While sanctifying, he is teaching and guiding; and when he exercises his pastoral governance, he is teaching and sanctifying. The foundation, then, of this three-fold office of teaching, sanctifying and governing and "of this entire and excellent labor by which he spends–and more than spends–himself and what he has (cf. 2 Cor 12:15) is the pastoral spirit, whose inviolable law is defined by the example and words of Jesus the Good Shepherd,(82) who is the Way to the Father because He is the Truth and Life.

Though the three-fold office is indeed a unity, it is also necessary to consider the intention of Vatican Council II on the subject. When its magisterium mentions the tria munera of the Bishop and the priests, it prefers to give first place to teaching. In this regard, the Second Vatican Council is adopting the succession of ideas present in the words which the Risen Christ addresses to His disciples: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations baptizing them...teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt 28:18-20). Because of the priority given to the Bishop's task of proclaiming the Gospel (a characteristic of the Council's ecclesiology), every Bishop can re-discover the meaning of that spiritual paternity which made St. Paul the Apostle write: "For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel." (1 Cor 4:15).

The Bishop: Sent Forth to Teach

52. The Bishop's most distinguishing office and the one which, in a certain way, summarizes all his ministry is–as the Council teaches–that of his being the vicar and ambassador of Christ in the particular Church entrusted to him.(83) The Bishop exercises his sacramental office as the living sign of Jesus Christ, discharging his ministry of the Word. As minister of the Word of God, who works in the power of the Spirit and mediates the charism of episcopal service, the Bishop manifests Christ to the world, renders Christ present in the community and communicates Him to those who open their hearts to him in their lives.

The preaching of the Gospel, then, has a prominent place among the principal duties of Bishops, who are "preachers of the faith...authentic teachers, i.e., teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach to the people committed to them the faith they must believe and put into practice.(84) As a result, all the activities of the Bishop ought to have as their final end the proclamation of the Gospel, "the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith" (Rom 1:16). His activities have to be directed to helping the People of God render the obedience of faith (cf. Rom1:5) to the Word of God and to embrace totally Christ's teaching.

The fact that the Bishop is magister fidei and doctor veritatis does not mean that he is the owner of the truth. During the prayer of ordination, the ritual of placing an open Gospel book over the Bishop's head is a sign that he is a servant of the truth. For this reason, far from manipulating the truth and preaching it to his own liking, the Bishop communicates it with strict fidelity and proposes it to all –in season and out of season– not in an overbearing manner, but with humility, courage and perseverance, always putting his hope in the Word of the Lord (cf. Ps 119,114).

53. What the Bishop is to teach is expressed by the Second Vatican Council in summary fashion as the faith to be believed and to be put into practice in life.(85) Since the living core of proclamation is the Person of Christ himself –specifically Christ Crucified and Risen– he is what the Bishop is to proclaim: Christ, the one and only Saviour of humanity, the same yesterday and today and forever (cf. Heb 13:8), the focal point of history and the center of the lives of all the faithful.

From this source, which is the mystery of Christ, the Eternal Son of the Father, who through the work of the Spirit became man in the virginal womb of Mary and who died and rose again for our salvation, flow all the other truths of the faith as well as every person's hope. Christ is the light which illumines every individual; those who are born again in him receive the first fruits of the Spirit, which enable them to fulfill the new law of love.(86)

54. The essential task of preaching and faithfully safeguarding the deposit of faith, exercised by the Bishop in communion with the Pope and with his Brother Bishops, implies the duty to defend the Word of God from all that can compromise its purity and integrity. This the Bishop does by utilizing the most appropriate means at his disposal and, at the same time, recognizing the rightful freedom to engage in a further in-depth study of the faith.(87)

No Bishop can be wanting in this duty, even if he might be required to make sacrifices or suffer from being misunderstood. Like the Apostle St. Paul, the Bishop is conscious of his mandate to proclaim the Gospel "not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" (1 Cor 1:17); but, like Christ, the Bishop also proclaims the "word of the Cross" (1 Cor 1:18), not for human approval but as a divine revelation. The compelling forces underlying the Bishop's task are the unity of charity and the unity of truth. Indeed, the Bishop is servant of the Gospel, the word of truth.

This duty to defend the Word of God has to be exercised with a serene sense of realism, without exaggerating or minimizing the existence of error and falsity, which the pastoral responsibility of the Bishop obliges him to identify, and without being surprised at finding in the present generation of the Church –as in the past– not only sin but, in some measure, even error and falsity. It is always true that both the study of the Word of God and carefully listening to it and the ministry of safeguarding the revealed deposit of faith and watching over the integrity and purity of the faith, are synonymous with pastoral charity.(88)

55. As Master-Teacher of the faith, the Bishop also instructs others in the faith, according to the Word of God and the Magisterium of the Church. The task of educating others in the faith is strictly bound to that of nourishing the faith of the People of God with a proper catechesis. It is a fundamental element in the entire work of evangelization, meriting the full attention of Bishops as Pastors, teachers and catechists par excellence. To achieve this, the Bishops cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the formation of an evangelizing and catechizing people, endowed with enthusiasm and energy to accompany their dutiful proclaiming of the faith and their joyful living of it.

The Bishop exercises his service to the Word of God in a variety of ways and forms. The Directory Ecclesiae imago makes mention of a certain form of preaching directed towards an already evangelized community. In this case, the Homily is pre-eminent among all others, because of its liturgical context and its connection with the proclamation of the Word through readings from Sacred Scripture. The Bishop exercises another form of proclamation through his Pastoral Letters.(89) Every Bishop has to ask himself how he translates into action his duty to teach.

56. In his preaching, the Bishop is to feel, and show himself to be, personally committed to the great undertaking of ecumenical dialogue begun by the Second Vatican Council. In this way, ecumenism can continue to proceed towards reaching the re-establishment of a visible unity among Christians.

In this regard, his first act is to preach the Gospel, seeking to demonstrate the mystery of the Church's unity, in keeping with the Catholic principles of ecumenism, indicated in the conciliar decree Unitatis redintegratio and confirmed by Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical Letter Ut unum sint.

57. The magisterial charism of Bishops is uniquely the responsibility of each Bishop and cannot be delegated in any way. Nevertheless, the Bishops do not live in isolation within the Church. Every Bishop fulfills his pastoral service in a particular Church where he has priests as his primary collaborators. These are intimately united under his authority to his ministry and work. Deacons also collaborate with the Bishop. At the same time, women and men religious as well as an increasing number of lay faithfu –reflecting the general make-up of the Church– render valuable assistance to the Bishop in proclaiming and living the Word of God.

The Bishops ensure that the authentic Catholic faith is transmitted to parents so that they, in turn, can pass it on to their children. Teachers and educators at all levels also receive from the Bishop the guarantor of the authenticity of the faith they teach. The lay faithful bear witness to that purity of faith which Bishops take great pains to maintain. It is important that each Bishop endeavour to sustain the faith and to employ every means available, through proper schools, for the basic and ongoing formation in the faith.

58. Particularly useful for purposes of proclamation is the collaboration of theologians who, in their own way, apply themselves to the study of the unfathomable riches of the mystery of Christ. Both the magisterium of Pastors and the work of theologians, though having different functions, rely upon the one and only Word of God and have the same goal, i.e., conserving the People of God in the truth which sets a person free. This is the basis for the relation between the magisterium and theology. This is also the reason why Bishops have the task of offering encouragement to theologians and the support which might help them to conduct their work in fidelity to Tradition and attention to history.(90)

Through dialogue with his people, the Bishop comes to know how to recognize and appreciate their faith, to gather inspiration from it, to strengthen it, to free it from anything superficial and to give it proper doctrinal content. To accomplish this –and also to assist in drafting local catechisms which take into consideration diverse situations and culture– the Catechism of the Catholic Church serves as a point of reference. In this way, the unity of faith and adherence to Catholic doctrine will be carefully maintained.(91)

59. Called to proclaim salvation in Jesus Christ, the Bishop in his preaching ought to be the sign of the certainty of the faith in the midst of the People of God. If he, like the Church, does not always have at hand the solution to people's problems, nevertheless, he is the minister of the splendor of the truth which is capable of illuminating the paths that lead to a solution.(92) Even though he does not possess specialized knowledge in promoting the temporal order, the Bishop, in exercising his teaching office and educating in the faith the persons and community entrusted to him, prepares the lay faithful, nonetheless, who, once inwardly changed, will in turn transform the world through those solutions which the Bishops, in keeping with their respective abilities, have the responsibility to offer.

The Bishop performs a great act of pastoral charity towards people through making present in the world the power of the Word which saves. Always keeping in mind the image of the Good Shepherd whom he is to imitate in life, the Bishop is eager to make sure that the Word of God reach each one of the faithful, even those who in theory or practice have abandoned the Christian faith. Because of the power of the Word, which is capable of revealing to people the greatest reason for hope, the Bishop fulfills the primary purpose for which he has been called to the episcopate and has been sent to a portion of the People of God.

