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 six 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 Six of ECCLESIA IN AMERICA: CHAPTER TWO: ENCOUNTERING JESUS CHRIST IN AMERICA TODAY
Popular piety
16. A distinctive feature of America is an intense popular piety, deeply
rooted in the various nations. It is found at all levels and in all sectors of
society, and it has special importance as a place of encounter with Christ
for all those who in poverty of spirit and humility of heart are sincerely
searching for God (cf. Mt 11:25). This piety takes many forms:
“Pilgrimages to shrines of Christ, of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints,
prayer for the souls in purgatory, the use of sacramentals (water, oil,
candles . . .). These and other forms of popular piety are an opportunity
for the faithful to encounter the living Christ”.(40) The Synod Fathers
stressed the urgency of discovering the true spiritual values present in
popular religiosity, so that, enriched by genuine Catholic doctrine, it might
lead to a sincere conversion and a practical exercise of charity.(41) If
properly guided, popular piety also leads the faithful to a deeper sense of
their membership of the Church, increasing the fervor of their attachment
and thus offering an effective response to the challenges of today's
secularization.(42)
Given that in America, popular piety is a mode of inculturation of the
Catholic faith and that it has often assumed indigenous religious forms,
we must not underestimate the fact that, prudently considered, it too can
provide valid cues for a more complete inculturation of the Gospel.(43)
This is especially important among the indigenous peoples, in order that
“the seeds of the Word” found in their culture may come to their fullness
in Christ.(44) The same is true for Americans of African origin. The
Church “recognizes that it must approach these Americans from within
their own culture, taking seriously the spiritual and human riches of that
culture which appear in the way they worship, their sense of joy and
solidarity, their language and their traditions”.(45)
The Eastern Catholic presence
17. Immigration is an almost constant feature of America's history from
the beginning of evangelization to our own day. As part of this complex
phenomenon, we see that in recent times different parts of America have
welcomed many members of the Eastern Catholic Churches who, for
various reasons, have left their native lands. A first wave of immigration
came especially from Western Ukraine; and then it involved the nations of
the Middle East. This made it pastorally necessary to establish an Eastern
Catholic hierarchy for these Catholic immigrants and their descendants.
The Synod Fathers recalled the norms given by the Second Vatican
Council, which recognize that the Eastern Churches “have the right and
the duty to govern themselves according to their own particular
discipline”, given the mission they have of bearing witness to an ancient
doctrinal, liturgical and monastic tradition. Moreover, these Churches have
a duty to maintain their own disciplines, since these “correspond better to
the customs of their faithful and are judged to be better suited to provide
for the good of souls”.(46) The universal Church needs a synergy
between the particular Churches of East and West so that she may
breathe with her two lungs, in the hope of one day doing so in perfect
communion between the Catholic Church and the separated Eastern
Churches.(47) Therefore, we cannot but rejoice that the Eastern
Churches have in recent times taken root in America alongside the Latin
Churches present there from the beginning, thus making the catholicity of
the Lord's Church appear more clearly.(48)
The Church in the field of education and social action
18. One of the reasons for the Church's influence on the Christian
formation of Americans is her vast presence in the field of education and
especially in the university world. The many Catholic universities spread
throughout the continent are a typical feature of Church life in America.
Also in the field of primary and secondary education, the large number of
Catholic schools makes possible a wide-ranging evangelizing effort, as
long as there is a clear will to impart a truly Christian education.(49)
Another important area in which the Church is present in every part of
America is social and charitable work. The many initiatives on behalf of
the elderly, the sick and the needy, through nursing homes, hospitals,
dispensaries, canteens providing free meals, and other social centers are
a concrete testimony of the preferential love for the poor which the
Church in America nurtures. She does so because of her love for the
Lord and because she is aware that “Jesus identified himself with the
poor (cf. Mt 25:31-46)”.(50) In this task which has no limits, the Church in
America has been able to create a sense of practical solidarity among the
various communities of the continent and of the world, showing in this
way the fraternal spirit which must characterize Christians in every time
and place.
For this service of the poor to be both evangelical and evangelizing, it
must faithfully reflect the attitude of Jesus, who came “to proclaim Good
News to the poor” (Lk 4:18). When offered in this spirit, the service of the
poor shows forth God's infinite love for all people and becomes an
effective way of communicating the hope of salvation which Christ has
brought to the world, a hope which glows in a special way when it is
shared with those abandoned or rejected by society.
This constant dedication to the poor and disadvantaged emerges in the
Church's social teaching, which ceaselessly invites the Christian
community to a commitment to overcome every form of exploitation and
oppression. It is a question not only of alleviating the most serious and
urgent needs through individual actions here and there, but of uncovering
the roots of evil and proposing initiatives to make social, political and
economic structures more just and fraternal.
NEXT MONDAY: Installment seven - Chapter Two: Growing respect for human rights
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