{"id":25296,"date":"2010-02-01T06:46:57","date_gmt":"2010-02-01T10:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/02\/pope-tells-bishops-of-england-1\/"},"modified":"2016-04-08T08:52:28","modified_gmt":"2016-04-08T12:52:28","slug":"pope-tells-bishops-of-england-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/02\/pope-tells-bishops-of-england-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope tells bishops of England and Wales to be united in teaching the faith and being a witness to Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"UK<\/a><\/p>\n

This last week the Pope has meeting individually and collectively with the bishops of England and Wales. As you know, a bishop is obliged to pray at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul and to offer a review of the pastoral activities of the diocese he leads to the Pope and to his curia. It is a visit to “the threshold” (ad Limina) to the center of our faith. Over the past years the bishops of Britain have faced some serious challenges–much like the bishops of the USA and Canada– and have not responded effectively enough to certain matters of faith and morals. The British bishops are your typical “old boys” network, a closed group of men sitting on their laurels. Generally speaking the UK bishops are not very unified in their teaching the faith which was a hallmark of Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor; one clear indication of this is the work of Bishop O’Donoghue that was posted here calling for clear catechesis, witness and liturgical practice (read two things here<\/a><\/strong> and here<\/a><\/strong>). In the Pope’s address to the bishops at the end of their to visit Peter, you can see the matters that concern the pope and the Church at large. The papal address at the end of any visit of an episcopal conference is an interesting thing to read because Rome is a bit more objective in reading the tea leaves than those living <\/i>in situ. General rule of thumb: if it finds its way into print, then it is important to recall. Plus, the Pope is rather subtle in his addresses such that you have to read between the lines. And you may ask why is this text important for North America. Catholics on both sides of the Atlantic face the very same issues when it comes to proposing the faith, moral living, ecumenism and sacramentality. What the Pope told the UK bishops is to be applied in the USA: the old way of doing things has ended. All but 2 paragraphs of the address are given here with my own emphasis on certain points.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Benedict<\/a><\/p>\n

I welcome all of you on your ad Limina<\/i> visit to Rome,\u00a0where you have come to venerate the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul. I\u00a0thank you for the kind words that Archbishop Vincent Nichols has addressed to\u00a0me on your behalf, and I offer you my warmest good wishes and prayers for\u00a0yourselves and all the faithful of England and Wales entrusted to your pastoral\u00a0care. Your visit to Rome strengthens the bonds of communion between the\u00a0Catholic community in your country and the Apostolic See, a communion that\u00a0sustained your people’s faith for centuries, and today provides fresh energies\u00a0for renewal and evangelization. Even amid the pressures of a secular age, there\u00a0are many signs of living faith and devotion among the Catholics of England and\u00a0Wales. I am thinking, for example, of the enthusiasm generated by the visit of\u00a0the relics of Saint Th\u00e9r\u00e8se, the interest aroused by the prospect of Cardinal\u00a0Newman’s beatification, and the eagerness of young people to take part in\u00a0pilgrimages and World Youth Days. On the occasion of my forthcoming Apostolic\u00a0Visit to Great Britain, I shall be able to witness that faith for myself and,\u00a0as Successor of Peter, to strengthen and confirm it. During the months of\u00a0preparation that lie ahead, be sure to encourage the Catholics of England and\u00a0Wales in their devotion, and assure them that the Pope constantly remembers\u00a0them in his prayers and holds them in his heart.<\/p>\n

Your country is well known for\u00a0its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society. Yet\u00a0as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed\u00a0to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of\u00a0religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects\u00a0it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human\u00a0beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed. I urge you as Pastors to\u00a0ensure that the Church’s moral teaching be always presented in its entirety and\u00a0convincingly defended<\/b>. Fidelity to the Gospel in no way restricts the freedom\u00a0of others – on the contrary, it serves their freedom by offering them the\u00a0truth.<\/p>\n