The Bishop: Sent Forth to Sanctify

60. The proclamation of the Word of God serves as the basis for gathering the People of God into an Ekklesia, i.e., into a worshiping assembly. This proclamation, however, is directed towards and finds its fullness in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Word and Sacrament are one; they are inseparable one from the other and have to be considered as two aspects or moments in one unique salvific work. Both make present and operative all salvation's effects accomplished in Christ. Christ Himself, the Eternal Word- Made-Flesh, is the very source of the intimate bond which joins Word and Sacrament, a union particularly consistent with the complementarity in human life between speaking and doing. Where this is true for all the sacraments, it takes place in a particularly excellent way in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of all evangelization.(93)

On behalf of this unity of Word and Sacrament, the Bishops, successors of the Apostles who were commanded by the Risen Lord to teach and baptize all nations (cf. Mt 28:19), are marked by the fullness of the Sacrament of Orders and receive in addition to their mission as Herald of the Gospel, that of being "stewards of the grace of the supreme priesthood.(94) The ministry of proclaiming the Gospel "is ordered to the service of grace in the Church's holy sacraments. As a minister of grace, the Bishop exercises in the sacraments, the munus sanctificandi which is the aim of the munus docendi he fufills among the People of God entrusted to him.(95)

61. This function of sanctifying is inherent to the mission of the Bishop. Precisely in relation to the Sacraments –some of which are ordered to the perfection of the individual and others to the perfection of the group– St. Thomas Aquinas refers to the Bishop as Perfector.(96) In his particular Church, the Bishop is the principal dispenser of the mysteries of God, primarily of the Eucharist which is at the center of the Bishop's sacramental service. In presiding over these Sacred Mysteries, he appears in the eyes of his people, first and foremost, as the man of the new and eternal worship of God, instituted by Jesus Christ through the sacrifice of his Cross. He also regulates the administration of Baptism, through which the faithful participate in the royal priesthood of Christ; he is the ordinary minister of Confirmation, dispenser of Holy Orders and moderator of penitential discipline.(97)

The Second Vatican Council also uses the term perfectores in relation to Bishops. However, its teaching does not limit this function to the sacramental ministry, but extends it to include the entire exercise of the Bishops' mission, since, by means of their pastoral charity, they become in their person living signs of holiness which lead others to accept the Gospel. For this reason, the same Council exhorts the Bishops to make all the faithful advance on the path of holiness, each according to his particular vocation. In this work, the Bishops are to be the first to set the example of holiness in charity, humility and simplicity of life and to conduct "the Churches entrusted to them to such a point of holiness that the true image of Christ's universal Church might shine forth fully in them.(98)

62. The Bishop is the Liturgist in the particular Church, principally in his presiding over the Eucharistic gathering, (99) where the Church experiences the supreme moment of her life and existence. It is also the place where the munus sanctificandi, exercised by the Bishop in the person of Christ, the Eternal High Priest, achieves its supreme moment. For this reason, the Bishop, having the Eucharist at the center of his sacramental service and demonstrating himself to be the primary minister of the new eternal worship through his presiding at the Eucharistic celebration, ardently desires to celebrate the divine mysteries in the presence of the faithful as often as he can. While not neglecting to celebrate often in various places in his diocese, the Bishop has a particular attachment to the Eucharistic Liturgies celebrated in his Cathedral Church.

Located in the Cathedral is the Chair from which the Bishop teaches his people with the authentic teaching of the Word of God. It is the Mother Church and the Center of the Diocese. When the Bishop presides in the Cathedral Church, the particular Church beholds a sign of its unity, its supernatural vitality, and –especially in the celebration of the Eucharist– its participation in the One Catholic Church.

63. One of the more pre-eminent duties of the Bishop is to provide that the faithful of the particular Church have the possibility to approach the table of the Lord, above all on Sundays, the day on which the Church commemorates the Easter mystery and the faithful, in a spirit of the joy and rest from work, give thanks to God by whose great mercy "we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pt 1: 3).(100)

In many parts of the Church –not only in the more recent and younger Churches but also in territories of a more ancient Christian tradition– because of the scarcity of priests or for other grave reasons, it is becoming more difficult to provide for the Eucharistic celebration of Mass. This situation makes all the more important the Bishop's duty to be the steward of grace. While always being mindful of discerning the existence of actual need and serious circumstances, the Bishop endeavours to distribute wisely the members of his presbyterate in such a way that, even in such emergencies, the community of the faithful not be long deprived of the Eucharist. This is also true in reference to the faithful who, because of sickness, advancing years or other reasonable motives, can only receive the Eucharist in their homes or in places where they reside.

64. The Church's Liturgy is the highest form of praise of the Holy Trinity. In the Liturgy, above all in the celebration of the Sacraments, the People of God, locally gathered together, expresses and fulfills its sacred character and organic structure as the priestly community.(101) Exercising the munus sanctificandi, the Bishop labors so that the entire particular Church become a single praying community, a community where all the faithful are persevering and of one accord in prayer (cf. Acts 1:14).

Imbued with the Spirit and power of the Liturgy, beginning first of all with himself and together with his presbyterate, the Bishop oversees in his diocese the promotion and development of an intensive educational program where the faithful may come to know the rich content of the Liturgy celebrated according to the approved texts, and whose mysteries are lived above all as a fact of spiritual order. Responsible for divine worship in the particular Church, the Bishop guides and safeguards the liturgical life of the diocese. He does this in union with the Bishops of the Episcopal Conference to which he belongs and in fidelity to the one faith. He also concerns himself with its dynamic aspect so that, corresponding to the needs of the times and locality, the Liturgy might be grounded in cultures. The Bishop does this by taking into account what has an unchanging character in the Liturgy because it is divinely instituted, and what instead is open to change.(102)

65. In such a context, the Bishop also gives attention to various forms of popular devotions and pious practices and their relation to liturgical life. In so far as they express the religious mentality of humankind, this popular piety cannot be overlooked or treated with indifference or contempt –as Paul VI writes– because of their rich value.(103) However, they are always in need of evangelization so that the faith which they express always becomes more mature. A genuine liturgical pastoral program, having a biblical basis, will know how to draw from the riches of popular piety, purify them and direct them towards the liturgy as the offering of the people.(104)

66. Prayer in its various forms is the place where the hope of the Church is expressed. Each prayer of the Bride of Christ, directed towards the perfect union with her Spouse, is summed up in the invocation inspired by the Spirit: "Come!" (Rev 22:17).(105) The Spirit pronounces this prayer with the Church and in the Church. "It is the eschatological hope, the hope of definitive fulfilment in God, and the hope of the eternal Kingdom which is fulfilled in participating in the life of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit, given to the Apostles as Consoler, is the Guardian and Animator of this hope in the heart of the Church. In the time leading up to the Third Millennium after Christ, while 'the Spirit and the Bride say to the Lord Jesus: Come!' (cf. Rev 22:17), this prayer of theirs is filled, as always, with eschatological significance, which is also destined to give fullness to the celebration of the Great Jubilee. It is a prayer concerned with destinies towards which the Holy Spirit by His action opens hearts throughout the history of man on earth.(106)

Aware of this, the Bishop has the duty each day to communicate to the faithful the fullness of life in Christ, through a personal testimony in word, prayer and the sacraments.

The Bishop: Sent Forth to Rule and Guide the People of God

67. The three-fold office of the Bishop is completed in his ministry of guiding the portion of the People of God entrusted to him. Church Tradition has always associated this work with two figures taken from the Gospels, which Jesus applied to himself, namely, Shepherd and Servant. The Council uses the following words to describe the Bishop's office of governing the faithful: "Bishops govern the particular Churches entrusted to them as the vicars and ambassadors of Christ. This they do by their counsel, exhortations and example, as well, indeed, as by their authority and sacred power. This power they use only for the edification of their flock in truth and holiness, remembering that he who is greater should become as the lesser and he who is the more distinguished, as the servant. (cf. Lk 22:26-27)".(107)

Pope John Paul II explains that "it is necessary to insist on the concept of service, which applies to every ecclesiastical ministry, beginning with that of Bishops. Indeed, the Episcopate is more a service than an honor. And if it be also an honour, it is when the Bishop, a successor of the Apostles, serves in a spirit of Gospel humility following the example of the Son of Man...It is in light of this service 'as a good shepherd' that the authority which the Bishop possesses in proprio must be understood, although it is always subject to that of the Supreme Pontiff.(108) Consequently, it is with good reason that The Code of Canon Law describes his office as munus pastoris and associates with it the characteristic of sollicitudo.(109)

68. What has been treated thus far is none other than caritas pastoralis, i.e., the virtue with which Christ is imitated as the "Good" Shepherd to the point of giving his very life. This is accomplished not only in acts of service but even more in the gift of self, which manifests the love of Christ for his flock.

One of the forms taken by pastoral charity is compassion, in imitation of Christ the High Priest, who is able to sympathize with human weakness, since he himself has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (cf. Heb 4:15). Such compassion, which the Bishop exemplifies and lives as a sign of the compassion of Christ, cannot, however, be separated from the sign of Christ's truth. Indeed, another expression of pastoral charity isresponsibility before God and the Church.

