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DISCORSO AGLI
ARCIVESCOVI METROPOLITI |
Il
Papa ai nuovi arcivescovi metropoliti: non anteporre nulla
a Cristo e rafforzare il legame speciale con il Successore
di Pietro
◊
Un incontro familiare all’insegna della "comunione
ecclesiale". Benedetto XVI ha ricevuto, stamani, in
Aula Paolo VI, gli arcivescovi metropoliti, insigniti ieri
del Sacro Pallio, insieme ai famigliari e ai fedeli. Nel
suo intervento, pronunciato in più lingue, il Papa si è
soffermato sul vincolo speciale che lega i nuovi
metropoliti al Successore di Pietro. Il servizio di Alessandro
Gisotti:
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il servizio trasmesso da Radio Vaticana
“Assolutamente nulla anteporre a Cristo, poiché
neanche Lui ha preferito qualcosa a noi”: Benedetto XVI
ha ripreso un’esortazione di San Cipriano per indicare
ai nuovi arcivescovi metropoliti la “stella polare”
della loro missione. Il Papa ha innanzitutto sottolineato
“il clima di comunione ecclesiale” dell’udienza, un
incontro “semplice e familiare”. Quindi, ha rivolto
agli arcivescovi metropoliti una particolare benedizione:
“Il Signore vi benedica sempre e vi aiuti, nel
vostro quotidiano ministero episcopale, a far crescere le
comunità a voi affidate unite e missionarie, concordi
nella carità, ferme nella speranza e ricche del dinamismo
della fede”.
Parlando quindi in francese, il Pontefice si è
soffermato sul valore del Pallio imposto ai nuovi
metropoliti nella Solennità dei Santi Pietro e Paolo:
“Vous qui avez reçu le pallium…”
“Voi che avete ricevuto il pallio, segno liturgico
che esprime il particolare legame di comunione con il
Successore di Pietro – ha detto – siate testimoni
gioiosi e fedeli dell’amore del Signore” che cerca di
riunire i suoi figli nell’unità della stessa famiglia.
Sul valore della stola del Pallio si è anche soffermato
parlando in lingua inglese:
“The pallium is received from the hands…”
“Il Pallio – ha osservato – viene ricevuto dalle
mani del Successore di Pietro e indossato dagli
arcivescovi come segno di comunione nella fede e
nell’amore” nella guida del Popolo di Dio. Il Pallio,
ha soggiunto, richiama i vescovi “alla responsabilità
di essere pastori secondo il cuore di Gesù”. Un legame,
quello con la Sede Apostolica, che il Papa ha rammentato
anche nei saluti in lingua spagnola. Il Pontefice ha così
concluso il suo intervento tornando a parlare in italiano.
Ha ringraziato il Signore per la “sua infinita bontà”
nel “donare Pastori alla sua Chiesa”, ed ha assicurato
loro la sua vicinanza:
“A voi, cari arcivescovi metropoliti, assicuro la
mia spirituale vicinanza e il mio orante sostegno al
vostro servizio pastorale, il cui requisito necessario è
l'amore per Cristo, a cui nulla deve essere anteposto”.
DISCORSO
DEL SANTO PADRE BENEDETTO XVI
Dear
Brother Bishops,
I am
pleased to welcome all of you on the occasion of your
visit ad Limina Apostolorum, a privileged time in
which to deepen the bonds of fraternity and communion
between the See of Peter and the particular Churches that
you lead. I wish to thank Archbishop Malayappan Chinnappa
for the cordial sentiments that he expressed on your
behalf and in the name of those whom you shepherd. My warm
greetings go to the priests, the men and women religious,
and all the lay faithful entrusted to your pastoral care.
Please assure them of my solicitude and my prayers.
Continuing
these reflections on the life of the Church in India, I
would like to address a word to you, dear brother Bishops,
concerning your responsibilities towards the clergy and
the men and women religious of the country. By the laying
on of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, you are
set over God’s people as Pastors, and you are called to
teach, sanctify and govern the local Churches. You do this
through your preaching of the Gospel, your celebration of
the Sacraments, and your care for the sanctity and
effective pastoral action of the clergy. Through them you
are able to reach out more effectively to the religious
and lay people in your care. You are also called to govern
in charity by means of a prudent vigilance in your
legislative, executive and judicial capacities (cf. Code
of Canon Law, cc. 384-394). In this delicate and
demanding role, the Bishop, as pastor and father, should
so unite and mould his flock into one family that all,
conscious of their duties, will wish to live and act as
one in charity (cf. Christus Dominus, 16).
