At 10:00am today, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in Audience the Bishops from the Episcopal Conference of Slovakia who are in Rome for their visit ad Limina Apostolorum.
Dear brothers in the Episcopate!
We meet with joy, Pastors of the Church in Slovakia, during this ad limina visit in which you come to the tombs of the Apostles, renewing your faith in Jesus Christ and the bonds of communion with the Successor of Peter, and deepening the sense of of collegiality and of mutual collaboration between you. I want to encourage you in the pastoral work you are doing, despite the difficulties of the current moment, characterized by rapid transformations in many aspects of human life and the great challenge of globalization. In this work, you encounter at times numerous difficulties for nations, but at the same time, there are also elements that can offer new opportunities. One opportunity, which has become a sign of our times, is the phenomenon of migration - which needs to be understood and addressed with sensitivity and a sense of justice. The Church is called to proclaim and to witness to the welcoming of migrants in a spirit of charity and respect for the dignity of every human person, in the context of a necessary observance of the law.
Faced with the prospect of a multicultural environment, we must assume an attitude of mutual respect in order to encourage encounter. It is hoped that the Slovak people will be able to maintain their cultural identity and heritage of ethical and spiritual values, strongly tied to your Catholic tradition. In this way, you will be able to open yourself without fear to face the wider horizons of your continent and the world, contributing to sincere and fruitful dialogue concerning issues of vial importance such as the dignity of human life and the essential role of the family. Today, more than ever, we need to illuminate the path that people follow with Christian principles, seizing the opportunities that the current situation offers in order to develop an evangelization that, with new language, will make the message of Christ more understandable. This is why it is important that the Church should infuse hope, in order that all the changes in the present moment might be transformed into a renewed encounter with Christ, who inspires your people to true progress. The lay faithful, called to enliven temporal realities with evangelical fervor, cannot refrain from operating even in the political processes aimed at the common good. In order to provide joyful witness of the gospel in every environment, they must feel as though they are a part of the life of the Church, and your task is to recognize the roles that are properly theirs in the life of the ecclesial community, even including the development and carrying out of pastoral projects.
I greatly appreciate all that you are doing in favour of families, who are facing so many difficulties and are subject to many pitfalls. These efforts need to be accompanied by a full family ministry at the diocesan and national levels which include adequate accompaniment for families, even those which are not complete, especially if there are children involved. As part of the pastoral care of the family, you must value the youth, the hope of the Church and of society. Within them pulses a strong desire to serve others and for solidarity, which requires some guidance and the trust of your Pastoras in order that their desire might be transformed into a true encounter with Christ, and definitive efforts to spread the Gospel. In fact, despite the many enticements that lure them toward hedonism, mediocrity and immediate gratification, youth do not easily allow themselves to be inwardly enticed by difficulty and they are particularly sensitive to unreserved commitment, when such invitations are accompanied with an authentic appreciation for life. However, they need clear indications from you with regard to doctrine and morals, in order to edify both the city of man and the city of God.
You have great fatherly concern for your priests, your primary collaborators in the pastoral ministry. They need well-planned programs of continuing education in the fields of theology, spirituality, pastoral work and the social doctrine of the Church, which will permit them to be competent evangelizers. In fact, for most of God's People, they are the principal channels through which the Gospel is spoken, and the most immediate image through which they encounter the mystery of the Church. Their intellectual and doctrinal preparation should therefore be always united to the witness of an exemplary life, in close communion with their Bishops, in fraternity with their brothers in the priesthood, evidenced in a quality of affability in dealing with all people, and examples of spiritual peace and apostolic zeal that is the fruit of constant contact with the divine Master. In order that the priests might experience the closeness of your presence, it is of utmost importance that you be willing to listen trustingly to them, demonstrating particular attention to the difficulties that often afflict them.
The Church, a sign and an instrument of unity between man and God and among them, is called to be a house and a school of communion, in which all people might come to appreciate and to welcome all that is positive in others. This attitude is most useful also in reference to good contacts which need to be reinstated in Slovakia through her Pastors and consecrated persons, making better use of the valued contributions by all religious in your pastoral activities. At the same time, the Church which exists in your country is called to carry out the pastoral activities of Rome, with the work of extended evangelization which seeks to reach out to all those people who, unfortunately, continue to live at a certain social distance from us.
I ask you to share with your ecclesial communities the expression of my affection and of my spiritual closeness to them; to extend my gratitude to your priests and to the communities of religious men and women, who with such generosity seek to proclaim and to bear witness to the Gospel, as well as to catechists and other collaborators in the work of evanglization; and to convey the Pope's gratitude to people and to institutions who are dedicated to charity and to solidarity toward those who are most in need. I entrust your pastoral preoccupations to the Sorrowful Virgin, the Patroness of Slovakia, and I invoke her maternal intercession, that your country may prosper in peace and in conformity with the best values of your Christian traditions. While I ask you to pray for me, I willingly impart the Apostolic Blessing to you and to the faithful of all the particular Churches over which you preside.