In governing his diocese, the Bishop is also attentive that recognition be given to the value of the Church's canon law, whose aim is the well-being of persons and the ecclesial community.(110)

69. Pastoral charity makes the Bishop eager to serve the common good of his diocese, which is ordained to the good of the whole Church and takes precedence over the good of particular communities of a diocese. In this regard, the Directory Ecclesiae imago sets forth three basic principles: unity, responsible collaboration and coordination.(111)

As a result of pastoral charity, which is the interior unifying principle of all ministerial activity, "the essential and permanent demand for unity between the priest's interior life and all his external actions and the obligations of the ministry can be properly fulfilled, a demand particularly urgent in a socio-cultural and ecclesial context strongly marked by complexity, fragmentation and dispersion.(112) Pastoral charity, therefore, has to characterize the Bishop's manner of thinking and acting as well as his relations with people.

Consequently, pastoral charity demands a certain manner of life, which results from imitating Christ, who was humble and poor. Such a life-style permits the Bishop to draw near to all members of the flock, from the greatest to the least; it makes him ready to share their joys and sorrows, not only in thought and prayer, but also in experiencing them first-hand, so that, because of the Bishop's presence and ministry, all might approach him without feeling embarrassed or causing embarrassment. In this way, everyone is able to experience God's love towards humanity.(113)

70. Traditionally, the Church has given specific form to the ministry of Pastor exercised by the Bishop in his particular Church. Two in particular deserve mention: the first form involves personal contacts; the second, instead, takes the form of a synodal gathering.

Pastoral visitations are not simply a juridic institution prescribed for the Bishop by ecclesiastical discipline, nor are they a tool of inquiry.(114) In the visiting of parishes the Bishop permits the people to see him as the visible principle and foundation of unity in the particular Church. The Bishop's pastoral visit "resembles in some fashion that unique and altogether marvelous visitation of the 'Chief Shepherd' (1 Pt 5:4), the Guardian of Souls (cf. 1 Pt 2:25), Christ Jesus, who visited and redeemed his people (cf. Lk 1:68).(115) Furthermore, since the diocese is a portion of the People of God entrusted to the pastoral care of a Bishop, before being a territory of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the Directory Ecclesiae imago rightly states that persons are the primary concern in pastoral visitation. So as better to dedicate himself better to these visits, the Bishop ought to delegate to others the treatment of matters which are more administrative in character.

The celebration of the Diocesan Synod, whose nature and norms are set forth in The Code of Canon Law,(116) undoubtedly has a prominent place among the pastoral duties of the Bishop. Indeed, Church discipline lists the Synod first among the organs through which the life of a particular Church proceeds and develops. Its structure –as that of other so-called organs "of participation"– corresponds to the basic requirements of ecclesiology and expresses certain theological realities, e.g., the necessary cooperation of the presbyterate in the ministry of the Bishop, the participation of all the baptized in the prophetic office of Christ, and the duty of Pastors to acknowledge and promote the dignity of the lay faithful and to avail themselves freely of their prudent counsel.(117) By its nature, the Diocesan Synod can be viewed in the context of the co-responsibility of all members in the Diocese, gathered each in his place around the Diocesan Bishop, for the good of the Diocese. In its composition, determined by present canonical discipline, the Synod is the choice expression of communion in the particular Church. Ultimately, the Synod is a way of listening to what the Spirit is saying to the particular Church as the community seeks to remain firm in the faith, faithful in communion, open to its missionary character, disposed to the spiritual needs of the world and full of hope in facing challenges.

71. Because of his pastoral office, the Bishop is the presider and minister of charity in his particular Church. Building her up through the Word and the Eucharist, he also sets before her the choice and authentic paths for living and bearing witness to the Gospel of charity. In apostolic times, the Twelve provided for the institution of "seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom" to whom they entrusted the work "to serve tables" (Acts 6, 2-3). St. Paul had as a dominant feature in his apostolate to remember the poor, thus leaving an indication on how to achieve the fundamental sign of communion among Christians. Even today, the Bishop is called in a personal manner to undertake and to organize the works of charity in his diocese by adopting suitable structures.

In this way, the Bishop attests that the sadness and trials of people, primarily of the poor and all those who suffer, are also the anxieties of Christ's disciples.(118) Without a doubt, poverty takes on many forms; the accustomed forms of the past have been joined by more contemporary ones. In these situations, the Bishop is in the forefront in efforts which will lead to new approaches in the apostolate and in charity, where various needs are revealing themselves in new ways. To serve, to encourage, to make people aware of the duties of solidarity and of being a neighbor to everyone, such a manner of acting gives a contemporary character to the age-old story of the Good Samaritan, and is in itself already a sign of hope for the world.

CHAPTER IV

THE BISHOP: MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL

FOR ALL PEOPLE

72. The life and pastoral ministry of the Bishop always has to be inspired by hope, which is the content of the proclamation of the Good News, a proclamation for which he is first and foremost responsible in the particular Church. His service to the Gospel, however, is not limited to the faithful of his particular Church nor is the entire Church the sole object of his pastoral solicitude. His very position as Bishop and the mission he is called to fulfill make him responsible for the Church's ongoing mission of bringing the Gospel to the whole world, especially those who do not yet know Christ, the Redeemer of the World.

This chapter will consider the mission of the Bishop in light of its prophetic relation to the theological reality of the community over which he presides in the name of Christ the Shepherd as that community progresses on its earthly pilgrimage towards the heavenly city. Attention will focus, therefore, on the missionary mandate given by the Lord to His Church and on some other areas of evangelization, such as dialogue with non-Christian religions, and the Bishop's responsibility to the world in matters of peace and political, social and economic life. Indeed, even in these areas, the Bishop is called to foster the hope inspired by transcendent and eschatological realities.

The Missionary Duty of the Bishop

73. The mandate entrusted by the Risen Lord to his Apostles extends everywhere to all peoples. In fact, in the Apostles "the Church received a universal mission –one which knows no boundaries– which involves the communication of salvation in its integrity according to that fullness of life which Christ came to bring (cf. Jn 10:10).(119)

The same is true for the successors of the Apostles. The task of proclaiming the Gospel is not restricted to the Church community; the Gospel is destined for all peoples. The Church herself is the sacrament of salvation for all people and her action is not limited only to those who accept her message. Rather, she is "the dynamic force in mankind's journey towards the eschatological Kingdom, and is the sign and promoter of Gospel values.(120) For this reason, the successors of the Apostles will always have the responsibility of spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

If the Bishops, in their person, indeed be signs of Christ in their particular Churches, they are equally signs in the world of the Church present in the history of all peoples. Consecrated not only for a diocese but for the salvation of the whole world,(121) Bishops, both as members of the episcopal college and as individual Pastors of particular Churches, are, together with the Bishop of Rome, directly responsible for the evangelization of all those who still do not know Christ as the one and only Saviour as well as those who have not as yet placed their hope in him.

With this in mind, the Church must recall the many missionary Bishops–past and present–who testify to the missionary aspect of the Church with generosity and holiness. Some of these Bishops have also been founders of missionary institutes.

74. As Pastor of the particular Church, the Bishop has the responsibility to guide all missionary endeavours by directing and coordinating them. He fulfills his duty of instilling the missionary spirit at the very depths of his particular Church when he inspires, promotes, and guides the work of the diocese on behalf of the missions. In so doing, the Bishop "makes the mission spirit and zeal of the People of God present, and as it were visible, so that the whole diocese becomes missionary.(122)

In his zeal for missionary activity, the Bishop also shows himself to be a servant and witness of hope. Indeed, mission has no other motivation than faith and is "an accurate indicator of our faith in Christ and his love for us.(123) But, since the Good News for all peoples of all times is the newness of life to which each person is called and destined, mission is also animated by hope and is itself the fruit of Christian hope.

Proclaiming the Risen Christ, Christians announce the One who begins a new era in human history. They proclaim to the world the Good News of an integral and universal salvation that contains in itself the seeds of a new world in which sorrow and injustice will yield to joy and beauty. Therefore, Christians pray as Jesus taught them: "Thy Kingdom Come" (Mt 6:10). Finally, missionary activity, in its ultimate purpose of proposing to each person the salvation accomplished by Christ once and for all times, tends by its nature towards eschatological fulfillment. For through missionary activity, the People of God increases, the Body of Christ grows and the Temple of the Holy Spirit continues to be built up until the consummation of ages.(124)

Inter-religious Dialogue

75. As Master-Teachers of the Faith, the Bishops have also to give rightful attention to inter-religious dialogue. Everyone is aware that present historical circumstances have given inter-religious dialogue a particularly urgent character. Indeed, for many Christian communities, e.g., in Africa and Asia, inter-religious dialogue has nearly become an essential part of daily living for families and entire communities as well as for individuals in the workplace and in service to the public. On the other hand, in other places, e.g., in Western Europe and to a certain extent in traditionally Christian countries, inter-religious dialogue is a relatively new phenomenon. In this situation, what frequently happens is that believers of different religions and forms of worship more easily come in contact with one another, often living together, because of the migration of peoples, tourism, social communications and personal choice.