Promoting the charism of unity, which is a powerful
testimony to the oneness of God and a mark of the one,
holy, catholic and apostolic Church, is among the most
important responsibilities of the Bishop. In the many
tasks which require your prayerful attention, dear Bishops,
you recognize the presence of the Spirit of the Lord who
is active in the Church. The Spirit, promised to all in
Baptism and poured out upon God’s people to guide and
sanctify them in Confirmation, longs to unite all
Christians in bonds of faith, hope and charity. By your
ministry, you are called to strengthen the people whom God
has chosen to be his own, to serve them and to build them
into a unified temple, a worthy dwelling-place for the
Spirit, whether they be young or old, male or female, rich
or poor. The Lord, by shedding his blood, has ransomed
people of every tribe and tongue, of every people and
nation (cf. Rev 5:9). Therefore, I encourage you to
continue to be at the service of unity and, leading by
example, to draw the people that you shepherd into deeper
communion, fraternity and peace.
One of
the ways in which the communion of the Church is most
clearly manifested is in the particularly important
relationship that exists between you and your priests,
whether diocesan or religious, who share and exercise with
you the one priesthood of Christ. Together in your
Dioceses, you form one priestly body and one family, of
which you are the father (cf. Christus Dominus,
29). Thus, you are to be supportive of your priests, your
closest collaborators, and to be attentive to their needs
and aspirations, showing solicitude for their spiritual,
intellectual and material well-being. They, as sons and
co-workers, are called in turn to respect your authority,
working cheerfully, humbly and with complete dedication to
the good of the Church, but always under your direction.
The bonds of fraternal love and mutual concern which you
foster with your priests will become the basis for
overcoming any tensions that may arise, and will promote
those conditions which are most propitious for the service
of the people of God, edifying them spiritually, leading
them to know their worth and to assume the dignity which
is theirs as children of God. Moreover, the witness of the
reciprocal love and service between you and your priests
– without regard for caste or ethnicity but focussed
upon the love of God, the spread of the Gospel and the
sanctification of the Church – is earnestly desired by
the people you serve. They look to you and your priests
for a model of holiness, friendship and harmony that
speaks to their hearts and teaches by example how to live
the new commandment of love.
Religious
men and women also look to you for guidance and support.
The witness of your own deep love for Jesus Christ and his
Church will serve to inspire them as they devote
themselves with perfect poverty, chastity and obedience to
the life to which they have been called. They will be
confirmed in their selfless dedication by your faith,
example and trust in God. In this way, in union with them,
you will bear ever greater witness before the men and
women of our day to the fact that, while the form of this
world is passing away (cf. 1 Cor 7:31), whoever
does the will of God abides forever (cf. 1 Jn
2:17).
The
radiant witness of consecrated life is of course a
treasure not only for those graced with a vocation to it,
but also for the entire Church. Through close cooperation
with religious Superiors, continue to ensure that the
members of Religious Institutes in your Dioceses live
their particular charisms in their fullness and in harmony
with the priests and lay faithful. In addition to ensuring
that they receive a solid human, spiritual and theological
foundation, see that they are provided with a thorough
ongoing formation that will help them mature in all
aspects of consecrated life. Because of the unique
contribution made by all Religious, women and men,
contemplative and active, to the mission of the Church,
and because of their role as protagonists of
evangelization through prayer and supplication, education,
health care, charity and other apostolates, their charisms
will surely continue to strengthen the entire ecclesial
community and enrich wider society. In a particular way, I
wish to express the Church’s appreciation of the many
women Religious of the Church in India. They bear witness
to its holiness, vitality and hope. They offer countless
prayers and perform innumerable good works, often hidden,
but nevertheless of great value to the up-building of
God’s kingdom. I ask you to encourage them in their
vocation, and to invite young women to consider a similar
life of fulfilment through love of God and service to
others.
With
these thoughts, dear Brother Bishops, I express my
fraternal affection and esteem. Invoking upon all of you
the maternal intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church,
and assuring you of my prayers for you and for those
entrusted to your pastoral care, I gladly impart my
Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of grace and peace in the
Lord.
©
Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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