"Ad limina Apostolorum": Irish Episcopal Conference
September 25, 1992
Continue your efforts for good catechesis and the defence of
life
On the morning of Friday, 25 September, the Holy Father received the Irish
Bishops in audience at Castel Gandolfo. After a brief introductory address by
Cardinal Cahal B. Daly, Archbishop of Armagh and President of the Episcopal
Conference, the Pope spoke to the Bishops in English.
Your Eminence,
Dear Brother Bishops,
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Cor
1:2).
1. It is a great joy for me to receive you, the Bishops of Ireland, on
the occasion of your ad limina visit and to share with you this moment of
fraternal and ecclesial communion. When the Bishops of a particular region or
country come jointly to pray at the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles and to
meet the Bishop of Rome, they give visible expression to the bonds of faith and
love which unite the particular Churches among themselves and with the Apostolic
See. Your ad limina visit is a concrete, tangible sign of the
collegial spirit which is "the soul of the collaboration between the Bishops on
the regional, national and international levels" (Final Report of the
Extraordinary Session of the Synod of Bishops, 1985, II, 4). I wish to
encourage you to continue to work together in your Episcopal Conference, sharing
the burdens of your office, supporting each other in fraternal friendship, and
fostering that openness to the needs of the whole Church around the world for
which the Church in Ireland is renowned. A well-organized and effective
Conference ensures that your efforts, through a constant interchange of ideas
and resources, are better coordinated and therefore more fruitful. It can be a
magnificent instrument of evangelization, becoming a source of dynamism in
meeting the challenges and demands of your ministry.
2. As successors of the Apostles, vicars and ambassadors of Christ in your
Dioceses (cf.
Lumen gentium, n. 27), you are conscious of your personal accountability
before God himself. You have been called to be the vigilant watchmen, set to
guard the Lord's house (cf. Ez 3:17). Christ has sent you to preach the word of
life "in season and out of season" (2 Tm 4:2), never giving in to the false
"wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age" (1 Cor 2:6), especially when
there is a danger that some will "turn away from listening to the truth and
wander into myths" (ibid., 4:4). More than that, you are "servants of Christ and
stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor 4:1). Above all you are the good
shepherds who know your people (cf. Jn 10:14), and who, in turn, are known by
them: that is, you strive to be deserving of the trust and religious obedience
with which the community of the faithful listens when it perceives that the
shepherd's voice is the voice of the Lord himself: "they know his voice... they
do not know the voice of strangers" (Jn 10:4-5).
Your martyrs have shown fidelity to the Church
From your reports and our conversations I have had a clear confirmation of
your deep love for the people of God whom you serve in the name of Jesus Christ.
Your particular Churches are abundantly blessed with priests, religious and lay
men and women who not only live their faith with exemplary constancy but who
also do remarkable work in every form of the apostolate and in service to the
young, the sick, the elderly and those in any kind of spiritual and material
need. For me to speak of your pastoral ministry is, first of all, to take into
account and to give thanks to God for the many positive and fruitful aspects of
Catholic life in your country. The thought of the dear Catholic people of
Ireland brings to mind the sentiment expressed by Saint Paul: "I have great
confidence in you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort" (2 Cor
6:4).
3. Your ad limina visit happily coincides with the beatification
of Archbishop Dermot ÒHurley, Francis Taylor, Margaret Ball and their
companion martyrs. Times have changed since that dark period in which the
profession of faith often met with imprisonment, torture and death. But the
essence of their witness, their fidelity to Christ and to the Church, is
sublimely relevant today. The martyrs challenge the faith which you and your
people profess as heirs to the truths for which they gave their lives. They
stimulate your fidelity to Christ, who is himself "the faithful witness" (Rv
1:5). Their intercession and their heroic example serve as a point of reference
for the commitment and dedication with which you personally are called to fulfil
the episcopal ministry. The beatification of the martyrs reminds us all of "the
one thing necessary" (cf. Lk 10:42), and is a source of encouragement to all
those in Ireland whose generous and self-giving Christian life is a pledge of
divine love and the best and most abiding guarantee of a society grounded in
justice, truth and peace.
4. The demands upon your leadership increase with the growing complexity of
modern life. Not only are there more opportunities to manifest the love of the
Good Shepherd in concern for and solidarity with people in all kinds of need;
there is also the primary challenge to proclaim effectively the Gospel
message of salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ to our contemporaries, in what
is sometimes called the "post-modern world".