Therefore, a pastoral program needs to be devised which fosters welcoming these persons and witnessing to them according to the principles set forth by the Second Vatican Council in the decree Nostra aetate on respecting non-Christian beliefs and, in so far as they have a positive value, on the possibility of defending, together with their followers, certain essential values of human existence as well as the possibility of a commitment to meet with these men and women in a common study of the truth.

76. Pope John Paul II recalled that inter-religious dialogue is part of the evangelizing mission of the Church and is a recurring theme in light of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.(125) The Decree Nostra aetate places among the principal reasons for dialogue those which come to mind in the task of professing Christian hope. Indeed, all peoples have a common origin in God, in that they are creatures loved and willed by him, and have a common destiny in his eternal love. The ultimate destiny of each person is God.

In this dialogue, Christians have always to bear witness to their hope in Christ, the one and only Saviour of humanity. At the same time, they can learn much in the process. However, this cannot and should not diminish the duty and determination of Christians to proclaim without hesitation the unique and absolute character of Christ, the Redeemer. Indeed, there is no other in whom Christians place their hope; Christ is the fulfillment of all hope. He is "the long-awaited one for those in every people who yearn for the manifestation of divine goodness.(126) Moreover, the Catholic faithful have to undertake and pursue inter-religious dialogue with the conviction that the one true religion subsists "in the Catholic and Apostolic Church, to which the Lord Jesus entrusted the mission of communicating that religion to all people.(127)

77. Every one of the faithful and every Christian community are called to practice inter-religious dialogue, even if not always at the same level or intensity. However, where situations require or permit it, the Bishop has the duty in his particular Church in his teaching and pastoral work to help all the faithful to respect and esteem the values, the traditions and convictions of other believers, and also to promote a sound and appropriate religious formation for Christians, so that they might know how to bear witness with conviction to the great gift of the Christian faith.

The Bishop also has to keep watch over the theological dimension of inter-religious dialogue, ensuring that in his particular Church the exchange be pursued in such a manner as never to be silent about, nor hesitate to affirm, the universality and the unique character of the Redemption accomplished by Christ, the one and only Saviour of the World and Revealer of the Mystery of God.(128) Indeed, only in remaining consistent with the faith is it possible also to share, approach and enrich spiritual experiences and forms of prayer as paths of encounter with God.

Inter-religious dialogue, however, does not concern only matters of doctrine but extends to a multiplicity of everyday encounters among believers of every type, who are called to mutual respect and understanding of each other. It is a question of a so-called "dialogue of life" where believers of various religions bear witness reciprocally to each religion's human and spiritual values, so that peace might mark their shared existence and collaboration be fostered for a more just and fraternal society. In promoting and attentively following inter-religious dialogue, the Bishop is always to remind the faithful that this duty flows from the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, the same virtues which ensure the increased awareness of that duty.

Responsibility towards the World

78. Christians fulfill their prophetic mission received from Christ by being present in the world as bearers of hope. For this reason, the Second Vatican Council recalls that the Church "goes forward together with humanity and experiences the same earthly lot which the world does. She serves as leaven and as a kind of soul for human society as it is to be renewed in Christ and transformed into God's family.(129)

Responsibility towards the whole world and its problems, its questioning and its expectations is also part of the duty of evangelization to which the Church is called by the Lord. The Bishop, then, is particularly involved in this work, requiring him to be attentive in reading the "signs of the times" so as to awaken a new hope in every person. In this endeavour, he works as a minister of the Spirit, who, even today on the threshold of the Third Millennium, does not cease to bring great things about so as to renew the face of the earth. After the example of the Good Shepherd, the Bishop points to each person as the way to follow, and after the example of the Good Samaritan, he bends towards each individual to care for his wounds.

79. Essentially speaking, each person has hope. At the same time, many events in various parts of the world tempt persons to skepticism and a lack of trust; so many are the challenges targeted at hope today. The Church, however, finds in the mystery of the cross and resurrection of her Lord, the foundation of a "blessed hope" which gives a person the power to commit himself–and to continue in that commitment–to the service of humanity and to each person individually.

The Church is servant of the Gospel–a message of freedom and a force of liberation–which strips away and passes judgment on illusory and false hopes and carries to fulfilment the most authentic aspirations of humanity. The nucleus of this Good News is that Christ has opened the new way to freedom and liberation for humanity through his cross and resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Among those situations in which the Bishop is called to guide his community, a number of tasks and activities provide places where the renewing force of the Gospel and the effective signs of hope can be felt. Particularly relevant are those tasks and activities associated with the Church's social doctrine–not at all an addition to the Christian message but an essential part of it, because it teaches the direct implications of the Gospel on life and society. On many occasions, the Magisterium has affirmed this fact, displaying its connection to the Paschal Mystery where the Church always draws the truth about history and humanity. She has also recalled at these times that the particular Churches have the responsibility, in communion with the See of Peter and among themselves, to apply the Church's social doctrine to situations in a concrete way.

80. First in the list of tasks and activities concerns the Church's relation to civil society and political life. In this regard, it is evident that the mission of the Church is religious in nature and that the proper end of her missionary action is to proclaim to all people Jesus Christ, the one and only Name "given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). On this basis–the Second Vatican Council emphasized–rests the distinction between the political community and the Church. Though independent and autonomous, each shares in different ways a common service of individuals called to be persons and members of society.(130)

Therefore, the Church, open to all people of good will as a result of the Lord's mandate, cannot, nor can she ever, undertake the political life. By the same token, neither is she separated from the problems of society. For this reason, while each remains within its area of competence in the integral promotion of the person, the Church can search for solutions, even to problems in the temporal order, above all, where the dignity of the person is compromised and basic rights are abused.

81. Such are circumstances in which the Bishop is to discharge his duties. He recognizes the autonomous character of the State and for this reason avoids causing a confusion between faith and politics and prefers rather to serve everyone's freedom. Totally excluding whatever may lead to identifying faith with a determined political form, the Bishop seeks first the Kingdom of God. In this way, he takes on an authentic and pure love to assist his brothers and sisters and to accomplish, under the inspiration of charity, the works of justice. As a result, the Bishop is seen to be the guardian of the transcendent character of the human person and a sign of hope.(131) The specific contribution made by the Bishop in this field is that of the Church herself, that is, "that vision of the dignity of the person revealed in all its fullness in the mystery of the Incarnate Word.(132)

The autonomous nature of the political community does not mean that it is exempt from following moral principles; indeed, a political life deprived of a point of moral reference leads inevitably to the degradation of social life and the violation of the dignity and rights of the human person. For this reason, the Church eagerly desires that the political life maintain, or regain if need be, its traditional character of service rendered to the person and society. Since the lay faithful have the primary duty to assume the tasks of civil life, the Bishop's concern is to assist the lay faithful to discuss any questions they might have and to make proper decisions in light of the Word of Truth. He is also to promote and care for their formation in such a way that in their choices they might be motivated by a sincere concern for the common good of the society in which they live, i.e., the well-being of all people and the whole person. In this area, the Bishop also needs to insist that there be coherence between a person's public and private life.

82. Concern for the poor is a particularly important part of the work of evangelization and serving the poor a special opportunity to announce hope. Meeting the needs of the poor opens the way for the Gospel to enter areas of economic and social life where–as the Second Vatican Council recalls–man is the author, the centre and the end.(133) Part of the Church's concern is that development might not be understood exclusively in an economic sense, but rather in one which considers the human person in all his aspects.

Christian hope is directed towards the heavenly Kingdom and eternal life. However, this eschatological destination does not lessen the commitment to the advancement of the earthly city. On the contrary, it gives it meaning and incentive. Indeed, "buoyed up by hope, he (the person) is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.(134) Earthly progress and the growth of the Kingdom are not separate entities, because the vocation of humanity to eternal life, instead of relieving a person from expending his God-given energies for the development of his life in this world, makes it all the more imperative.

83. It is not the specific task of the Church to offer solutions to economic and social questions. However, her doctrine contains the general principles indispensable for the construction of a just social and economic order. Even in this matter, the Church has a "Gospel" to proclaim. Each Bishop has to become the Herald of this Gospel in his particular Church, indicating that the core of its message can be found in the Beatitudes.(135)

Finally, since the commandment of love of neighbor is very concrete, the Bishop needs to promote appropriate initiatives in his diocese and to exhort the people to overcome any possible attitude of apathy, passivity or egoism, whether in the individual or in a group. Equally important for the Bishop is to awaken through his preaching the Christian conscience of each citizen, exhorting each one to work in active solidarity and with the means available, in defense of all persons from whatever abuses might assail their human dignity. In this regard, he has continually to remind the faithful that in each poor and needy person Christ is present (cf. Mt 25:31-46). The image of the Lord as the One who will come to judge at the end of time is the promise of a final perfect justice for the living and the dead and for all people of all times and places.(136)

84. The subjects of justice and love of neighbor readily evoke that of peace: "the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" (James 3:18). The Church proclaims the peace of Christ, the "Prince of Peace", who has proclaimed, "blessed are the peacemakers because they shall be called the children of God" (Mt 5:9). These are not only those who renounce the use of violence as an acceptable method, but also those who have the courage to work for the removal of whatever impedes peace. These workers of peace know well that peace is something which begins in a person's heart. Therefore, they work against an egoism which keeps a person from seeing others as brothers and sisters in a unique human family. They are sustained in their work by the hope of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer whose suffering is an unfailing sign of hope for humanity. Christ is Peace (cf. Eph 2:14) and humanity will not find peace, unless it encounters Christ.

