John Paul II Reminds Bishops of a Key Priority

Says They Should Promote Episcopate's Communion with Pope

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, SEPT. 15, 2002 (Zenit.org).- The first task of a Catholic bishop is to promote communion with the Pope and the rest of the episcopate, says John Paul II.

The Pope made his comment Saturday when he received a group of bishops from northern Brazil who were in Rome for their quinquennial "ad limina" visit. They were the third Brazilian group to visit in recent months.

"The distinctive note of your mission, as pastors of the people who have been entrusted to you, must be, first of all, to be promoters and models of communion," the Pope stressed.

"Just as the Church is one, so the episcopate is only one," the Pontiff continued, quoting from the Second Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution, "Lumen Gentium." "The Pope, as the Successor of Peter, is the visible principle and perpetual foundation of unity, both of the bishops as well as of the multitude of faithful."

"[U]nion among bishops is particularly necessary in our days, given that pastoral initiatives have many forms and transcend the borders of one's diocese," the Pontiff continued.

John Paul II appealed for communion that would translate into "pastoral cooperation in common programs and projects on the most important issues, in particular, those that refer to the poor," he said.

The Holy Father sketched the profile of today's bishop: "The ecclesial communities need pastors who are men of faith and who are united among themselves, who are capable of addressing the challenges of a society that is increasingly inclined to secularization and consumerism."

John Paul II indicated the obstacles Brazil and other Latin American countries face for evangelization.

He cited the "lack of living and ecclesial vigor of faith and the indifference toward religious values," as well as "the presence of sects and of new pseudo-religious groups, whose spread also take place in traditionally Catholic environments."

To counter this, the Pope called for "profound study to rediscover the reason why numerous Catholics leave the Church."
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