The new evangelization which I have so often spoken of implies, on the
one hand,
a renewed missionary zeal to preach the word of God to those who have not
yet heard it. Christ's "missionary mandate" is of permanent and universal
validity, and I hope and pray that the present and future generations of Irish
men and women will not abandon the missionary ideal which has been so
characteristic of the Church in your country.
On the other hand, in traditionally Christian environments the new
evangelization calls for a better proclamation and catechesis, capable of
responding to the difficulties posed by a "culture" which gives precedence to
the material and self-seeking aspects of life at the expense of the spiritual
and altruistic. It is a "culture" which holds that religious truth should be
confined to the realm of private opinion, in favour of a "neutrality" or
"secularism" which, to say the least, is itself only a minority though strongly
propagated view. In this perspective, the new evangelization cannot be directed
merely to defending the Christian life bequeathed to us by previous generations.
The word of God must be announced with fresh vigour in every age. What is
needed is a more effective transmission of the Christian message by reasoned
argument and by example; in other words, by means of a true and complete
presentation of the faith, sustained by a convincing witness of holiness,
justice and love. In this great task it is God certainly who gives the growth,
but he relies on the apostles actively to plant and water (cf. 1 Cor 3:6). This
vigour in fulfilling the apostolic task should be every Pastor's concern,
the subject of his constant prayer and the urgent appeal he makes to the whole
ecclesial community.
Good and effective catechesis is needed at every level
5. The Church in Ireland is rich in personnel, gifts and charisms. As a
community of faith she is being challenged to respond to the demand for a more
solid Christian culture.
A coordinated pastoral plan can help to direct and focus efforts. A
pastoral plan cannot take the place of personal commitment, but it can help to
identify the areas needing specific pastoral attention: the family; the defence
of human life; schools and universities; ethical standards in private and public
life, and in the media of social communications; special categories in society.
It can ensure a better use of spiritual and apostolic resources. It can release
new energies, favour new initiatives, foster new approaches. It should give
space and impulse to all those energies which the Holy Spirit raises up in and
for the community, in particular through lay associations and movements or
activities suited to the needs of young people. In Ireland such energies are not
lacking, but they do need guidance, support and encouragement.
A pastoral plan should ensure that good and effective catechesis is
provided at every level. Furthermore, the distinction between catechesis and
generic religious instruction requires the careful training of teachers who not
only have a profound grasp of the doctrine they are meant to transmit, and of
the pedagogical and methodological skills they need, but who also possess human
and Christian maturity, a deep understanding of people and of the cultural
environment, and who share positively and joyfully in the life of the ecclesial
community. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Catholic teachers of
Ireland. Their commitment to handing on to children the precious gift of faith
is an immense resource for the Church in your country. Catholic schools, with
their ethos pervaded by spiritual and moral values, make an irreplaceable
contribution to the well-being of society.
6. We are all aware that there is a tendency today to regard the Church as a
purely institutional structure devoid of her mystery. For this reason I wrote in
the recent Encyclical Redemptoris missio: "The temptation today is to
reduce Christianity to merely human wisdom, a pseudo-science of well-being. In
our heavily secularized world a `gradual secularization of salvation" has taken
place, so that people strive for the good of man, but man who is truncated,
reduced to his merely horizontal dimension" (n. 11). Bishops, in the first
place, have a responsibility to show that the salvation brought by Jesus Christ
embraces the whole person and is inseparable from the wondrous prospect of
divine filiation (cf. ibid.). In this respect the Church in Ireland can sing a
joyful hymn of gratitude to God for the holiness of life, the profound life of
prayer, the solid sacramental practice, and the generous love and kindness of so
many of her members. In many of your Dioceses there is an increase of
Eucharistic adoration. The Eucharist, as the Council says, is the source and
summit of all the Church's life (cf. Lumen gentium, n. 11). A
Eucharistic-centred spirituality helps us to be conscious of the perennial power
of the Gospel, "the power of God for salvation" (Rom 1:16), which, unlike
changeable and transitory ideologies, is capable always of inspiring new life
and vigour in human hearts, in every historical circumstance.
7. As pastors of souls you are fully aware that the malaise of contemporary
society revolves around family life and family values. On many occasions
you have made individual or collective declarations on this point, often aimed
at making the leaders in public life more aware of the fundamental importance of
the family for the well-being of society. Where the family is weakened, society
descends into confusion and conflict. Neither society nor the State can
substitute for the family's educational and formative influence. To defend the
family, that is, the institution based on human nature and on the deepest needs
of the human person, as the "first and vital cell of society" (Apostolicam
actuositatem, n. 11) and the bulwark of civilization, is an imperative task
for society's political representatives. To do so is not, as some might say, to
promote a "unilateral" Catholic position.