Peace is everyone's responsibility; it is part of the thousands of little acts performed in daily life. Depending on how they live each day with others, people are making a choice to promote peace or to work against peace. Peace stands in wait for those who will be its prophets and for those who will indeed be makers of peace.(137)

The Bishop, then, needs to take every occasion to stir in people's consciences aspirations towards living together in peace and to promote a common accord among people to dedicate themselves to the cause of justice and peace. It is an arduous task requiring dedication, enduring strength and constant education, above all directed towards new generations so that they will commit themselves, with renewed joy and Christian hope, to the construction of a more peaceful and friendly world. Working for peace is also one of the primary tasks of evangelization. For this reason, the promotion of an authentic culture of dialogue and peace is also a fundamental duty in the pastoral activity of the Bishop.

85. The Bishop is the Church's voice calling out to all people and gathering them together. In his evangelizing efforts, the Bishop always works in concrete ways to make his perceptive, balanced message known and heard so that those responsible in the political, social and economic spheres might seek just solutions in resolving the problems of living together in civil society.

In fulfilling their mission in these fields, Pastors often face circumstances which pose difficulties both for evangelization and for human promotion. Such conditions uniquely demonstrate the element of suffering often entailed in the episcopal ministry. However, without the acceptance of suffering, Bishops are unable to dedicate themselves to their mission. Therefore, their faith in the Spirit of the Risen Lord has to be great and their heart always full of a hope which does not disappoint (cf. Rm 5:5).

CHAPTER V

THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE BISHOP

86. The preceding chapters have described the general characteristics of today's Bishop engaged in various activities in which he is called to fulfil his mission in the Church as a genuine teacher of the faith. These chapters also treated how he, as sanctifier and faithful administrator of the divine gifts, proclaims, teaches and defends the truth, without compromise. Furthermore, they noted how he is a father near to all those whom the Father's mercy has entrusted to his care, in all their necessities and above all in their need of God. In the midst of his people the Bishop is the living sign of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd who walks with his flock.

Mention was also made of how the Bishop exercises his mission as Pastor when, joined to the episcopal college, he is united with the Bishop of Rome and with his fellow Bishops and, as a result of his position, has all ecclesial resources available to help him in the service entrusted to him by the Lord and the Church. Finally, the mission of the Bishop was shown to be not limited to the Church community but to include the mission of the Church in the world.

Need for Holiness in the Life of the Bishop

87. The episcopal ministry is of the highest order and very demanding. When a priest is called to the episcopal ministry, he is confronted with an ideal. In light of this, he senses deeply his human weakness and lack of strength, which can give rise to an understandable fear. For this reason, the Bishop has to be imbued with the same hope which he is called to serve in the Church and in the World. Together with St. Paul the Apostle, the Bishop reiterates: "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13) and, like him, he is certain that "hope does not dissappoint us, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rm 5:5).

In order not to be wanting in a ministry of great responsibility, the Bishop has to concentrate on the bond of episcopal perfection in pastoral charity and to focus on pastoral charity as the fruit of grace and the Sacrament of Orders which he has received. For this reason, he has to conform himself, in a singular way, to Christ, the Good Shepherd, both in his personal life and in the exercise of his apostolic ministry so that he might totally take on the mind of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 2:16) in his entire manner of thinking, feeling, making choices and dealing with people.(138)

Looking back twenty years to the close of the Second Vatican Council, the 1985 Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops stated that "men and women saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult of circumstances in the life of the Church.(139) Without doubt the Church always needs exemplary Pastors, both for their human qualifications as well as their holiness. Such Pastors are able to inspire priestly vocations among today's young people.

The intent of this chapter, then, is to focus on some features of the spiritual life of the Bishop, presenting it as a life of evangelization and sanctification of the People of God and highlighting the close bonds which exist between the personal holiness of the Bishop and the exercise of his ministry. Exercising this ministry in faithfulness, fortitude and docility to the Holy Spirit is the source of the Bishop's sanctification as well as that of the faithful entrusted to his care, each according to the various paths of holiness which have their distinct charism.

Various Aspects of the Bishop's Spirituality

88. The spiritual life of the Bishop clearly has its source in the grace of the Sacrament of Baptism through which he, like each of the faithful, has been made capable of believing in God, hoping in him and loving him by means of the theological virtues. The Bishop's spiritual life also has its source in the grace of the Sacrament of Confirmation in which he received the power of living and acting under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit through his holy gifts. From this point of view he has to live a spirituality no different from that of the rest of the Lord's disciples who have become members of his Body and a temple of the Spirit. Like other Church members, the Bishop lives the spiritual life of the baptized and confirmed; he is nourished by the Holy Eucharist and, because of his human weakness, in need of the pardon of the Father. However, the Bishop, together with the priests of his presbyterate, also has to undertake a specific spirituality relative to the Sacrament of Holy Orders.(140)

The Bishop, then, has to live his "specific" spirituality because of the particular gift of the fullness of the Spirit whom he has received as Father and Pastor of the Church.

89. The specific character of the Bishop's spirituality is directed to making him live in faith, hope and charity in conformity with the ministry of Evangelizer, Liturgist and Guide in the community. It is a spirituality which views the Bishop in relation to the Father for whom he stands, to the Son to whose mission of Shepherd he is configured, and to the Holy Spirit who guides the Church with diverse hierarchical and charismatic gifts.

Furthermore, the Bishop's spirituality is ecclesial in that each Bishop is conformed to Christ the Shepherd so as to love the Church with the love of Christ the Spouse, so as to serve her and to be teacher, sanctifier and guide in the Church. Thus, he becomes a model and promoter of a spirituality of communion in the Church at all levels.

It is impossible to love Christ and to live intimately with him without loving the Church who Christ loves; indeed, the more one possesses the Spirit of God, the more one loves the Church "one in all and all in one; one in the many through the unity of faith, and the many in the one through the bond of charity and the variety of charisms(141) Love of the Church as universal sacrament of salvation and the love of Christ to the point of giving himself up for her (cf. Eph 5:25) is the unique source of this one spirituality, one missionary zeal and the one testimony of love without measure with which the Lord Jesus loved all people, even to enduring the cross.

Minister of the Gospel of Hope

90. As a result of the above qualities and capacities, the Bishop is present in the Church and makes his own the words of the Apostle: Christ "has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, provided that you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the Gospel which you heard...of which I became a minister" (Col 1:22-23; cf. 1:5).

One chapter of the Pastoral Directory Ecclesiae imago provides a detailed treatment of the virtues necessary for a Bishop.(142) Besides listing the supernatural virtues of obedience, perfect continence for the sake of the Kingdom, poverty, pastoral prudence and fortitude, there is reference to the theological virtue of hope on which the Bishop finds sustenance as he awaits with unwavering confidence every good from God and places his maximum trust in Divine Providence, "mindful of the blessed Apostles and of the ancient bishops who, although experiencing great difficulties and facing every kind of obstacle, still proclaimed the Gospel of God with all boldness (cf. Acts 4:29 and 31; 19:8; 28:31).(143)

The Tenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops spoke on the hope inherent to the episcopal ministry, referring to it as the source of creativity and basis of that sound optimism which the Bishop has to embody in his person and joyously communicate to others.

91. Christian hope finds its source in Christ and is nourished by Christ. It is participation in the mystery of his Passover and the first fruits of a destiny similar to that of Christ, since the Father with him "has raised us up with him and made us sit with him in the heavenly places" (Eph 2:6).

The Bishop is a sign and minister of this hope. Every Bishop can apply to himself these words of Pope John Paul II: "Without hope we would be not only unhappy and pitiable men, but all our pastoral activity would be without effect; we would not dare undertake anything. On the unshakeable character of our hope rests the secret of our mission. Our hope is stronger than the repeated disappointments and the wearisome doubts which we experience because it draws its power from a source which neither our inattention nor our forgetfulness can deplete. The source of our hope is God Himself, who once and for all time has conquered the world through Christ and today continues through us His salvific mission in the midst of humanity.(144)

The Virtue of Hope in the Spirituality of the Bishop

92. The Bishop is the minister of the Saving Truth not simply for teaching and instructing but also for leading people to hope, and, thus, for advancing in the path of hope. If the Bishop indeed wishes to show himself to his people as a sign, witness and minister of hope, he has only to nourish himself on the Word of Truth, totally adhering to it and being fully open to it as Mary, the Holy Mother of God, who "believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord" (Lk 1:45).