Continue to insist upon your right to participate in national debate\u00a0through respectful dialogue with other elements in society. In doing so, you\u00a0are not only maintaining long-standing British traditions of freedom of expression and honest exchange of opinion, but you are actually giving voice to the\u00a0convictions of many people who lack the means to express them: when so many of\u00a0the population claim to be Christian, how could anyone dispute the Gospel’s\u00a0right to be heard?<\/p>\n

If the full saving message of Christ is to be presented\u00a0effectively and convincingly to the world, the Catholic community in your\u00a0country needs to speak with a united voice. This requires not only you, the\u00a0Bishops, but also priests, teachers, catechists, writers – in short all who are\u00a0engaged in the task of communicating the Gospel – to be attentive to the\u00a0promptings of the Spirit, who guides the whole Church into the truth, gathers\u00a0her into unity and inspires her with missionary zeal.<\/p>\n

Make it your concern,\u00a0then, to draw on the considerable gifts of the lay faithful in England and\u00a0Wales and see that they are equipped to hand on the faith to new generations\u00a0comprehensively, accurately<\/b>, and with a keen awareness that in so doing they\u00a0are playing their part in the Church’s mission. In a social milieu that\u00a0encourages the expression of a variety of opinions on every question that\u00a0arises, it is important to recognize dissent for what it is, and not to mistake it for a mature contribution to a balanced and wide-ranging debate<\/i>. It is the\u00a0truth revealed through Scripture and Tradition and articulated by the Church’s\u00a0Magisterium that sets us free<\/b>. Cardinal Newman realized this, and he left us an\u00a0outstanding example of faithfulness to revealed truth by following that “kindly\u00a0light” wherever it led him, even at considerable personal cost. Great\u00a0writers and communicators of his stature and integrity are needed in the Church today, and it is my hope that devotion to him will inspire many to follow in\u00a0his footsteps<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Much attention has rightly been given to Newman’s scholarship\u00a0and to his extensive writings, but it is important to remember that he saw\u00a0himself first and foremost as a priest. In this Annus Sacerdotalis<\/i>, I urge you\u00a0to hold up to your priests his example of dedication to prayer, pastoral\u00a0sensitivity towards the needs of his flock, and passion for preaching the\u00a0Gospel. You yourselves should set a similar example. Be close to your priests,\u00a0and rekindle their sense of the enormous privilege and joy of standing among the\u00a0people of God as alter Christus<\/i>. In Newman’s words, “Christ’s priests have\u00a0no priesthood but His … what they do, He does; when they baptize, He is\u00a0baptizing; when they bless, He is blessing” (Parochial and Plain Sermons<\/i>,\u00a0VI 242). Indeed, since the priest plays an irreplaceable role in the life of\u00a0the Church, spare no effort in encouraging priestly vocations and emphasizing\u00a0to the faithful the true meaning and necessity of the priesthood. Encourage the\u00a0lay faithful to express their appreciation of the priests who serve them, and\u00a0to recognize the difficulties they sometimes face on account of their declining numbers and increasing pressures. The support and understanding of the faithful\u00a0is particularly necessary when parishes have to be merged or Mass times adjusted.\u00a0Help them to avoid any temptation to view the clergy as mere functionaries but\u00a0rather to rejoice in the gift of priestly ministry, a gift that can never be\u00a0taken for granted.<\/p>\n

Ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue assume great\u00a0importance in England and Wales, given the varied demographic profile of the\u00a0population. As well as encouraging you in your important work in these areas, I\u00a0would ask you to be generous in implementing the provisions<\/b> of the Apostolic\u00a0Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus<\/i>, so as to assist those groups of Anglicans\u00a0who wish to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church. I am convinced\u00a0that, if given a warm and open-hearted welcome, such groups will be a blessing\u00a0for the entire Church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This last week the Pope has meeting individually and collectively with the bishops of England and Wales. As you know, a bishop is obliged to pray at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul and to offer a review of the pastoral activities of the diocese he leads to the Pope and to his curia. … Continue reading Pope tells bishops of England and Wales to be united in teaching the faith and being a witness to Christ<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[2224,2523,1907,32081],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25296"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25296"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33338,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25296\/revisions\/33338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}