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Address Of Pope Francis At The Close Of Synod by eepa: 2:15pm On Oct 27, 2015 |
Dear Beatitudes, Eminences and
Excellencies,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I would like first of all to thank the Lord, who
has guided our synodal process in these
years by his Holy Spirit, whose support is
never lacking to the Church.
My heartfelt thanks go to Cardinal Lorenzo
Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod,
Bishop Fabio Fabene, its Under-Secretary,
and, together with them, the Relator,
Cardinal Peter Erdő, and the Special
Secretary, Archbishop Bruno Forte, the
Delegate Presidents, the writers, consultors
and translators, and all those who have
worked tirelessly and with total dedication to
the Church: My deepest thanks!
I likewise thank all of you, dear Synod
Fathers, Fraternal Delegates, Auditors and
Assessors, parish priests and families, for
your active and fruitful participation.
And I thank all those unnamed men and
women who contributed generously to the
labours of this Synod by quietly working
behind the scenes.
Be assured of my prayers, that the Lord will
reward all of you with his abundant gifts of
grace!
As I followed the labours of the Synod, I
asked myself: What will it mean for the
Church to conclude this Synod devoted to
the family?
Certainly, the Synod was not about settling
all the issues having to do with the family,
but rather attempting to see them in the
light of the Gospel and the Church’s
tradition and 2,000-year history, bringing
the joy of hope without falling into a facile
repetition of what is obvious or has already
been said.
Surely it was not about finding exhaustive
solutions for all the difficulties and
uncertainties which challenge and threaten
the family, but rather about seeing these
difficulties and uncertainties in the light of
the Faith, carefully studying them and
confronting them fearlessly, without burying
our heads in the sand.
It was about urging everyone to appreciate
the importance of the institution of the
family and of marriage between a man and a
woman, based on unity and indissolubility,
and valuing it as the fundamental basis of
society and human life.
It was about listening to and making heard
the voices of the families and the Church’s
pastors, who came to Rome bearing on their
shoulders the burdens and the hopes, the
riches and the challenges of families
throughout the world.
It was about showing the vitality of the
Catholic Church, which is not afraid to stir
dulled consciences or to soil her hands with
lively and frank discussions about the family.
It was about trying to view and interpret
realities, today’s realities, through God’s
eyes, so as to kindle the flame of faith and
enlighten people’s hearts in times marked
by discouragement, social, economic and
moral crisis, and growing pessimism.
It was about bearing witness to everyone
that, for the Church, the Gospel continues to
be a vital source of eternal newness, against
all those who would “indoctrinate” it in dead
stones to be hurled at others.
It was also about laying closed hearts, which
bare the closed hearts which frequently hide
even behind the Church’s teachings or good
intentions, in order to sit in the chair of
Moses and judge, sometimes with superiority
and superficiality, difficult cases and
wounded families.
It was about making clear that the Church is
a Church of the poor in spirit and of sinners
seeking forgiveness, not simply of the
righteous and the holy, but rather of those
who are righteous and holy precisely when
they feel themselves poor sinners.
It was about trying to open up broader
horizons, rising above conspiracy theories
and blinkered viewpoints, so as to defend
and spread the freedom of the children of
God, and to transmit the beauty of Christian
Newness, at times encrusted in a language
which is archaic or simply incomprehensible.
In the course of this Synod, the different
opinions which were freely expressed – and
at times, unfortunately, not in entirely well-
meaning ways – certainly led to a rich and
lively dialogue; they offered a vivid image of
a Church which does not simply
“rubberstamp”, but draws from the sources
of her faith living waters to refresh parched
hearts.
And – apart from dogmatic questions clearly
defined by the Church’s Magisterium – we
have also seen that what seems normal for a
bishop on one continent, is considered
strange and almost scandalous for a bishop
from another; what is considered a violation
of a right in one society is an evident and
inviolable rule in another; what for some is
freedom of conscience is for others simply
confusion.