Since the Divine Word is contained and expressed in Sacred Scripture, the Bishop has to have constant recourse to the Bible by assiduously reading it and attentively study it. He has to do this, because he would indeed be a vain preacher if outwardly he preached the Word of God but did not inwardly listen to it.(145) Moreover, he would empty and render impossible the ministry of hope.

For his spirituality of hope, the Bishop draws nourishment from Scripture in such a manner as to fulfill authentically his ministry as evangeliser. Only in this way will he, like St. Paul, be able to address his faithful with the words: "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope" (Rom 15:4).

93. The choice occasion for listening to the Word of God is prayer. Aware that he is to teach the faithful to pray as a result of his cultivation of personal prayer, the Bishop turns to God to say to him together with the Psalmist: "I hope in your word" (cf. Ps 119, 114). Indeed, prayer is the choice place where hope is expressed, or as St. Thomas Aquinas used to say, prayer is the "interpreter of hope.(146)

If it be true that no one can pray in place of another, it is even truer in the case of a Bishop who has to bring the whole Church with him to prayer, praying in a special manner for the people who are entrusted to him. Imitating Jesus in his choice of Apostles (cf. Lk 6:12-13), the Bishop is to submit to the Father all his pastoral initiatives and to offer him through Christ in the Spirit: his hopes for the diocesan presbyterate; his many anxieties such as vocations to the priesthood, to the consecrated life, to missionary activity and to the diverse ministries; his concern for consecrated men and women who work in the apostolic endeavours of the particular Church; and his expectations for the lay faithful. He does this so that, each and every one, corresponding to his proper vocation and exercising his respective ministries and charisms, can come together under his guidance to build up the Body of Christ. The God of hope will fill the Bishop with every joy and peace, because he abounds in hope through the Holy Spirit. (cf. Rom 15:13).

94. The Bishop also has to seek occasions when he can share with others in his particular Church the experience of his listening of the Word of God and his prayer with the presbyterate and, as the case may be, with permanent deacons. Included among these are seminarians, consecrated men and women, and, where and however possible, the laity, particularly those who exercise their apostolic work in groups.

Such actions done in common help favour the spirit of communion and provide support in the spiritual lives of the participants. They are also occasions to demonstrate that the Bishop is a "Master of Perfection" in his particular Church, committed to "fostering holiness among his clerics, religious and laity according to the special vocation of each.(147) At the same time, the Bishop's actions strengthen the various bonds among the members of the particular Church in which the Bishop has been placed as visible center of unity.

Furthermore, the Bishop ought not to overlook occasions for gathering with his brother Bishops, above all for spiritual encounters similar to those previously mentioned, particularly with those who belong to the same province or ecclesiastical territory. Such gatherings can provide opportunity to experience the joy which comes from brothers dwelling in unity (cf. Ps 133:1), to express collegial fellowship and to cause communion to grow.

95. In the celebration of the Holy Liturgy, the Bishop, together with all the People of God, also draws nourishment for hope. Indeed, the Church, when she celebrates her Liturgy on earth, has a foretaste in hope of the Liturgy of the heavenly Jerusalem towards which she strains as a pilgrim and where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, "a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent which is set up not by man but by the Lord" (Heb 8:2).(148)

All the Church's sacraments, but first and foremost the Eucharist, are the memorial of the Lord's words and deeds, signs of the salvation accomplished by Christ once and for all and a pledge of the fulfilment of salvation which will be given at the end of time.(149) Until then, the Church celebrates the sacraments as efficacious signs of her expectations, supplications and hope.

96. In certain liturgical actions the presence of the Bishop has particular meaning. The first of these is the Mass of Chrism during which the Oil of the Catechumens, the Oil of the Sick and Holy Chrism are blessed. This Liturgy, in which the Lord Jesus is celebrated as Eternal High Priest and Victim, is the highest manifestation of the communion of the local Church. For the Bishop this occasion resounds with hope because he finds himself gathered with the diocesan presbyterate, and, anticipating the joy of Easter, they all look to Jesus the High Priest. They again live in the present moment the sacramental grace of Orders by renewing the promises which, since the day of their Ordination, have given special character to their ministry in the Church. In this unique moment in the liturgical year, the bonds of ecclesial communion are strengthened and the People of God, notwithstanding its numerous anxieties, beholds a powerful sign of hope.

The solemn liturgy where new priests and deacons are ordained is another particularly significant moment for the Bishop. During this celebration, the Bishop receives from God new cooperators in the episcopal order and new collaborators in his ministry. The Bishop sees an answer to his prayer to the Spirit, Donum Dei and Dator Munerum, for an abundance of vocations and his hope for a Church still more radiant in her ministerial aspect.

In a similar way, this can be said at the administration of the Sacrament of Confirmation of which the Bishop is the original minister and, in the Latin Church, its ordinary minister. "The administration of this sacrament by them demonstrates clearly that its effect is to unite those who receive it more closely to the Church, to her apostolic origins and to her mission of bearing witness to Christ.(150)

97. The efficacy of the pastoral guidance of a Bishop and his testimony to Christ, Hope of the World, depends in a great part on the genuine character of his following Christ and on his living in amicitia Jesu Christi. Holiness alone is the prophetic proclamation of renewal. The Bishop cannot exercise a prophetic role of holiness unless he is the first to advance in his life towards that goal to which he is leading the faithful.

In this spiritual journey, however, the Bishop, like every Christian, also experiences the need of ongoing conversion so as to be more aware of his sins, his weaknesses and his discouraging moments. St. Augustine preaches that the hope of pardon is always available to the person conscious of his sins.(151) Therefore, the Bishop has recourse to the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation in which he cries out in all sincerity: "Lord, My God, in you I place my hope: Save me!" (cf. Ps. 7:2; 31,2; 38:16). The person of hope, since he is a child of God and able to see himself as he is, seeks to be as pure as the Heavenly Father (cf. 1 Jn. 3:3).

98. Without doubt, a sign of hope for the People of God is to see their Bishop draw near to the Sacrament of Penance, for example, when, under special circumstances, he presides in a communal form of the celebration of the sacrament. The same is true when the People of God see the Bishop, when seriously ill, receive the Sacrament of the Sick and draw comfort from his reception of Holy Viaticum, as he is assisted by the clergy and faithful in a solemn ceremony.(152)

In this last act of witness in his earthly life, the Bishop has the opportunity to teach his faithful that his hope is not misplaced and that every pain of the present moment finds relief in the hope of future glory.(153) In the last act of his exodus from this world to the Father, the Bishop can sum up and re-propose the purpose of his ministry in the Church. Like Moses who indicated to the children of Israel the promised land, the Bishop points out the heavenly goal to the children of the Church.

Joyful in Hope, as the Virgin Mary

99. The Bishop exults –according to the Apostle Paul– "in the hope of the glory of God". The passage continues with the following words: "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us" (Rom 5:3-4). Hope also produces joy. Christian joy, a joy experienced in hope (cf. Rom12:12), is also the object of hope. The Christian has not only to speak about joy, but to "hope for joy".(154)

Mary is the primary witness and example for the whole Church of this spiritual union of joy and hope. In her Magnificat, she sings the joy of all the Lord's poor who hope in His Word. She was not spared suffering. However, by uniting suffering in a pre-eminent way to the sacrifice of Her Son, she become at the foot of the cross the "Mother of Sorrows", and thus totally open to the joy of the Resurrection.

She is now with her Son who is seated in glory at the right hand of the Father. Assumed into heaven in the integrity of her person, body and soul, she sums up every joy in herself and lives the perfect joy promised to the Church. The Church looks to her, because she is for all who are still on the earthly pilgrimage "a sign of sure hope and solace until the day of the Lord shall come.(155) The Church also turns to her in prayer, invoking her as Mater Spei, Mater Plena Sanctae Laetitiae and Causa Nostrae Laetitiae.

100. Like every Christian, each Bishop entrusts himself to Mary as her child. In imitation of the Beloved Disciple who received the Lord's mother from Christ on Calvary, the Bishop gives her a place in every aspect of his interior life.(156)

The Church often invokes Mary as Regina Apostolorum. "May the Blessed Virgin intercede for all the Pastors of the Church, so that in their demanding ministry they may be increasingly conformed to the image of the Good Shepherd.(157)

QUESTIONS

Chapter I

1. What importance does the bishop give to his duty of proclaiming the Gospel? Is such a duty seen as a priority? Do other duties distract from it? Which factors create difficulty in the bishops' mission of evangelization? Which assist it?

2. What prevailing idea do the people have of the mission of the bishop? Does the people's idea of the bishop's mission coincide with that which the bishop has?

3. How do the people react to the teaching of the bishop concerning questions of faith and morals? Is there a distinction made between the teaching of the bishop and that of the Pope?

