Pope meets Spain’s bishops

March 03, 2014 - Pope Francis has urged the bishops of Spain to proclaim the Gospel with courage and constancy. The exhortation came in a written message he handed to them on Monday, during their so-called ‘ad limina’ visit to Rome, which heads of dioceses are required to make every five years or so to report on the state of their jurisdiction. The Pope urged them not to feel alone, saying the flock entrusted to them are sensitive to the things of God. He noted that the Spanish land that produced great saints, today suffers from the indifference of many a baptized, whose children belong to a worldly culture that pushed God to the private life excluding Him from the public sphere. But the Holy Father called on the pastors to trust in the grace of the Holy Spirit in their task of helping these seeds germinate with the courageous and truthful proclamation of the Gospel, and to follow their growth with their example, education and closeness and to harmonize them in the vineyard of the Lord from which no one is excluded. The Pope particularly urged the Spanish bishops to a true permanent mission with a special preference for those far away and children. He reminded them that in the process of initiation to Christian live, faith should not become a mere cultural heritage, but rather a gift that is born of a personal encounter with Jesus.