Pope Benedict XVI addresses Syro-Malankara Bishops
(March 25, 2011) Catholic Bishops from India began their ‘ad limina’ visit to Rome
on March 21. Such visits are made by heads of dioceses every five year or so to
report on the state of their jurisdictions. The Indian bishops’ will be coming to
Rome in various groups until September, with a gap during the summer months of July
and August. India’s Catholic Church is a communion of three ritual Churches: the Latin,
which is the largest, and the two eastern rites – the Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara,
which are based in southern India’s Kerala state. The first group of Indian bishops
on their 'ad limina' is from the Syro-Malanakara Catholic Church. On meeting 13 Syro-Malankara
bishops on Friday, the Holy Father delivered a message. Below is the text of this
message:
Dear Brother Bishops, I welcome all of you here today
on the occasion of your pilgrimage ad Limina Apostolorum. I thank His Beatitude Baselios
Cleemis for the devoted sentiments which he has addressed to me in your name. Through
you, I extend greetings to all the priests, religious and lay faithful of your eparchies,
and I wish to assure them of my prayers for their spiritual and material well-being.
This time together is a privileged occasion to deepen the bonds of fraternity and
communion between the See of Peter and the Syro-Malankara Church, happily promoted
to Major Archiepiscopal Church by the Venerable John Paul II in 2005. The
apostolic traditions which you maintain enjoy their full spiritual fruitfulness when
they are lived in union with the Church universal. In this sense, you rightly follow
in the footsteps of the Servant of God Mar Ivanios, who led your predecessors and
their faithful into full communion with the Catholic Church. Like your forefathers,
you too are called, within the one household of God, to continue in firm fidelity
to that which has been passed down to you. All Catholic Bishops share a proper concern
for faithfulness to Jesus Christ and are desirous of that unity which he willed for
his disciples (cf. Jn 17:11), while preserving their legitimate diversity. So it
is that “the Catholic Church wishes the traditions of each particular Church or rite
to remain whole and entire, and she likewise wishes to adapt her own way of life to
the various needs of time and place” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum, 2). Each generation
must confront the challenges to the Church in accordance with its capacities and in
harmony with the rest of the Mystical Body of Christ. I encourage you, therefore,
to foster an affection among your priests and people for the liturgical and spiritual
heritage that has come down to you, while steadfastly building upon your communion
with the See of Peter. The deposit of faith handed down from the Apostles
and faithfully transmitted to our times is a precious gift from the Lord. It is that
message of salvation which has been revealed in the person of Jesus whose Spirit unites
believers of every time and place, giving us fellowship with the Father and with his
Son so that our joy may be complete (cf. 1 Jn 1:1-4). You and your priests are called
to promote this fellowship through word and sacrament, and to strengthen it by a sound
catechesis, so that the Word of Life, Jesus Christ, and the gift of divine life -
communion with him - may be known throughout the world (cf. Verbum Domini, 2). Due
to its ancient roots and distinguished history, Christianity in India has long made
its proper contribution to culture and society, and to its religious and spiritual
expressions. It is through a determination to live the Gospel, “the power of God
for salvation to every one who has faith” (Rom 1:16), that those whom you serve will
make a more effective contribution to the entire body of Christ and to Indian society,
to the benefit of all. May your people continue to flourish by the preaching of God’s
word and by the promotion of a fellowship based on the love of God. I note
the particular challenges to many of your parishes in providing proper pastoral care
and mutual support, especially when there is not always a parish priest at hand.
And yet, smaller parishes, bearing in mind the social reality Christians face in the
broader cultural context, present their own opportunities for truly fraternal upbuilding
and assistance. Small Christian communities have often, as you know, given outstanding
witness in the history of the Church. Just as in apostolic times, the Church in our
age will surely thrive in the presence of the living Christ, who has promised to be
with us always (cf. Mt 28:20) and to sustain us (cf. 1 Cor 1:8). It is this divine
presence which must remain at the centre of your people’s life, faith and witness,
and which you their Pastors are called to watch over so that, even if they must live
far from their community, they will not live far from Christ. Indeed, it is important
to remember that Christian communities are “the proper setting where a personal and
communal journey based on the word of God can occur and truly serve as the basis for
our spiritual life” (Verbum Domini, 72). One of the ways in which you
exercise your role as teachers of the faith to the Christian community is through
the catechetical and faith formation programmes taking place under your direction.
Since “instruction should be based on holy scripture, tradition, liturgy, and on the
teaching authority and life of the Church” (Christus Dominus, 14), I am pleased to
note the variety and number of programmes that you currently employ. Along with the
celebration of the sacraments, such programmes will help ensure that those in your
care will always be able to give an account of the hope which is theirs in Christ.
Indeed, catechesis and spiritual development are among the most important challenges
which pastors of souls face, and so I warmly encourage you to persevere along the
path you have chosen as you seek to form your people in a deeper knowledge and love
of the faith, aided by God’s grace and by your humble trust in his providence. With
these thoughts, I renew my sentiments of fraternal affection and esteem for you.
Invoking the intercession of Saint Thomas the Apostle, India’s great patron, I assure
you of my prayers and willingly impart to you and to those entrusted to your care
my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of grace and peace in the Lord Jesus Christ.