At 11:30 this morning, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the Bishops from the Regional Episcopal Conferences of North Africa (C.E.R.N.A.) who are in Rome for their ad limina visit.
Dear brother Bishops,
It is with joy that I welcome you during these days of your ad limina visit. I hope that your pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles affirms your faith and strengthens your hope so that you may continue the ministry that has been confided to you in each of your countries. I thank His Excellency, Vincent Landel, Archbishop of Rabat and Present of your Conference, who expressed in your name, sentiments of communion with the Successor of Peter. Through you, I greet the faithful of your dioceses in North Africa. Kindly convey the Pope's affection and the assurance that he remains close to them, and that he encourages them in the generous witness that they continue to give to the gospel of peace and love of Jesus. My cordial greeting is also addressed to all those who live in your countries, especially persons who are suffering. For many years, your region has experienced significant evolutions, which are occasions for hopes of seeing the realization of certain aspirations for greater freedom and dignity, and favouring a greater freedom of conscience. However, at times such changes have led to violence. I would like to particularly recognize the courage, the faithfulness and the perseverance of the Bishops of Libya, as well as the priests, consecrated persons and the laity who remain in that country despite the physical dangers. They are authentic witnesses to the gospel. I truly wish to thank them and I encourage you all to continue your efforts to build peace and reconciliation throughout your region.
Your Episcopal Conference, which gathers regularly the priests of Marocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, is a place of exchange and important discussion, but it should also be an instrument of communion which allows for the deepening of fraternal relationships and confidences between you. Your pilgrimage to Rome is a happy occasion to renew your common commitment to serving the mission of the Church in each of your countries. This mission, your accomplish with your priests, your immediate collaborators. Born in various countries, it is sometimes difficult for them to adapt to circumstances which for them are very new. It is therefore particularly necessary that you be close to each of them and attentive to their ongoing formation so that they may live their ministry fully and with serenity. To each of them, I send my most cordial greetings and the assurance of my prayer.
Religious men and women also have a privileged place in the life and the mission of your Churches. I am grateful to them for their witness of fraternal life and for their generous commitment in service to their brothers and sisters. During this year of Consecrated Life, I invite them to rediscover their awareness of the importance of contemplation in their lives and thus to allow the beauty and the holiness of their vocation to shine.
At the heart of your mission and at the source of your hope, there is first of all, the personal encounter with Jesus Christ and the certitude that he is at work in the world where you have been sent in his name. The evangelistic vitality of your dioceses therefore depend on the quality of the spiritual and sacramental life that each enjoys. The history of your region was marked by many figures of holiness from the time of Cyprien and Augustine, the spiritual heritage of the entire Church including the witness of Blessed Charles de Foucauld, the centenary of whose birth will be celebrated next year, and more recently by priests and religious who have given themselves entirely to God and to their brothers, including the sacrifice of their lives. It is up to you to develop this spiritual heritage first among your brothers, but also by opening yourselves to all. I rejoice above all to know that in recent years, many Christian shrines have been restored in Algeria. By welcoming pilgrims and visitors, each as they are, with goodness and without trying to convert them, your communities demonstrate their willingness to be a Church with open doors, always going out (cf Evangelii gaudium, 46-47).
Against the sometimes difficult situations which your region has experienced, your ministry of pastor experiences many joys. Thus, the welcoming of new disciples who ask to join you, having discovered the love of God manifested in Jesus, is a beautiful sign given by the Lord. Sharing with their fellow citizens the success of edifying efforts toward a more fraternal and open society, they demonstrate that all people are children of the same Father. I greet them and I assure them of my affection, in hopes that they maintain their places in the life of their respective dioceses.
Universality is also a characteristic of your Churches; coming from various nations, your faithful form vibrant living communities. I invite them to show on their faces the joy of the gospel, the joy of having encountered Christ who gives them life. This is also an occasion for you to marvel at the work of God who is present to all peoples and in all cultures. I would like to convey my encouragement to the many young students from sub-Saharan Africa, who form an important part of your communities. Remaining strong in faith, they are capable of establishing relationships of friendship, confidence ad respect with all peoples, and contributing in this way to the building up of a more fraternal world.