Cultures are in fact quite diverse, and each
general principle needs to be inculturated, if
it is to be respected and applied. The 1985
Synod, which celebrated the 20th
anniversary of the conclusion of the Second
Vatican Council, spoke of inculturation as
“the intimate transformation of authentic
cultural values through their integration in
Christianity, and the taking root of
Christianity in the various human cultures”.
Inculturation does not weaken true values,
but demonstrates their true strength and
authenticity, since they adapt without
changing; indeed they quietly and gradually
transform the different cultures.
We have seen, also by the richness of our
diversity, that the same challenge is ever
before us: that of proclaiming the Gospel to
the men and women of today, and
defending the family from all ideological and
individualistic assaults.
And without ever falling into the danger of
relativism or of demonising others, we
sought to embrace, fully and courageously,
the goodness and mercy of God who
transcends our every human reckoning and
desires only that “all be saved” (cf. 1 Tm
2:4). In this way we wished to experience
this Synod in the context of the
Extraordinary Year of Mercy which the
Church is called to celebrate.
Dear Brothers,
The Synod experience also made us better
realise that the true defenders of doctrine
are not those who uphold its letter, but its
spirit; not ideas but people; not formulae but
the gratuitousness of God’s love and
forgiveness.
This is in no way to detract from the
importance of formulae, laws and divine
commandments, but rather to exalt the
greatness of the true God, who does not
treat us according to our merits or even
according to our works but solely according
to the boundless generosity of his Mercy (cf.
Rom 3:21-30; Ps 129; Lk 11:37-54). It does
have to do with overcoming the recurring
temptations of the elder brother (cf. Lk
15:25-32) and the jealous labourers (cf. Mt
20:1-16). Indeed, it means upholding all the
more the laws and commandments which
were made for man and not vice versa (cf.
Mk 2:27).
In this sense, the necessary human
repentance, works and efforts take on a
deeper meaning, not as the price of that
salvation freely won for us by Christ on the
cross, but as a response to the One who
loved us first and saved us at the cost of his
innocent blood, while we were still sinners
(cf. Rom 5:6).
The Church’s first duty is not to hand down
condemnations or anathemas, but to
proclaim God’s mercy, to call to conversion,
and to lead all men and women to salvation
in the Lord (cf. Jn 12:44-50).
Blessed Paul VI expressed this eloquently:
“”We can imagine, then, that each of our
sins, our attempts to turn our back on God,
kindles in him a more intense flame of love,
a desire to bring us back to himself and to
his saving plan… God, in Christ, shows
himself to be infinitely good… God is good.
Not only in himself; God is – let us say it with
tears – good for us. He loves us, he seeks us
out, he thinks of us, he knows us, he
touches our hearts us and he waits for us.
He will be – so to say – delighted on the day
when we return and say: ‘Lord, in your
goodness, forgive me. Thus our repentance
becomes God’s joy”.
Saint John Paul II also stated that: “the
Church lives an authentic life when she
professes and proclaims mercy… and when
she brings people close to the sources of the
Saviour’s mercy, of which she is the trustee
and dispenser”.
Benedict XVI, too, said: “Mercy is indeed the
central nucleus of the Gospel message; it is
the very name of God… May all that the
Church says and does manifest the mercy
God feels for mankind. When the Church has
to recall an unrecognised truth, or a
betrayed good, she always does so impelled
by merciful love, so that men may have life
and have it abundantly (cf. Jn 10:10)”.
In light of all this, and thanks to this time of
grace which the Church has experienced in
discussing the family, we feel mutually
enriched. Many of us have felt the working
of the Holy Spirit who is the real protagonist
and guide of the Synod. For all of us, the
word “family” has a new resonance, so
much so that the word itself already evokes
the richness of the family’s vocation and the
significance of the labours of the Synod.
In effect, for the Church to conclude the
Synod means to return to our true
“journeying together” in bringing to every
part of the world, to every diocese, to every
community and every situation, the light of
the Gospel, the embrace of the Church and
the support of God’s mercy!
Thank you! |
Re: Address Of Pope Francis At The Close Of Synod by Nobody: 2:16pm On Oct 27, 2015 |
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Spiritual Digest For The Day 30th Of October 2015 / Married To The Moonies / Best Deeds In Islam
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