4. Describe the relationship between the bishops and theologians: one of mutual respect? of collaboration in proclaiming the Gospel? of mistrust? of disagreement? In what areas?

5. What challenges do the socio-cultural elements in society pose to the ministry of the Bishop, in particular concerning the proclamation of the Gospel? How does the Bishop respond to these challenges? What circumstances favour this proclamation? What circumstances create obstacles?

Chapter II

6. How is the Bishop's relationship with the presbyterate and with individual priests, especially in relation to the proclamation of the faith? What should be the bishop's primary concerns in this matter?

7. How is the Bishop's relationship with institutes of consecrated life, particularly with regard to proclaiming the faith: catechetics, the teachings of the Magisterium, etc.?

8. Does the Bishop support the laity in their proclamation of the Gospel in the secular order? How does the bishop understand the contribution to evangelization provided by the laity, by associations of the faithful, by ecclesial movements?

9. How does the Bishop express his communion with the Roman Pontiff? Does the Bishop feel supported by the Holy See? In what ways does the Bishop collaborate in the ministry of the Successor of St. Peter through upholding the true faith, Church discipline and the new evangelization?

10. How is the Bishop's relationship with other bishops: in the Universal Church? in the Episcopal Conference? with neighboring bishops? Does the Bishop feel supported by his brothers in the episcopate?

Chapters III and IV

11. With what attention, what spirit of faith and love does the Bishop proclaim the Word of God in the context of present-day socio-cultural situations?

12. In what ways does the Bishop take advantage and adopt the means of social communication, so that they might truly be a vehicle in service to spreading the Word of God?

13.How does the Bishop consider his sacramental office as a proclamation of the Gospel of Hope? What are the priorities?

14. How does the Bishop consider his office of governing as a proclamation of the Gospel of hope? What are the concrete difficulties in this area?

15. Does the Bishop feel himself responsible for the mission ad gentes to all the world? In what way? Does he involve his diocese in this?

16. In what concrete ways does the bishop commit himself to ecumenical dialogue, inter-religious dialogue and dialogue with civil society, in keeping with the proclamation of the Gospel?

17. Does the bishop feel that human promotion and the promotion of a person's dignity and rights is a proclamation of Gospel hope? How?

18. Does the bishop have the proclamation of the Person of Christ at the center of all his ministry?

Chapter IV

19. What is the unifying point in the spirituality of the Bishop, serving in a concrete way as the basis for his relationship with God and the realities around him?

20. What concrete initiatives favour the Bishop's spiritual union, first with his priests and deacons, and then with women and men in consecrated life and the laity, especially those in Church associations and ecclesial foundations?

21. What possible suggestions can be given to help the Bishop grow in his spiritual life? At the beginning of his ministry? Over the years?

22. What Bishop-Saints can be taken as models by the Bishop to nourish his own spirituality?

General

23. What other important points related to the designated topic might merit attention and reflection at the Synod?

INDEX

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I: THE MISSION OF THE BISHOP TODAY

A New Evaluation of the Image of the Bishop

New Occurrences and Difficulties for the Episcopal Minister

Occurrences in the Christian Community

Decrease in Fervour and Subjectivism of the Faith

Married and Family Life

Vocations to the Priestly Ministry and the Consecrated Life

The Challenge of the Sects and New Religious Movements

The Context of Human Society

Diverse Situations in the World

Some Signs of Human Hope

Bishops: Witnesses and Servants of Hope

CHAPTER II: SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BISHOP'S MINISTRY

The Ministry of the Bishop in Relation to the Holy Trinity

The Episcopal Ministry in Relation toChrist and the Apostles

The Episcopal Ministry in Relation to the Church

The Bishop in Relation to His Presbyterate

The Ministry of Bishop in Relation to Those in Consecrated Life

The Ministry of the Bishop in Relation to the Lay Faithful

The Bishop in Relation to the Episcopal College and Its Head

Servants of Communion and Hope

CHAPTER III: THE PASTORAL MINISTRY OF THE BISHOP IN A DIOCESE

The Bishop: Sent Forth to Teach

The Bishop: Sent Forth to Sanctify

The Bishop: Sent Forth to Rule and Guide the People of God

CHAPTER IV: THE BISHOP: MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL FOR ALL PEOPLE

The Missionary Duty of the Bishop

Inter-religious Dialogue

Responsibility towards the World

CHAPTER V: THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE BISHOP

Need for Holiness in the Life of the Bishop

Various Aspects of the Bishop's Spirituality

Minister of the Gospel of Hope

The Virtue of Hope in the Spirituality of the Bishop

Joyful in Hope, as the Virgin Mary

QUESTIONS

INDEX

NOTES

(1) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles laici (30 December 1988), 55: AAS 81 (1989) 503; Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata (25 March 1995): AAS 88 (1996) 404-405.

(2) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata (25 March 1995), 4: AAS 88 (1996) 380.

(3) Cf. ibid, 29: AAS 88 (1996) 402.

(4) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 12.

(5) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests Presbyterorum ordinis, 7.

(6) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, 2.

(7) Cf. Ibid, 45.

(8) SAINT AUGUSTINE, Serm. 340 / A, 9: PLS 2, 644.

(9) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 18.

(10) Cf. ibid, 27.

(11) Cf. ibid, 1.

(12) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, 39.

(13) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church Ad gentes, 38.

(14) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 23.

(15) Cf. CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directorium Ecclesiae imago de pastorali ministerio episcoporum, 22 February 1973, (Vatican City: Vatican Polyglot Press, 1973).

(16) JOHN PAUL II, Christmas Discourse to the Cardinals, the Roman Curia and the Papal Household (20 December 1990), 16; L'Osservatore Romano: Weekly Edition in English (24 December 1990), p. 2: AAS 83 (1991) 744.

(17) JOHN PAUL II, Discourse to the Episcopal Conference of Colombia (2 July 1986), 8, Pastoral Visit to Colombia and Saint Lucia - 1-8 July 1986:L'Osservatore Romano: Weekly Edition in English, 28 July 1986, p. 7.

(18) JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter Tertio millennio adveniente (10 November 1994), 46: AAS 87 (1995) 34.

(19) JOHN PAUL II, Discourse to the Bishops of Austria on the occasion of their ad limina Visit (6 July 1982), 2: AAS 74 (1982) 1123:

(20) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 4 and Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis reintegratio, 2.

(21) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter Tertio millennio adveniente (10 November 1994), 33: AAS 87 (1995) 25-26.

(22) Cf. SAINT CYPRIAN, Epist. 69, 8: PL 4, 419.

(23) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office in the Church Christus Dominus, 11.

(24) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 23.

(25) Cf. Ibid, 28; Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office in the Church Christus Dominus, 7.

(26) Cf. CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 95-98.

(27) JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles laici (30 December 1988), 29: AAS 81 (1989) 443-445.

(28) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis (25 March 1992), 7: AAS 84 (1992) 666-668.

(29) PAUL VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi (8 December 1975), 80: AAS 68 (1976) 73.

(30) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office in the Church Christus Dominus, 37.

(31) SAINT IRENAEUS, Adv. Haer. IV, 20, 7: SC 100/2, P. 648, l. 180-181.

(32) Cf. SECOND EXTRAORDINARY ASSEMBLY OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS - 1985, Relatio finalis Ecclesia sub verbo Dei mysteria Christi celebrans pro salute mundi (7 December 1985), II, A. 1.

(33) Cf. SECRETARIAT FOR THE UNION OF CHRISTIANS - SECRETARIAT FOR NON-CHRISTIANS - SECRETARIAT FOR NON-BELIEVERS - PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR CULTURE, Provisional Report, The Phenomenon of the Sects or New Religious Movements (7 May 1986).

(34) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 9.

(35) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, 1.

(36) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus annus (1 May 1991), 38: AAS 83 (1991) 841.

(37) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Address to the United Nations (5 October 1995), New York, U.S.A., 2-10; L'Osservatore Romano: Weekly Edition in English, 11 October 1995, pp. 8-10.

(38) JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus annus (1 May 1991), 57: AAS 83 (1991) 862.

(39) JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter Tertio millennio adveniente (10 November 1994), 37: AAS 87 (1995) 29.

(40) Cf. SECOND EXTRAORDINARY ASSEMBLY OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS - 1985, Relatio finalis Ecclesia sub verbo Dei mysteria Christi celebrans pro salute mundi, III, C, 1.

(41) Cf. SAINT CYPRIAN, De orat. Dom. 23: PL 4, 553; cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 4.

(42) SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 1.

(43) JOHN PAUL II, Discourse to the Episcopal Conference of Colombia (2 July 1986), 2: L'Osservatore Romano: Weekly Edition in English, 28 July 1986, p. 6.

(44) TERTULLIAN, Praescr. Haeret, 32: PL 2, 53; cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 20.

(45) JOHN PAUL II, Discourse to the Bishops of the Northern Region of Brazil (28 October 1995), 2: L'Osservatore Romano: Weekly Edition in English, 15 November 1995, p. 5.

(46) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 27.

(47) Cf. ibid, 10.

