Pope Benedict XVI’s Discourse to the Belgian Bishops during the Ad Limina Visit

(May 8, 2010) Speaking to the Belgian Bishops at the end of the Ad Limina visit, Pope Benedict XVI stressed the importance of Christian and religious education, ministerial priesthood, and hailed their desire to encourage all faithful to rediscover the beauty of Christian faith. The visit ad limina means, the obligation of incumbent Bishops of visiting, the "thresholds of the Apostles" Sts. Peter and Paul, and of presenting themselves before the pope to give an account of the state of their dioceses. The Pope then referred to the problems such as the declining number of baptized people who openly show their faith and their membership in the Church, the gradual rise in the average age of priests, religious men and women, people ordered or spent engaged in active ministry or in the educational and social fields, the small number of candidates to the priesthood and the consecrated life. He also referred to the other issues such as include the complex situations and often concern related to the economic crisis, unemployment, social integration of immigrants. Reminding them of the canonization of Father Damien De Veuster, the Pontiff said that in this Year of the Priest, the saint is a good example of priestly and missionary ministry. The decrease in the number of priests should not be seen as an inevitable process, the Pope said but called on them to work for genuine and good vocations. Pope Benedict then praised them for their increased attention to the formation of the laity, for an increasing integration into spiritual aspect of the Church that arises from the vocation of every baptized configured to Christ the priest, prophet and king. He added that all members of the Catholic community, especially the lay faithful are called to testify openly their faith and be a leaven in society, while respecting a healthy secularism of public institutions and other faiths.