Pope addresses Peru’s bishops

(May 18, 2009) Pope Benedict on Monday encouraged the Church of Peru in its evangelizing task of creating communities of intense Christian life so that every faithful is able aspire to holiness by building a personal relationship with Christ. Speaking to some 53 bishops for Peru on their 5-yearly ‘ad limina’ visit to Rome to report on the state of their dioceses, Pope Benedict said that “when Christ’s beauty and truth conquer our hearts, we feel the joy of being His disciples and firmly commit ourselves to the mission of proclaiming His redeeming message.” The Pope invited the bishops to bring Christ even to those who because of poor self-esteem or dissatisfaction with their spiritual experiences, join sects and other such groups to find answers to their restlessness. The Pope suggested that regular pastoral visits to Christian communities, prolonged prayer, careful preparation for preaching and their fatherly care for priests, families, youth, catechists and other pastoral workers, are the best ways to sow in all the ardent desire to be messengers of the Good News, while at the same time opening their hearts to the sick and the needy around them. He said “we are urged by Christ’s love” to those Peruvians who have no job and proper educational and health-care services, those who live in the suburbs of the big cities and remote areas”, or those “who have fallen in the trap of drug addiction or violence”.