VATICAN - The Pope addresses second group of Mexican Bishops on ad limina visit to Rome: “As a missionary Church we are called to understand the challenges posed by post-modern culture to new evangelisation”

Friday, 16 September 2005

Castel Gandolfo (Fides Service) - “Mexico is faced with the challenge of transforming its social structures to render them more corresponding to the dignity and fundamental rights of every human person … and Catholics are called to collaborate in this task… discovering their faith commitments and the unitary significance of their presence in the world”. Pope Benedict XVI said this in his address to a second group of Mexican Bishops (north east central zone) on ad limina visit to Rome received in audience at Castel Gandolfo on 15 September. Speaking of certain serious problems in Mexico the Pope said that in some environments “healthy forms of co-existence and management of public affairs”, deteriorate and corruption, impunity, drug-trafficking organised crime increase. “This encourges various forms of violence, indifference and scorn for the inviolable value of human life” the Pope said.
Although many Mexicans are materially poor, they are rich in faith and sense of religion. However these values are at risk for those who emigrate and “work in precarious conditions in a state of vulnerability faced with difficulties in a new cultural context different from their own social and religious tradition”. When Christian emigrants are accepted and become part of the new community “emigration becomes positive and furthers the evangelisation of other cultures”. As the special Synod of Bishops for America underlined, human mobility “is a pastoral priority in relation to cooperation with the Churches of North America”.
Sad to say numerous baptised Christians today “influenced by various different proposals of thought and customs become indifferent to the values of the Gospel and are led to behave in ways which are contrary to the Christian vision of life”. This and in addition the activity of religious sects and new religious groups in America should make local Churches in Mexico “offer the faithful more personalised religious care, consolidating structures of communion and promoting purified popular religosity in order to vivify the faith of all Catholics " the Pope told the Bishops.
The Holy Father ended his address with this exhortation: “All this implicates for pastoral work the necessity to revise our mentality, attitudes and behaviour and broaden our horizons, committing ourselves to work together with enthusiasm to respond to the great questions of people today. As a missionary Church we are called to understand the challenges posed by post-modern culture to new evangelisation on your continent. Dialogue between the Church and culture is vital for the Church and for the world”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 16/9/2005; righe 31, parole 457)


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