Speech of His Holiness, Pope Francis
to Bishops of Slovakia
Dear brothers in the Episcopate!
We meet with joy, Pastors of the Church in Slovakia, during this ad limina visit in which you come to the tombs of the Apostles, renewing your faith in Jesus Christ and the bonds of communion with the Successor of Peter, and deepening the sense of of collegiality and of mutual collaboration between you. I want to encourage you in the pastoral work you are doing, despite the difficulties of the current moment, characterized by rapid transformations in many aspects of human life and the great challenge of globalization. In this work, you encounter at times numerous difficulties for nations, but at the same time, there are also elements that can offer new opportunities. One opportunity, which has become a sign of our times, is the phenomenon of migration - which needs to be understood and addressed with sensitivity and a sense of justice. The Church is called to proclaim and to witness to the welcoming of migrants in a spirit of charity and respect for the dignity of every human person, in the context of a necessary observance of the law.
Faced with the prospect of a multicultural environment, we must assume an attitude of mutual respect in order to encourage encounter. It is hoped that the Slovak people will be able to maintain their cultural identity and heritage of ethical and spiritual values, strongly tied to your Catholic tradition. In this way, you will be able to open yourself without fear to face the wider horizons of your continent and the world, contributing to sincere and fruitful dialogue concerning issues of vial importance such as the dignity of human life and the essential role of the family. Today, more than ever, we need to illuminate the path that people follow with Christian principles, seizing the opportunities that the current situation offers in order to develop an evangelization that, with new language, will make the message of Christ more understandable. This is why it is important that the Church should infuse hope, in order that all the changes in the present moment might be transformed into a renewed encounter with Christ, who inspires your people to true progress. The lay faithful, called to enliven temporal realities with evangelical fervor, cannot refrain from operating even in the political processes aimed at the common good. In order to provide joyful witness of the gospel in every environment, they must feel as though they are a part of the life of the Church, and your task is to recognize the roles that are properly theirs in the life of the ecclesial community, even including the development and carrying out of pastoral projects.
I greatly appreciate all that you are doing in favour of families, who are facing so many difficulties and are subject to many pitfalls. These efforts need to be accompanied by a full family ministry at the diocesan and national levels which include adequate accompaniment for families, even those which are not complete, especially if there are children involved. As part of the pastoral care of the family, you must value the youth, the hope of the Church and of society. Within them pulses a strong desire to serve others and for solidarity, which requires some guidance and the trust of your Pastoras in order that their desire might be transformed into a true encounter with Christ, and definitive efforts to spread the Gospel. In fact, despite the many enticements that lure them toward hedonism, mediocrity and immediate gratification, youth do not easily allow themselves to be inwardly enticed by difficulty and they are particularly sensitive to unreserved commitment, when such invitations are accompanied with an authentic appreciation for life. However, they need clear indications from you with regard to doctrine and morals, in order to edify both the city of man and the city of God.
You have great fatherly concern for your priests, your primary collaborators in the pastoral ministry. They need well-planned programs of continuing education in the fields of theology, spirituality, pastoral work and the social doctrine of the Church, which will permit them to be competent evangelizers. In fact, for most of God's People, they are the principal channels through which the Gospel is spoken, and the most immediate image through which they encounter the mystery of the Church. Their intellectual and doctrinal preparation should therefore be always united to the witness of an exemplary life, in close communion with their Bishops, in fraternity with their brothers in the priesthood, evidenced in a quality of affability in dealing with all people, and examples of spiritual peace and apostolic zeal that is the fruit of constant contact with the divine Master. In order that the priests might experience the closeness of your presence, it is of utmost importance that you be willing to listen trustingly to them, demonstrating particular attention to the difficulties that often afflict them.
The Church, a sign and an instrument of unity between man and God and among them, is called to be a house and a school of communion, in which all people might come to appreciate and to welcome all that is positive in others. This attitude is most useful also in reference to good contacts which need to be reinstated in Slovakia through her Pastors and consecrated persons, making better use of the valued contributions by all religious in your pastoral activities. At the same time, the Church which exists in your country is called to carry out the pastoral activities of Rome, with the work of extended evangelization which seeks to reach out to all those people who, unfortunately, continue to live at a certain social distance from us.
I ask you to share with your ecclesial communities the expression of my affection and of my spiritual closeness to them; to extend my gratitude to your priests and to the communities of religious men and women, who with such generosity seek to proclaim and to bear witness to the Gospel, as well as to catechists and other collaborators in the work of evanglization; and to convey the Pope's gratitude to people and to institutions who are dedicated to charity and to solidarity toward those who are most in need. I entrust your pastoral preoccupations to the Sorrowful Virgin, the Patroness of Slovakia, and I invoke her maternal intercession, that your country may prosper in peace and in conformity with the best values of your Christian traditions. While I ask you to pray for me, I willingly impart the Apostolic Blessing to you and to the faithful of all the particular Churches over which you preside.
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