Inter-religious dialogue is an important part of the life of your Churches. In this domain too, the imagination of charity can open many paths that lead to breathing evangelistic breath into the various cultures and social milieux (cf Apostolic Letter to all Consecrated persons at the beginning of the Year of Consecrated Life, November 28, 2014). You know how mutual ignorance is the cause of many misunderstandings and sometimes even clashes. Yet, as Benedict XVI wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation Africae munus: If all of us who believe in God desire to promote reconciliation, justice and peace, we must work together to banish every form of discrimination, intolerance and religious fundamentalism (AM, 94). The most efficient antidote against all forms of violence is education about the discovery and acceptance of differences as riches and fertility. It is equally as indispensable that in your dioceses, priests, religious and laity are formed in this domain. And in this regard, I am happy to note that the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), which is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year, was born in your region, in Tunisia. Support and use this institution if necessary so that the language and the culture will permit you to deepen dialogue in truth and hope between Christians and Muslims. Dialogue, you live it also from day to day with the Christians belonging to various traditions. May the Al Mowafaqa Ecumenical Institute, founded in Morocco to promote ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue in the current context, also contribute toward better reciprocal understanding!
A Church of meeting and dialogue, you also wish to be of service to all people without distinction. With often modest means, you demonstrate the charity of Christ and of the Church toward the poor, the sick, the aged, women in need and to prisoners. I sincerely thank you for the part you play in assisting so many immigrants from various parts of Africa who seek in your countries, a place of passage or of welcome. Recognizing their human dignity, and working to reveal their consciences in the face of many human tragedies, you show the love of God offered to each one of them.
Dear brothers in the Episcopate, I wish finally to assure you of the support of the entire Church in your mission. You are on the peripheries, with the particular task of demonstrating the presence of Christ in his Church in your region. Your witness to life in simplicity and poverty is an eminent sign for the entire Church. Be sure that the Successor of Peter accompanies you on your rough road and that he encourages you to always be men of hope.
I confide you to the protection of Our Lady of Africa, who watches over the entire continent and to the intercession of Saint Augustine, of Blessed Charles de Foucauld and of all the African saints. With all my heart, I affectionately impart upon you all, and upon all the members of your dioceses, my Apostolic Blessing.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to the Bishops of CERNA
Dear brother Bishops,
It is with joy that I welcome you during these days of your ad limina visit. I hope that your pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles affirms your faith and strengthens your hope so that you may continue the ministry that has been confided to you in each of your countries. I thank His Excellency, Vincent Landel, Archbishop of Rabat and Present of your Conference, who expressed in your name, sentiments of communion with the Successor of Peter. Through you, I greet the faithful of your dioceses in North Africa. Kindly convey the Pope's affection and the assurance that he remains close to them, and that he encourages them in the generous witness that they continue to give to the gospel of peace and love of Jesus. My cordial greeting is also addressed to all those who live in your countries, especially persons who are suffering. For many years, your region has experienced significant evolutions, which are occasions for hopes of seeing the realization of certain aspirations for greater freedom and dignity, and favouring a greater freedom of conscience. However, at times such changes have led to violence. I would like to particularly recognize the courage, the faithfulness and the perseverance of the Bishops of Libya, as well as the priests, consecrated persons and the laity who remain in that country despite the physical dangers. They are authentic witnesses to the gospel. I truly wish to thank them and I encourage you all to continue your efforts to build peace and reconciliation throughout your region.
Your Episcopal Conference, which gathers regularly the priests of Marocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, is a place of exchange and important discussion, but it should also be an instrument of communion which allows for the deepening of fraternal relationships and confidences between you. Your pilgrimage to Rome is a happy occasion to renew your common commitment to serving the mission of the Church in each of your countries. This mission, your accomplish with your priests, your immediate collaborators. Born in various countries, it is sometimes difficult for them to adapt to circumstances which for them are very new. It is therefore particularly necessary that you be close to each of them and attentive to their ongoing formation so that they may live their ministry fully and with serenity. To each of them, I send my most cordial greetings and the assurance of my prayer.
Religious men and women also have a privileged place in the life and the mission of your Churches. I am grateful to them for their witness of fraternal life and for their generous commitment in service to their brothers and sisters. During this year of Consecrated Life, I invite them to rediscover their awareness of the importance of contemplation in their lives and thus to allow the beauty and the holiness of their vocation to shine.