The right to life is a natural, inalienable right
A similar consideration can be made about the grave matter of abortion.
The Consistory held on 4-6 April 1991 on the subject of threats to human life
called the entire universal Church to a courageous defence of life, one which
would engage and challenge the consciences of all. At the same time it should be
made clear that the argument against abortion is based not only on the data of
faith but also on reasons of the natural order, including the true concepts of
human rights and social justice. The right to life does not depend on a
particular religious conviction. It is a primary, natural, inalienable right
that springs from the very dignity of every human being. The defence of life
from the moment of conception until natural death is the defence of the human
person in the dignity that is his or hers from the sole fact of existence,
independently of whether that existence is planned or welcomed by the persons
who give rise to it. Every reflection on this serious matter must begin from the
clear premise that
procured abortion is the taking of the life of an already existing human
being. To uphold this principle and to enshrine it democratically in the
Constitution and laws of the State does not imply insensitivity to the rights of
others, including mothers in complex and difficult situations. The life of the
mother and the life of her unborn child are equally precious and equally to be
defended. There can be no "right" to kill an already existing though yet unborn
human being.
Likewise, there can be no justification from the moral point of view for
disseminating information the purpose of which is to facilitate the killing of
the unborn. In your recent Statement on the Sacredness of Human Life you
have rightly urged the faithful to be supportive and understanding of women in
distressful situations, and you have reaffirmed your pastoral commitment to
providing all forms of assistance and care through Cura and similar
organizations. In this way the ecclesial community effectively demonstrates the
mercy of Christ and his healing.
Show personal concern for formation of seminarians
8. Dear brother Bishops, so many other aspects of your ministry deserve
consideration here. We have spoken of some of them in private, and you have also
discussed them in your visits to the various offices of the Holy See. There is
one point however which I cannot leave untouched. I am certain that every day
you give thanks to God for the dedicated ministry and exemplary life of your
priests. They are men of faith and love, deeply aware that they "exist and
act in order to proclaim the Gospel to the world and to build up the Church in
the name and person of Christ the Head and Shepherd" (Pastores dabo vobis,
n. 15). It is their identification with the mystery of Christ and the Church
which inspires the faithful with trust and confidence in their ministry. It is
extremely important that they should always be close to the people of God whom
they serve, especially the humble, the sick and the needy, and persons bereaved
or distressed through violence.
Priests are not immune from the particular difficulties that a consumerist
society places in the way of those seeking to live a life of holiness and
self-giving. I am confident that a reflective reading of the Post-Synodal
Apostolic Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis will provide you and your
priests with a stimulus to fostering that "continual conversion" which is the
essence of fidelity and evangelical fruitfulness (cf. ibid., Ch. VI). I take
this opportunity to encourage you to continue to promote an intensive
pastoral programme of support for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
In your openness to the needs of the universal Church I also ask you to give
special care to missionary vocations, following Ireland's magnificent
traditions. Your personal concern for vocations and for the formation of your
seminarians is a basic task of your episcopal ministry, and I commend to your
careful attention the Apostolic Visitation which, in line with similar
procedures in other countries, the Congregation for Catholic Education is
preparing for Ireland.
9. The situation in Northern Ireland continues to be of grave concern to you.
As we hope and pray for political progress towards an end to violence, and
encourage those who work for this aim, the Church's abiding effort must be to
preach loudly the Gospel of reconciliation (cf. 2 Cor 5:19) and to give
close attention to the pastoral problems and the living conditions which
make justice and peace difficult to attain. Your continuing efforts to promote
good ecumenical relations between the Churches and communities throughout
Ireland are an important contribution to the work of reconciliation and peace.
Jesus Christ tells us: "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living
one" (Rv 1:17-18). It is this Jesus, divine and incarnate, whom the
Church presents to humanity today as always. He is the way for humanity (cf.
Saint Augustine,
Tract. in Ioannem 34, 9). He is the reason for our confidence, the source of
our missionary and apostolic zeal, for "in him all things hold together" (Col
1:17). Let us work earnestly for the "new Advent" (Redemptor hominis, n.
1) which should mark the close of the Second Christian Millennium and the
beginning of the next. That event, which acquires particular significance in the
light of the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God, constitutes an
"appointment" for the whole Church. May the Church in Ireland celebrate that
jubilee with her faith intact and her love undiminished! May Mary, Queen of
Peace, guide you and the faithful priests, religious and laity of Ireland! May
the blessed martyrs intercede for you! With my Apostolic Blessing.
Teachings of the
Magisterium on Abortion
