From the Website of Vatican
links https: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-09/pope-leo-bishops-should-offer-clear-teaching.html
Pope Leo: Bishops should offer clear teaching
In
a letter to the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean on the
occasion of the third centenary of the canonisation of their patron,
Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo, the Pope reflects on episcopal ministry in
the light of the rite of welcoming a bishop into his cathedral church.
He warns them against “abandoning the flock”, and urges them to nurture
their interior life.
These are some of the images through which Pope Leo XIV reflects on episcopal ministry, drawing a connection between the sequence of the rites for welcoming a bishop into his cathedral church and the mission entrusted to him. He does so in a Pontifical Letter published today, 19 September, and addressed to the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean on the occasion of the third centenary of the canonisation of their patron, Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo.
Recalling his own shared pastoral experience in Peru—Turibius, the “Bishop of the Andes,” was Archbishop of the Peruvian capital, Lima—the Pope considers the rite of welcoming each bishop to his cathedral, similar to the rite of welcoming a bishop when he makes pastoral visits to the communities of his diocese. It is, he says, “as if the Church wished to lead the prelate, time and again, back to the meaning of that first entrance”.
Hearts in heaven and feet on the road
The
first contact with the faithful, at the doors of the cathedral, takes
place with a community whose journey precedes that of the bishop. In
order to know it fully, he is called to travel through it, like Saint
Turibius, who was concerned that evangelisation should include the local
languages, forging bonds with his land and its people.
“Certain
aspects of a diocese are hard to grasp from behind a desk. For this
reason, we must ensure that pastoral visits retain their vitality: let
us personally go out to meet our communities, listen to our flock and
seek out those who seldom have the opportunity to approach the bishop.
The ministry of a successor to the Apostles demands living with our
heart in heaven and our feet on the road.”
Returning to the school of the Cross
Still
at the door, Pope Leo continues, the bishop receives a crucifix and
kisses it. It is a gesture that is a “promise of self-sacrifice”, a
commitment that Saint Turibius extended through his travels and
hardships, drawing close to indigenous peoples, “correcting abuses”, and
remaining close to the poor and those who suffered.
“Dear
brothers, we need to return frequently to the school of the Cross.
Abandoning the flock can begin long before any visible flight, when
comfort, fear or self-interest take precedence over the good of the
faithful.”
To sanctify and be sanctified
From
the Cross to the holy water, which reconciles the bishop and the
faithful in the one Baptism: The one who sanctifies, the Pope writes,
continues “to need to be sanctified”.
“Let us, then, nurture our interior life and remain aware that we are disciples in need of conversion.”
Encouraging Eucharistic Adoration
In
silence, before the Blessed Sacrament, the bishop recognises that
pastors come and go and change, new challenges arise, and projects
unfold, but “Christ always remains”. The Pope therefore urges bishops to
make Eucharistic Adoration a “pastoral priority”, offering the faithful
time and space to find support for their own journeys and opening paths
that “no plan can conceive”.
Safeguarding unity
From
contemplation, one approaches the altar of the Lord, considered here as
“the one who gathers His Church around Himself and makes her one body”.
The sainted Archbishop of Lima, Pope Leo observes, served a vast and
diverse Church, striving to keep it united. It is a responsibility that
must also be safeguarded today, so that “the diversity of our dioceses
finds its unity in Christ”.
Patient and rooted amid misleading voices
The
rite continues with the proclamation of the Apostolic Letter, the Papal
Bull by which the Pope appoints the shepherd of each particular Church.
The bishop does not confer this appointment upon himself, but receives
it and exercises it in communion with the Church, committing himself to
guard its “good treasure”. Saint Turibius fulfilled this duty, the Pope
notes, through his reception of the Council of Trent, the provincial
councils, the diocesan synods, and his catechetical work.
“At a
time when so many voices claim authority over the consciences of the
faithful, it is the bishop’s duty to offer a clear teaching that is
patient and rooted in this communion, in order to help his people
recognize the voice of the one Shepherd.”
Being able to knock with confidence
The
clergy and faithful subsequently approach their new bishop with a
gesture of reverence that becomes a responsibility, particularly visible
in his relationship with priests—who are united to him in a “unique
way”—and in the mission entrusted to the particular Church.
The
“Apostle of the Andes” cared for them, and the Pope urges bishops to do
likewise, particularly during the first years of ministry, ensuring that
no one feels that he can approach his shepherd “only when there is a
problem to be resolved”.
“Episcopal fatherhood is often
recognized when a priest knows that he can confidently knock on the door
of the bishop’s residence.”
The essential place of prayer
After
the words of the Gospel come those of the bishop himself, who addresses
his people only after receiving, contemplating, and listening. This
order contains a lesson that should always be kept in mind.
“May
no urgency or pastoral task, however necessary it may be, cause us to
neglect prayer, which is a necessary preparation for preaching. Let us
always set aside the time we need to listen to the word and carefully
consider how to present it to our people.”
After Mass, every day
The
rite then reaches the offertory, in which one glimpses what the bishop
will have to place, day after day, into the hands of the Lord: work,
projects, decisions, people, concerns, and hopes.
“There will be
moments when he sees the path clearly, and others in which he will
experience his own smallness: all of this can be placed upon the paten.
It is the bishop’s duty to give himself faithfully; the fruit, in the
end, belongs to God.”
The celebration of all these rites must
ultimately continue well beyond Mass, throughout the bishop’s life,
“until his entire existence becomes, in Christ, an offering to the
Father”.
At the ‘school’ of the bishops of Latin America
Following
the example of Saint Turibius, Pope Leo looks upon the “constellation”
of bishops who underpin the spiritual geography of the Church in Latin
America: Saints Anthony Mary Claret, Ezekiel Moreno, Raphael Guízar, and
Oscar Romero, and Blesseds Juan de Palafox, Jacinto Vera, Mamerto
Esquiú, Enrique Angelelli, Jesús Jaramillo, and Eduardo Pironio.
The
Pope urges the Church community today to deepen its knowledge of them,
in order to understand how the mission can take different forms
according to times and circumstances.
The letter concludes by
entrusting to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of Spanish-speaking
peoples, the desire to “live out the mission we have received with
renewed fidelity”.
Bible Lights Promotions - Home
Bible Lights Promotion
http://www.biblelightspromotions.co.nr
-----------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment