Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Luanda (Agenzia Fides) – On the evening of Friday, March 20, the Holy Father met with members of the Bishops' Conferences of Angola and São Tomé, in the chapel of the Nunciature. “May our prayer of praise rise up, harmonious and fervent, to God the Father who, by the workings and grace of the Holy Spirit, unceasingly gives birth to the Mystical Body of his Son. Here, in these lands, the Church bears the distinctive features of your native peoples, yet without losing the Jewish, Roman, Portuguese and other characteristics she had acquired earlier” the Holy Father said in his address, exhorting the Bishops with these words: “God will reward you for all the apostolic work which you have accomplished in difficult conditions, both during the war and at the present time, in spite of so many limitations, thus helping to give the Church in Angola and in São Tomé and Principe that dynamism which everyone acknowledges.”
Greeting and thanking those present, and through them their communities, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude for the unified plan to be implemented in the diocesan communities: “as a corrective to a widespread relativism which acknowledges nothing as definitive and, even more, tends to make its ultimate measure the individual and his personal caprice, we hold out another measure: the Son of God, who is also true man. Christ is the measure of true humanism. The Christian marked by an adult and mature faith is not one who is borne along by the waves of fashion and the latest novelties, but one who lives deeply rooted in the friendship of Christ. This friendship opens us up to all that is good, and it provides us with the criterion for discerning between error and truth.”
In the area of culture, the Church runs renowned academic institutions, “which must make it a point of honour to enable the voice of Catholics to be constantly heard in discussion of cultural issues affecting national life” the Holy Father said, exhorting them to place attention also on communications media, which have a considerable effect on the culture and models of behavior, seeking the instruments need to “to provide everyone with a Christian interpretation of human events, problems and realities.”
Families, exposed to difficulties and dangers, “are particularly in need of evangelization and practical support, since, in addition to the fragility and lack of inner stability of so many conjugal unions, there is the widespread tendency in society and culture to call into question the unique nature and specific mission of the family based on marriage.” Benedict XVI encouraged the Bishops to “raise your voice in defence of the sacredness of human life and the value of the institution of marriage, as well as in promotion of the family’s proper role in the Church and in society, at the same time demanding economic and legislative measures to support the family in bearing and raising children.”
In concluding, the Pope mentioned with joy the presence of “ a committed laity devoted to many works of the apostolate, and a significant number of vocations to the ordained ministry and the consecrated life, especially the contemplative life. They represent a genuine sign of hope for the future.” “As the clergy becomes increasingly indigenous, I wish to pay homage to the work which has been patiently and heroically carried out by the missionaries in proclaiming Christ and his Gospel and in giving birth to the Christian communities for which you today are responsible.” His final appeal to the Bishops was that of closely following their priests, worrying about their permanent formation, on a theological and spiritual level, and being attentive to the conditions in which they live and exercise their ministry, “so that they can be authentic witnesses of the word they proclaim and the sacraments they celebrate.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 21/3/2009)
