Pope addresses Australian bishops

(October 20, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday urged Australia’s Catholic bishops to exploit the fruits of the 2008 World Youth Day in Sydney and the figure of their first saint Mary Mackillop, to lead their faithful, priests and religious to a life of deeper faith and holiness. The Pope made the exhortation when he met 36 bishops from Australia on the occasion of their 5-yearly ‘ad limina’ visit to Rome to report on the status of their dioceses. The Pope described 2008 World Youth Day and the 2010 canonization of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop in the Vatican, as “two special moments of grace.” Commenting on the continued impact of the WYD throughout the country, the Pope said one of its outstanding consequences is evident in the numbers of young people who are discerning vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. The Holy Spirit, he said, never ceases to awaken in young hearts the desire for holiness and apostolic zeal. On the other hand, MacKillop is an example of holiness and dedication, inspiring today’s Catholics as they confront the new evangelization and serious challenges to the spread of the Gospel in society as a whole. Pope Benedict also hinted at the child abuse scandal by some clergy and religious in Australia, and urged the bishops to continue to “repair the errors of the past with honesty and openness, in order to build, with humility and resolve, a better future for all concerned.”