Fourth General Congregation

VATICAN CITY, OCT 2, 2001 (VIS) - The Fourth General Congregation of the 10th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, began this evening at 5 p.m. in the presence of John Paul II. Cardinal Bernard Agre, archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, was the president delegate on duty. There were 234 synod fathers present at the meeting.

Following are excerpts from several of the speeches presented:

HIS BEATITUDE NERSES BEDROS XIX TARMOUNI, PATRIARCH OF CILICIA OF THE ARMENIANS, LEBANON. "Just as the supreme shepherd of the Church is the Pope, the bishop will be vigilant that nothing decreed be out of harmony with him. But the local churches are not vicariates of Rome. An excessive centralization by Rome could suffocate the riches of the particular churches. This means finding the right measure, as well as ensuring communion within the Roman Curia. A Church of the masses no longer exists, there is a Church of witnesses. The first witness of the Church is the bishop. His personal witness is more influential than his ecclesial authority. ... The Holy Spirit has already inspired concrete answers to the challenges of modern times. The bishop should discern the signs of the Holy Spirit in the new communities. The bishop must welcome and guide, in a fatherly way, these movements and help Christians become living witnesses of the Gospel."

CARDINAL NORBERTO RIVERA CARRERA, ARCHBISHOP OF MEXICO CITY, MEXICO. "A contemporary phenomenon is the spread of the so-called 'megalopolises', enormous human conglomerates which are a challenge to the task of the new evangelization, and in which the traditional form of episcopal service seems to be outdated. An almost spontaneous response has been to subdivide these large cities into various dioceses. This solution seems to be suitable to us when it is a matter of human groups in the suburbs, or satellite cities with their own identity. Nevertheless, this solution becomes more problematic when it is proposed to subdivide the city itself, its most traditional and sensitive structure, above all if it is a city with administrative, civil, political and economic unity. In order to favor communion, decentralization and missionary efficiency, the alternative of not subdividing seem to produce better results, with a diocesan bishop assisted by a group of auxiliary bishops in charge of the territories under his care, and with a well-defined distribution of functions such as vicars general, episcopal vicars and members of the episcopal council, though always considering the diocesan bishop as the center of communion. This juridical figure of a diocesan bishop with various auxiliary bishops seems to ensure the decentralization of services and at the same time a level of overall evangelization firmly sustained by the unifying ministry of the diocesan bishop. In practice, this reality is almost impossible, since they are independent dioceses."

CARDINAL JOHANNES ADRIANUS SIMONIS, ARCHBISHOP OF UTRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS, PRESIDENT OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE. "The Directory of Bishops deals with the permanent formation of priests. ... Therefore, I hope that there will be some external impetus that, for example, indicates a framework to integrate permanent formation in our life as bishops. The bishop must have an apostolic spirit: he is sent out into the world. Like a true 'pontifex', he must build a bridge between the Gospel and the world. ... I see four themes for the permanent formation of bishops: 1. The development of a spirituality of attention and marvel. The bishop must be open to the signs of hope in the world. The Spirit of God acts therein, even in persons still searching. 2. Acquiring the necessary abilities to bear witness in these times. The bishop must be well informed of the developments of society. He must also learn how to find the right words and use the right tone, starting from an authentic faith. In this way the bishop acquires great respect when intervening in public life. 3. Keeping up with the developments of theological sciences. These are in motion in such a way that it would be irresponsible for the bishops not to keep up with them. 4. Learn to collaborate. Collaboration with his priests and deacons and certainly with the lay women and men is an enrichment for the bishop and at the same time is a continuous learning process."

CARDINAL CLAUDIO HUMMES, O.F.M., ARCHBISHOP OF SAO PAULO, BRAZIL. "Today, in the globalized and pluralistic world, dialogue is a necessity. Especially in times of conflict and general apprehensions, like today after the terrorist attempt of September 11th in the United States. Dialogue and negotiation are important for avoiding war and building world peace. ... In the specific religious field, dialogue is even more necessary because today the differences of religions in the world make the common task of world peace and the promotion of human rights more difficult everywhere. ... However, the Church must dialogue today, especially through the laity, more than ever, with the post-modern, urban and pluralistic society and with all the sectors that make it up, such as culture, science, technology, economy, the market, the financial world, politics and the means of communication. The bishop must be the promoter of this dialogue in his diocese, at all levels. Obviously he must also cultivate it within the Church, especially with his priests and his communities. To be the promoter of dialogue and peace is the fundamental duty of the bishop. Paul VI said that dialogue is the new name of charity. Who knows, perhaps today it is also the new name for hope."

