VATICAN - New "Directory on the Pastoral Ministry of the Bishop”: an aid for Bishops in their complex ecclesial service to meet the needs of the Church and of society today.

Vatican City (Fides Service) - On March 9 the Congregation for Bishops issued a note presenting a new “Directory for the Ministry of Bishops Apostolorum Successores”, (dated 22 February 2004) already in Italian, and soon available in the most widely spoken languages. The document is a response to the Ordinary Assembly of Bishops 2001 which reflected on the “Bishop Minister of the Gospel for the Hope of the World” and asked for the 1973 Directory for Bishops to be revised. The new edition takes into account the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the 1983 Code of Canon Law, various papal documents and above all the post-synodal exhortation "Pastores gregis" and the profound social changes which have taken place.
Articulated in nine chapters and an appendix on the "sede vacante" in a diocese, “the Directory is fundamentally pastoral and practical, a means for helping Bishops carry out their complex service to the Church to meet the needs of the Church and society today at the beginning of the third millennium marked by new challenges and problems, enormous progress and sudden changes. Great responsibilities weigh on the shoulders of the Bishop for the good of his diocese and also for society. Many people turn to the Bishop with regard to religious life but also for advice, support and comfort in times of difficulty, sharing with him their problems and anxieties ".
Chapters 1 to 3 deal with the identity and mission of the Bishop, his concern for the universal Church, collegiality among Bishops. Completely new compared to the previous directory, Chapter 3 on the spirituality and on-going formation of the Bishop, the sources of this spirituality and his duty to strive for holiness in pastoral charity. The Directory lists the theological virtues and human gifts which should sustain the Bishop in his pastoral ministry: pastoral prudence, rich humanity, humility, chastity, goodness, sincerity, ability to listen and to dialogue, a heart open to everyone and closed to no one.
Chapter 4 illustrates the principles which should guide the Bishop in his pastoral government of the diocese, truth, collaboration, respect for competencies, the right person in the right place, justice, legality.
Chapters 5 to 7 deal with the ministry of the Bishop in the Particular Church and the three main duties of his pastoral activity: teach the faith and proclaim the word (munus docendi); sanctify the People of God (munus sanctificandi); be a father and a shepherd for the diocese (munus regendi).
Chapter VIII refers to the parish, and also pastoral care for large cities and the organisation of pastoral activity, offering guidelines for diocesan pastoral plans, spiritual assistance and the Pastoral Visit of a Bishop. Another new addition is Chapter 9 on the Bishop emeritus, his rights and duties in the universal Church and the Particular Church. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 10/3/2004; Righe 38; Parole 501)