By John-Henry Westen
VATICAN CITY, September 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pope Benedict XVI met with 100 newly appointed bishops today, giving them the example of St. Paul as a model for their preaching and pastoral work. The Pope noted how the locales where the bishops are stationed “are being hit by the increasingly-violent wind of … religious indifference, secularisation and the relativisation of values.” This, he said, “creates an environment in which the weapon of preaching may appear – as happened to Paul in Athens – to lack the necessary strength.”
The Pope encouraged the bishops nonetheless to preach the truth, even in the face of physical persecution, after the example of St. Paul, who suffered numerous persecutions and was finally martyred.
“Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged by these inconveniences, which are sometimes very harsh,” he said, “but allow yourselves to be guided and inspired by St. Paul … who did not avoid difficulties and sufferings because he was well aware that they are part of the cross which, as Christians, we must carry every day.” The Pope added that, “Suffering unites us to Christ and to our brothers and sisters, and expresses the fullness of love, the source and supreme trial of which is Christ’s own Cross.”
See the full address (in Italian):
https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2008/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20080920_vescovi-corso_it.html
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Pope Encourages 100 New Bishops to Use the “Weapon of Preaching” Against Secularization
By John-Henry Westen VATICAN CITY, September 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pope Benedict XVI met with 100 newly appointed bishops today, giving them the example of St. Paul as a model for their preaching and pastoral work. The Pope noted how the locales where the bishops are stationed “are being hit by the increasingly-violent wind of … religious indifference, secularisation and the relativisation of values.” This, he said, “creates an environment in which the weapon of preaching may appear – as happened to Paul in Athens – to lack the necessary strength.” The Pope encouraged the bishops nonetheless to preach the […]
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