Keep God in the life of the Philippines, says Pope
“Above all, keep God at the centre of life” of the Filipino people, Pope Benedict
XVI told bishops Friday morning as he received the second batch of Church leaders
from Asia’a most populous Catholic nation. Led by Archbishop Palma of Cebu, the bishops
were eager to hear the Pope’s words, as they look for inspiration to “face the many
concerns that confront us in the Church”.
Speaking in English the Holy Father
replied “While the Philippines continues to face many challenges in the area of economic
development, we must recognize that these obstacles to a life of happiness and fulfilment
are not the only stumbling blocks that must be addressed by the Church. Filipino culture
is also confronted with the more subtle questions inherent to the secularism, materialism,
and consumerism of our times. When self-sufficiency and freedom are severed from
their dependence upon and completion in God, the human person creates for himself
a false destiny and loses sight of the eternal joy for which he has been made. The
path to rediscovering humanity’s true destiny can only be found in the re-establishment
of the priority of God in the heart and mind of every person”. Pope Benedict continued
that “keeping God at the centre of the life of the faithful” is the great task of
evangelization in across the Philippines. In this light he mentioned the basic ecclesial
communities which “have had such a positive impact throughout the country”, urging
the bishops “to take special care in shepherding such groups, so that the primacy
of God may remain in the forefront”. This primacy , he said “is of particular importance
when it comes to the evangelization of youth”, noting that “only true friendship with
God will break the bonds of loneliness from which our fragile humanity suffers and
will establish a true and lasting communion with others”.
Pope Benedict also
praised the growth in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, particularly
among young people, as well as the vocation to Christian marriage. However he underscored
that in many dioceses the number of priests and the corresponding number of parishes
is “not yet sufficient to meet the spiritual needs of the large and growing Catholic
population”.
Finally, addressing the Pope Archbishop Palma spoke of the upcoming
5th Centenary of the evangelization of the Philippines, and on behalf of his people
and brother bishops invited the Pope to visit his “sons and daughters in our countryand in our continent”.
The third group of bishops from the Philippines
is due to begin the Ad Limina visit Monday February 21st.