(48) SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 14.

(49) Cf. SAINT AUGUSTINE, In Io. tr., 123, 5: PL 35, 1967.

(50) Cf. SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 107-117.

(51) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 28; Decree on the Ministry and Life of PriestsPrebyterorum ordinis, 8; cf. JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis (25 March 1992), 17: AAS 84 (1992) 683.

(52) JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis (25 March 1992), 16; AAS 84 (1992) 682.

(53) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 28.

(54) Cf. ibid.

(55) Ibid.

(56) Cf. ibid, 29, 41.

(57) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis (25 March 1992), 65: AAS 84 (1992) 771.

(58) JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata (25 March 1995), 3: AAS 88 (1996) 379.

(59) Cf. ibid., 29: AAS 88 (1996) 402; SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 44.

(60) SACRED CONGREGATION FOR RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR INSTITUTES and SACRED CONGREGATION OF BISHOPS, Directives for the Mutual Relations between Bishops and Religious in the Church Mutuae relationes (14 May 1978), 9c: AAS 70 (1978) 479.

(61) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 23.

(62) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata (25 March 1996), 84-88: AAS 88 (1996) 461-464.

(63) Cf. ibid, 48: AAS 88 (1996) 421-422; SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 207.

(64) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, Chapter IV; Decree on the Apostolate of the LaityApostolicam actuositatem; JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic ExhortationChristifideles laici (30 December 1988); cf. SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 153-161, 208.

(65) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, 39.

(66) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles laici (30 December 1988), 30: AAS 81 (1989) 446-448.

(67) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 23; THE CODE OF CANON LAW, can. 381, §1.

(68) Cf. ibid, 22; Nota Explicativa Praevia 1-2; THE CODE OF CANON LAW, can. 336.

(69) SAINT CYPRIAN, De cath. eccl. unit., 5: PL 4, 516; cf. FIRST VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution Pastor aeternus, prol. DS 3051; SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 18.

(70) Cf. PAUL VI, Allocution at the Third and Closing Session of the Council (14 September 1964): AAS 56 (1964) 813.

(71) Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Letter Communionis notio (28 May 1992), 9, 11-14: L'Osservatore Romano: Weekly Edition in English, 17 June 1992, pp. 8-9.

(72) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office Christus Dominus, 6; cf. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 23; Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office Christus Dominus, 3, 5.

(73) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium, 26.

(74) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office Christus Dominus, 6.

(75) Cf. ibid, 36; THE CODE OF CANON LAW, can. 439-446; SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 213.

(76) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office Christus Dominus, 38; THE CODE OF CANON LAW, can. 447; SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 210-212.

(77) Cf. SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 53.

(78) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office Christus Dominus, 5: THE CODE OF CANON LAW, can 403- 411.

(79) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 19.

(80) Cf. ibid, 23.

(81) Cf. ibid, 21.

(82) SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, conclusion.

(83) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 27.

(84) Ibid., 25; cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office in the Church Christus Dominus, 12-14; SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 55-56.

(85) Cf. THE CODE OF CANON LAW, can. 386.

(86) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, 22.

(87) Cf. THE CODE OF CANON LAW, can. 386, §2.

(88) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Discourse to the Bishops of the United States on their ad limina Visit (22 October 1983), 4-5: AAS 76 (1984) 380-381.

(89) Cf. SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 59-60.

(90) Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on the Vocation of the Theologian in the Church Donum veritatis (24 May 1990), 21: AAS 82 (1990) 1559.

(91) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Constitution Fidei depositum (11 October 1992), 4: AAS 86 (1994) 113-118.

(92) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, 33.

(93) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests Presbyterorum ordinis, 5.

(94) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 26.

(95) JOHN PAUL II, Discourse during the Wednesday General Audience, 11 November 1992, 1: L'Osservatore Romano: Weekly Edition in English, 18 November 1992, p. 11.

(96) Cf. SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS, Summa Theologicae, III, q. 65, a. 2; II-II, q. 185, a. 1.

(97) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the church Lumen gentium, 26.

(98) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office in the Church Christus Dominus, 15: THE CODE OF CANON LAW, can. 387.

(99) Cf. SAINT IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH, Ad Magn. 7: Funk F., Opera Patrum apostolicorum, Vol. I, Tubingae, 1897, pp. 194-196; SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium, 41, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 26, Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis redintegratio, 15.

(100) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium, 106.

(101) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 11.

(102) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium, 21.

(103) Cf. PAUL VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi (8 December 1975), 48: AAS 58 (1976) 37-38.

(104) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Discourse during the ad limina visit of the Episcopal Conference of Abruzzi-Molise (24 April 1986), 3-7: AAS 78 (1986) 1140-1143.

(105) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 4.

(106) JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Dominum et vivificantem (18 May 1986), 66: AAS 78 (1986) 897.

(107) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 27; cf. Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office in the Church Christus Dominus, 16.

(108) JOHN PAUL II, Discourse during the Wednesday General Audience, 18 November 1992, 2-4: L'Osservatore Romano: Weekly Edition in English, 25 November 1992, p. 11.

(109) Cf. THE CODE OF CANON LAW, can. 383, § 1; 384.

(110) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Discourse to the Bishops' Conference of Brazil from the Northern Region on the occasion of their ad limina Visit (28 October 1995), 5: L'Osservatore Romano: Weekly Edition in English, 31 October 1995, p. 5.

(111) Cf. SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 93-98.

(112) JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis (25 March 1992), 23: AAS 84 (1992) 694.

(113) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Life and Ministry of Priests Presbyterorum ordinis, 17.

(114) Cf. THE CODE OF CANON LAW, can. 396, § 1; can. 398.

(115) SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 166; cf. ibid., nn. 166-170.

(116) Cf. THE CODE OF CANON LAW, can. 460-468; SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 163-165.

(117) Cf. THE CODE OF CANON LAW, can. 212, § 2 and 3.

(118) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, 1.

(119) JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio (7 December 1990), 31: AAS 83 (1991) 276.

(120) Ibid, 20: AAS 83 (1991) 267-268.

(121) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church Ad gentes, 38.

(122) Ibid.; cf. JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio (7 December 1990), 63: AAS 83 (1991) 311.

(123) JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio (7 December 1990), 11: AAS 83 (1991) 259.

(124) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church Ad gentes, 9.

(125) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio (7 December 1990), 55: AAS 83 (1991) 302; Apostolic Letter Tertio millennio adveniente (10 November 1994), 53: AAS 87 (1995) 37.

(126) SAINT JUSTIN, Dialogus cum Tryphone, 11: PG 6, 499.

(127) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis humanae, 1.

(128) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio (7 December 1990), 5: AAS 83 (1991) 254.

(129) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, 40.

(130) Ibid, 76.

(131) Cf. ibid, 72, 76.

(132) JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus annus (1 May 1991), 47: AAS 83 (1991) 852.

(133) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, 63.

(134) THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1818.

(135) Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on Christian Liberty and Liberation, 62: AAS 79 (1987) 580-581.

(136) Cf. ibid, 60: AAS 79 (1987) 579.

(137) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Discourse in Assisi (27 October 1986), 7: AAS 79 (1987) 868-869.

(138) Cf. SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago (22 February 1973), 21.

(139) EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS - 1985, Relatio finalis Ecclesia sub verbo Dei mysteria Christi celebrans pro salute mundi, II, A, 4.

(140) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests Presbyterorum ordinis, Chapter III and JOHN PAUL II, Post- Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis (25 March 1992), Chapter III: AAS 84 (1992) 686-712.

(141) SAINT PETER DAMIAN, Opusc. XI (Liber qui appellatur Dominus vobiscum), 5: PL 145, 235; cf. SAINT AUGUSTINE, In Ioan., tr. 32, 8: PL 35, 1645.

(142) Cf. SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, Part I, Chapter IV (n. 21-31).

(143) Ibid, 25.

(144) JOHN PAUL II, Discourse to the Bishops from Austria on the Occasion of their ad limina Visit (6 July 1982), 2: AAS 74 (1982) 1123.

(145) Cf. SAINT AUGUSTINE, Serm. 179, 1: PL 38, 966.

(146) Cf. SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS, Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 17, a. 2.

(147) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office in the Church Christus Dominus, 15.

(148) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium, 8.

(149) Cf. SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS, Summa Theologica, III, q. 60, a. 3.

(150) THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1313.

(151) Cf. SAINT AUGUSTINE, En. in Ps. 50, 5: PL 36, 588.

(152) Cf. SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS, Directory Ecclesiae imago, 89.

(153) Cf. SAINT BASIL THE GREAT, Homilia de gratiarum actione, 7; PG 31, 236.

(154) PAUL VI, Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete in Domino (9 May 1975), I: AAS 67 (1975) 293.

(155) SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, 68.

(156) Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Mater (25 March 1987), 45: AAS 79 (1987) 423.

(157) JOHN PAUL II, Angelus (19 November 1995), 3: L'Osservatore Romano: Weekly Edition in English, 22 November 1995, p. 1.