CARDINAL FRANCIS ARINZE, PRESIDENT OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE. "The bishop does not have a choice in the world of today to promote interreligious dialogue or not to promote it. Religious plurality is a fact in most societies. Population movements for economic, cultural, political or other reasons have been facilitated by modern means of travel. Cultures, religions and languages are meeting as never before in human history. Orthodox practice has to be based on orthodoxy. The bishop is above all the teacher of the doctrine of the faith. Of course he has to keep watch over theological ideas on interreligious dialogue in his area. But, even more importantly, he has to feed his people with the rich doctrine enshrined in several documents of the Second Vatican Council, and 'Redemptoris Missio', 'Dominus Jesus', 'Dialogue and Mission' and 'Dialogue and Proclamation'. The bishop should promote, encourage and guide theological reflection on matters touching dialogue. Most bishops will find it useful, sometimes even necessary, to have a small commission of capable and willing people to see that this dimension of the diocesan apostolate is carried out properly."

BISHOP NORBERT BRUNNER OF SION, SWITZERLAND. "The Council established that the Synod of Bishops should be the privileged tool of an effective collegiality. Today however, we must take note that all the measures taken still have not found their meaning or their objective. Also, once again we ask, with serious preoccupation, what value do the pastoral needs of the single local churches have for the Roman Curia? Therefore, we must look for efficient forms that allow us to give, or be themselves, valid answers for the single local churches. The Holy Father himself asks us to do this. For these reflections to lead to valid solutions that recognize and respect the plurality of unity, the following conditions must be respected: 1. The Church needs an 'efficient organ of collegiality', that is to say a synod, where all the regions of the universal Church are represented by delegates freely chosen to meet regularly to work with the Pope. 2. Subsidiary structures are needed within the Church. At the universal level of the Church, the only things resolved centrally should be those necessary for the unity of the Church. 3. The jurisdiction of each level must be maintained and there must be trust in the responsibility of the local bishops, within the Church. 4. In the Church, we need a curia that recognizes the pastoral needs of the local churches and supports the responses to these needs."

BISHOP STEPHEN JOSEPH REICHERT, O.F.M., CAP., OF MENDI, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, PRESIDENT OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE. "The consultation process for choosing or transferring bishops should give special emphasis to human and spiritual qualities which equip a bishop to carry out the task of establishing a relationship of true communion within his presbyterium. An episcopal candidate's ability to establish authentic relationships with fellow priests, his talent for bringing priests with opposing opinions together, his gift for recognizing and bringing out the best qualities in others for the benefit of all, his capacity for inspiring love and respect from his co-workers, are as important as a candidate's reputation for faithfulness to the Church and his concern for personal holiness. It would also seem very important to seek advice from as many priests of the diocese as possible in the consultation process for choosing their bishop. The canonical age for retirement of a bishop should be thoroughly studied with a view toward lowering it, especially in those nations where the average life-span is much lower than in first-world countries. Greater compassion and flexibility with regard to retirement options should be shown to bishops who feel they are no longer able to competently lead their community of priests because of age and waning energy."

ARCHBISHOP LUIS MORALES REYES OF SAN LUIS POTOSI, MEXICO, PRESIDENT OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE. "The primacy of Peter is a gift of God to his people. Faithfulness to this primacy is an integral and irrefutable part of the Christian faith. Episcopal collegiality must be understood in the light of the sources of revelation and not of human or social models with which there could be some apparent resemblance. The biblical data and teaching of the Church require that this synodal assembly study further in-depth the theme of 'spirituality of communion' in line with 'Novo Millennio Ineunte', in order to make it more dynamic and vital. Lastly, I wish to express a yearning: to continue studying in-depth the theological and legal nature of the conferences of bishops, in particular with regard to their collegial teaching and their relationships with the Roman Curia, and may 'spirituality of communion' permeate and transform them in order to make each conference 'the home and school of communion'.

CARDINAL JOACHIM MEISNER, ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE, GERMANY. "The crisis of faith in the Church is an expression of one of the greatest crises in culture, but has consequences in the form of auto-secularization, for which the organs of the Church are responsible, for example also with those who exercise the episcopal ministry. There are many bishops, in fact, who do not recognize the gravity of the situation, others who interpret the tendency towards separation in the faith like prolific tensions that may well reach in the future a new synthesis and recognize their ministry as an 'office of moderation' among the various opposing positions. Such comprehension of the episcopal ministry is so diffused that the episcopate in fact suffers not only a loss of external authority, but also - involuntarily - the giving up of internal authority. Consequently, the pastoral ministry of the bishop becomes minimized, reduced simply to human care for the faithful, to the courteous comprehension and the understanding of the charisms present in the lay faithful. In this way one cannot recognize the essence of this ministry which implies a clear and unequivocal right to govern, including also an element of jurisdiction. ... The bishop is no longer a pious private believer, but a public witness. He must confront the problems present in the ecclesiastical world, not only to save himself, but also to defend the faith, to correct errors and to deepen reality. He cannot separate himself from the actual situation of faith in society, but must give testimony to the faith, considering also the danger and harm."

Vatican Information Service
2. oktober 2001