Pope
Francis: World is tired of “charming liars” and “trendy priests
and bishops”
Address to new bishops
focuses on pastoral attention to families and seminarians
VATICAN
CITY — “The world is tired of
charming liars, and I might say, of ‘trendy’ priests or ‘trendy’ bishops,” Pope
Francis told newly-appointed bishops in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall on
Friday.
“People can ‘smell’ it — the people of God have God’s nose. People
can ‘smell’ it and they move away when they see narcissists, manipulators,
defenders of their own causes, and bandits of vain crusades,” he said, urging
them instead to make their ministry an “icon of mercy, the only force capable
of permanently seducing and attracting man’s heart.”
“One can ignore an indifferent and distant God, but one cannot so
easily resist a God who is so close and has even been wounded for love,”
the pope said. “Goodness, beauty, truth, and love: this is what we have to
offer this beggar world, albeit in half-broken bowls.”
The audience came at the end of a formation course for new bishops
organized by the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Oriental
Churches.
“Thrilled at having been
loved by God”
Making mercy pastoral, having experienced “the thrill of
being loved by God in advance”: for Pope Francis, this is the mission of
bishops, especially those who are new pastors of the Church.
Bishops have been “fished, i.e. caught by the love of God’s
surprising mercy,” he said, pointing to the example of biblical figures like
Moses and Nathaniel who were loved and known by God even before they realized
it.
The pope called this love “an admirable condescension.”
“How beautiful it is to let oneself be transfixed by the loving
knowledge of God. It consoles us to know that He truly knows who we are and is
not afraid of our littleness … despite our insufficiencies.”
The Pope said the true Holy Door of the Jubilee of Mercy is
Christ, the only Door. Passing through that door, he said, should help them
live “a personal experience of gratitude, reconciliation, total trust, and of
complete self-giving of one’s life without limit to the Shepherd of Shepherds.”
“The most precious riches you can bring back with you from Rome at
the beginning of your episcopal ministry is the awareness of the mercy with
which you have been seen and chosen.”
Pope Francis then called the bishops to fulfill their duty to make
mercy pastoral for their flocks.
“Mercy,” he said, “should form and inform the pastoral structures
of our Churches. This does not mean lowering our standards or giving away our
pearls. Indeed, the only condition that the pearl of great price places on
those who find it is to not be able to claim less than everything; its only
claim is to arouse in the hearts of those who find it the need to risk
everything to have it.”
The pope gave the bishops three recommendations for how to make
mercy pastoral, saying their ministry must be accessible, tangible, and capable
of encounter.
Care for seminarians and
priests
Pope Francis then emphasized the need “to take special care
of the structures of initiation of your Churches, especially seminaries.”
“Do not let yourselves be tempted by numbers and by the quantity
of vocations; rather look for the quality of discipleship. Neither numbers nor
quantity: only quality,” he said, adding: “Do not deprive seminarians of your
firm and tender fatherhood.” Help seminarians to grow “until they acquire the
freedom to remain before God in peace and serenity,” not prey “to their own
whims and slaves of their weakness,” but free to embrace all that God is asking
of them.
He also told the newly-appointed bishops to accompany their
priests “with patient care.”
“I ask you as well to act with great prudence and responsibility
in receiving candidates or incardinating priests into your local churches.
Please have prudence and responsibility in this. Remember that, from early
times, there has been an inseparable relationship between the local Church and
its priests, and a vagabond clergy, or one moving from one place to another,
was never accepted. And this is the disease of our times.”
Care for families
Finally, Pope Francis called the newly-appointed prelates to be “bishops
capable of accompanying” their flock, just as the Good Samaritan accompanied to
a safe place the wounded man left on the side of the road.
“Reserve a special accompaniment for all families, rejoicing with
their generous love and encouraging the immense good they bestow in this
world,” he said. “Follow especially those who are most wounded. Do not ‘pass
by’ their weakness. Stop to let your heart as shepherds be pierced by the
vision of their wound; approach gently and without fear. Put before their eyes
the joy of the authentic love and grace with which God raises them to a
participation in his own love. So many people need to rediscover it; others
have never known it; some are waiting for it to be redeemed; not a few will
have to bear the weight of having irretrievably lost it. Please keep them
company in discernment and with empathy,” he said.
He concluded: “Dear brothers, let us now pray together and I will
bless you with all my heart as a pastor, father, and brother. A blessing is
always the invocation of God’s face upon us. Christ is the Face of God that
never fades. In blessing you I ask him to walk with you and that he give you
the courage to walk with him. It is his Face that attracts us, expresses itself
in us and accompanies us. Amen!”
Related Posts:
The Pope: - The world is at war but not religious
war
Pope
Francis Declares Lucifer As God 
Unbelievable! Pope Francis Compares Jesus’
Disciples to ISIS Killers
Diane
Montagna is Rome correspondent for Aleteia’s English edition.
http://aleteia.org/2016/09/16/pope-francis-world-is-tired-of-charming-liars-and-trendy-priests-and-bishops/
No comments:
Post a Comment