In addresses in Italian and Russian, the Holy Father invited the bishops to be grateful that communist repression had not extinguished the faith of their peoples, thanks to the "zealous sacrifices of priests, religious and laypeople." He was addressing prelates from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.In the West, we may be facing not so much communist repression as socialist in the coming decades; a kind of 'battle of the pagans,' if you will allow. But just as the Orthodox priests and babushkas kept alive the faith till repression lifted, may our faithful Shepherd, Benedict, our bishops, priests, and religious continue to lead us in these darkening days.
He went on to acknowledge that the prelates generally minister to very small Catholic communities. In Kyrgyzstan, for example, 2004 statistics showed only 500 Catholics in the apostolic administration. The "sui iuris" mission of Turkmenistan reported only 50 Catholics that same year.
Thus, the Pontiff called on the prelates to be guided by the Holy Spirit and to draw from their past experiences.
"Continue to educate everyone in listening to the word of God and foster Marian devotion and love for the Eucharist, especially in the young," he said. "Encourage families to pray the rosary. Patiently and courageously seek new ways and methods of apostolate, making it your concern to modernize them according to today's demands, bearing in mind the language and culture of the faithful entrusted to you care." Read all here.
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
No comments:
Post a Comment