At the heart of your mission and at the source of your hope, there is first of all, the personal encounter with Jesus Christ and the certitude that he is at work in the world where you have been sent in his name. The evangelistic vitality of your dioceses therefore depend on the quality of the spiritual and sacramental life that each enjoys. The history of your region was marked by many figures of holiness from the time of Cyprien and Augustine, the spiritual heritage of the entire Church including the witness of Blessed Charles de Foucauld, the centenary of whose birth will be celebrated next year, and more recently by priests and religious who have given themselves entirely to God and to their brothers, including the sacrifice of their lives. It is up to you to develop this spiritual heritage first among your brothers, but also by opening yourselves to all. I rejoice above all to know that in recent years, many Christian shrines have been restored in Algeria. By welcoming pilgrims and visitors, each as they are, with goodness and without trying to convert them, your communities demonstrate their willingness to be a Church with open doors, always going out (cf Evangelii gaudium, 46-47).
Against the sometimes difficult situations which your region has experienced, your ministry of pastor experiences many joys. Thus, the welcoming of new disciples who ask to join you, having discovered the love of God manifested in Jesus, is a beautiful sign given by the Lord. Sharing with their fellow citizens the success of edifying efforts toward a more fraternal and open society, they demonstrate that all people are children of the same Father. I greet them and I assure them of my affection, in hopes that they maintain their places in the life of their respective dioceses.
Universality is also a characteristic of your Churches; coming from various nations, your faithful form vibrant living communities. I invite them to show on their faces the joy of the gospel, the joy of having encountered Christ who gives them life. This is also an occasion for you to marvel at the work of God who is present to all peoples and in all cultures. I would like to convey my encouragement to the many young students from sub-Saharan Africa, who form an important part of your communities. Remaining strong in faith, they are capable of establishing relationships of friendship, confidence ad respect with all peoples, and contributing in this way to the building up of a more fraternal world.
Inter-religious dialogue is an important part of the life of your Churches. In this domain too, the imagination of charity can open many paths that lead to breathing evangelistic breath into the various cultures and social milieux (cf Apostolic Letter to all Consecrated persons at the beginning of the Year of Consecrated Life, November 28, 2014). You know how mutual ignorance is the cause of many misunderstandings and sometimes even clashes. Yet, as Benedict XVI wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation Africae munus: If all of us who believe in God desire to promote reconciliation, justice and peace, we must work together to banish every form of discrimination, intolerance and religious fundamentalism (AM, 94). The most efficient antidote against all forms of violence is education about the discovery and acceptance of differences as riches and fertility. It is equally as indispensable that in your dioceses, priests, religious and laity are formed in this domain. And in this regard, I am happy to note that the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), which is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year, was born in your region, in Tunisia. Support and use this institution if necessary so that the language and the culture will permit you to deepen dialogue in truth and hope between Christians and Muslims. Dialogue, you live it also from day to day with the Christians belonging to various traditions. May the Al Mowafaqa Ecumenical Institute, founded in Morocco to promote ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue in the current context, also contribute toward better reciprocal understanding!
A Church of meeting and dialogue, you also wish to be of service to all people without distinction. With often modest means, you demonstrate the charity of Christ and of the Church toward the poor, the sick, the aged, women in need and to prisoners. I sincerely thank you for the part you play in assisting so many immigrants from various parts of Africa who seek in your countries, a place of passage or of welcome. Recognizing their human dignity, and working to reveal their consciences in the face of many human tragedies, you show the love of God offered to each one of them.
Dear brothers in the Episcopate, I wish finally to assure you of the support of the entire Church in your mission. You are on the peripheries, with the particular task of demonstrating the presence of Christ in his Church in your region. Your witness to life in simplicity and poverty is an eminent sign for the entire Church. Be sure that the Successor of Peter accompanies you on your rough road and that he encourages you to always be men of hope.
I confide you to the protection of Our Lady of Africa, who watches over the entire continent and to the intercession of Saint Augustine, of Blessed Charles de Foucauld and of all the African saints. With all my heart, I affectionately impart upon you all, and upon all the members of your dioceses, my Apostolic Blessing.
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