INTRODUCTION
The Holy Father concluded the Synod of the Americas, begun in November 1997 and capped with his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America released at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City in January this year on the Pope's visit to the Americas. It is the Sovereign Pontiff who has expressed a strong desire to see North, Central and South Americas to be considered "one continent" and he expresses the solidarity, communion and conversion of all nations in the Western Hemisphere in this summation of all that was discussed and decided on between Rome and the Bishops of America at the month-long synod late in 1997. We bring you, over several installments, the entire document since it is pertinent not only to the Bishops and clergy, but to the lay communicants of the Americas. To read the entire document at one time or for footnotes, go to Ecclesia in America. To the right is installment thirteen of ECCLESIA IN AMERICA.
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Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America
From Pope John Paul II to the Bishops, Priests and Deacons, Men and Women Religious, and all the Lay Faithful on the encounter with the Living Jesus Christ: The Way to Conversion, Communion and Solidarity in America
Installment Thirteen of ECCLESIA IN AMERICA: CHAPTER FOUR: THE PATH TO COMMUNION
The priesthood as a sign of unity
39. “As a member of a particular Church, each priest must be a sign of
communion with the Bishop, since he is his immediate collaborator, in
union with his brothers in the priesthood. With pastoral charity, he
exercises his ministry, chiefly in the community entrusted to him, and he
leads his community to encounter Christ the Good Shepherd. His vocation
requires him to be a sign of unity. Therefore, he must avoid any
involvement in party politics, since this would divide the community”. (126)
The Synod Fathers call for “a pastoral plan for diocesan clergy, to
strengthen their spirituality and their sense of mission and identity,
centered on following Christ, the eternal High Priest, always striving to
obey the Father's will. Christ is the model of generous dedication, of
austerity of life and of service even unto death. The priest should be
conscious of the fact that, by virtue of the Sacrament of Orders, he is the
bearer of grace, which he communicates to his brothers and sisters in
the sacraments. He himself is sanctified in the exercise of his ministry”.
(127)
The field in which priests work is vast. Therefore they should
concentrate on what is essential to their ministry: “letting themselves be
configured to Christ the Head and Shepherd, the source of all pastoral
charity, offering themselves each day with Christ in the Eucharist, in
order to help the faithful both personally and communally to experience
the living Jesus Christ”. (128) As witnesses and disciples of the merciful
Christ, they are called to be instruments of forgiveness and reconciliation,
putting themselves generously at the service of the faithful in the spirit of
the Gospel.
As pastors of the People of God in America, priests must also be alert to
the challenges of the world today and sensitive to the problems and
hopes of their people, sharing their experiences and growing, above all,
in solidarity towards the poor. They should be careful to discern the
charisms and strengths of the faithful who might be leaders in the
community, listening to them and through dialogue encouraging their
participation and co-responsibility. This will lead to a better distribution of
tasks, enabling priests “to dedicate themselves to what is most closely
tied to the encounter with and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, and thus
to represent better within the community the presence of Jesus who
draws his people together”. (129)
The task of discerning charisms also includes knowing how best to use
those priests who show an aptitude for special ministries. Moreover,
every priest is expected to offer his fraternal help to other priests and to
turn trustingly to them in time of need.
Given the outstanding number of priests in America who, by God's grace,
strive to meet the challenges of a truly remarkable workload, I join the
Synod Fathers in acknowledging and praising their “untiring commitment
as pastors, preachers of the Gospel and agents of ecclesial communion,
in thanking them and in encouraging them to continue to offer their lives in
service of the Gospel”. (130)
Promoting vocations
40. The indispensable role of the priest within the community must lead all
the members of the Church in America to recognize the importance of
promoting vocations. The American continent has many young people,
who represent an immense spiritual resource. Therefore, it is necessary
to foster vocations to the priesthood and religious life where they first
develop, and Christian families must be invited to support their children if
they feel called to follow this path. (131) Vocations “are a gift of God”
and “they are born in communities of faith, above all in the family, the
parish, Catholic schools and other Church organizations. Bishops and
priests are particularly responsible for encouraging vocations by
personally presenting the call, and above all by their witness of a life of
fidelity, joy, enthusiasm and holiness. The entire People of God is
responsible for promoting vocations, and does so chiefly by persistent
and humble prayer for vocations”. (132)
As places which accept and train those called to the priesthood,
seminaries must prepare the future ministers of the Church to live “a solid
spirituality of communion with Christ the Shepherd and of openness to the
workings of the Spirit, that will make them specially able to discern the
needs of God's People and their various charisms, and to work together”.
(133) Therefore, in seminaries “there should be special insistence upon
specifically spiritual formation, so that through constant conversion, the
spirit of prayer, the practice of the Sacraments of the Eucharist and
Penance, the candidates may learn to be close to the Lord and learn to
commit themselves generously to pastoral work”. (134) Those
responsible for formation should carefully supervise and guide the
seminarians towards emotional maturity so that they may be fit to
embrace priestly celibacy and be prepared to live in communion with their
brother priests. They should also foster in seminarians the capacity for
critical observation so that they can discern true and false values, since
this is an essential requirement for establishing a constructive dialogue
with the world of today.
Special attention needs to be given to vocations among indigenous
peoples: they need a formation which takes account of their culture.
While receiving a proper theological and pastoral formation for their future
ministry, these candidates for the priesthood should not be uprooted from
their own culture. (135)
The Synod Fathers wished to thank and bless all those who devote their
lives to the formation of future priests in seminaries. They also invited the
Bishops to assign the most suitable priests to this work, after preparing
them with specific training for this delicate mission. (136)
NEXT MONDAY: Installment fourteen - Chapter Four: Promoting vocations
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