VATICAN - The Pope to the Bishops of El Salvador in their Ad Limina visit: “promote ambitious and audacious efforts at evangelization in your diocesan communities, to ensure that all the faithful may experience that intimate meeting with the living Christ which is at the basis and origin of Christian existence.”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “The El Salvadorian people are characterized by their living faith and deep religious sentiment. The Gospel, taken there by the first missionaries and fervently preached by pastors full of love for God such as Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, has become deeply rooted in that beautiful land, bringing abundant fruits of Christian life and sanctity.” This is what the Holy Father Benedict XVI spoke of in his audience on February 28, with the Bishops’ Conference of El Salvador in their Ad Limina visit.
The Pope remarked on the fact that poverty forces many people to emigrate in search of better living conditions, often bringing negative consequences to the stability of marriage and the family. He also recognized the prelates' efforts to promote reconciliation and peace in the country and so overcome the painful events of the past. Referring to violence, which “is considered as your country's most serious problem,” the Pope told the prelates “that its increase is the direct consequence of other deeper social scourges such as poverty, a lack of education, the progressive loss of those values which have always forged the Salvadorian soul, and the break-up of families.”
The Pope underlined the fact that “the family is a vital asset for the Church and for society, as well as being a basic factor in constructing peace.” He also recognized the commitment of the Bishops “to revitalize and reinforce adequate and effective pastoral care among families in all your dioceses, offering young people a solid spiritual and emotional formation that may help them discover the beauty of God's plan for human love, and enable them coherently to experience the authentic values of marriage and the family such as tenderness, mutual respect, self-control, total dedication and constant fidelity.”
Speaking to them about the situation of poverty that many live in, and the need to improve economic conditions, Benedict XVI said, “Yet it must not be forgotten that man is not just a product of the material and social conditions in which he lives. He needs more, desires more than what science or any other human initiative can offer. There is a great thirst for God...men yearn for God deep down in their hearts, and He is the only one who can quench their thirst for fullness and life, because only He can offer the certainty of an unconditional love, a love stronger than death...That is why it is necessary to promote ambitious and audacious efforts at evangelization in your diocesan communities, to ensure that all the faithful may experience that intimate meeting with the living Christ which is at the basis and origin of Christian existence.”
What is needed is a pastoral work based “in Christ Himself, who should be known, loved, and imitated, in order to live in Him the Trinitarian life and transform, with Him, history up to its perfection in the Heavenly Jerusalem.” The laity “must be helped to discover the spiritual richness of their Baptism...that will illumine their commitment to offer testimony to Christ in the midst of human society.” To fulfill “this most exalted vocation,” they need to be firmly rooted in an intense life of prayer, to listen assiduously and humbly to the Word of God, to participate frequently in the Sacraments, and thus, acquire a strong ecclesial sense of belonging and solid doctrinal formation, especially as concerns the Church's social doctrine.
Benedict XVI reminded Bishops to take special care for their priests, as they “deserve your best attentions and your closeness to each one. Be aware of their individual circumstances, serve them in all their spiritual and material needs and encourage them to proceed joyfully along the path of priestly sanctity.” He also advised them to follow the religious institutes closely, “supporting and promoting, in your diocesan communities, the vocation and mission of consecrated life and encouraging them to collaborate in the diocesan pastoral activity.”
“Although the challenges you have before you are great, and seemingly surpass your own strengths and capacities,” the Holy Father concluded, “you know that you can turn to the Lord with confidence. There is nothing impossible for Him and you can open your heart to the movements of divine grace. In this constant contact with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, in prayer, your best pastoral plans will become a reality for your communities and you will truly be ministers of hope for all your brothers.” (S.L) (Agenzia Fides 29/2/2008; righe 55, parole 730)