|
Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
Angelus Message
On the Africa Synod
"Be Salt and Light in the Beloved African Land"
H.H. Benedict XVI
October 25, 2009
www.zenit.org
Dear
brothers and sisters!
A little while ago, with the Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter’s
Basilica, the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of
Bishops concluded. Three weeks of prayer and reciprocal listening to
discern what the Holy Spirit is saying today to the Church that
lives on the African continent, but also to the Universal Church.
The synodal fathers, who have come from every country in Africa,
have presented the rich reality of the local Churches. We have
shared their joys for the dynamism of the Christian communities that
continue to grow in quantity and quality. We are grateful to God for
the missionary élan that has found fertile ground in numerous
dioceses and that is expressed in the sending of missionaries to
other African countries and different continents.
Special importance has been given to the family, that in Africa too
is the primary cell of society, but which today is threatened by
foreign ideological currents. What to say, then, to young people
exposed to this type of pressure, influenced by models of thought
and conduct that are contrary to the human and Christian values of
the peoples of Africa?
Naturally the current problems of Africa emerged in the assembly and
its great need of reconciliation, of justice and of peace. Precisely
to this the Church responds re-proposing, with renewed impetus, the
proclamation of the Gospel and the action of human promotion.
Animated by the Word of God and the Eucharist, she strives make it
so that no one is deprived of the necessaries for living and that
all may lead an existence worthy of the human being.
Remembering the apostolic trip that I took to Cameroon and Angola
last March, and which also had the purpose of advancing the
immediate preparation of the Second Synod for Africa, today I would
like to turn to all the people of Africa, in particular to those who
share the Christian faith, to consign to them in spirit the "Final
Message" of this synodal Assembly. It is a message that comes from
Rome, the see of the Successor of Peter, who presides over the
universal communion, but one can say, in a sense that is no less
true, that it has its origin in Africa, whose experiences,
expectations, plans, it gathers and now returns to Africa, bearing
wealth of an event of profound communion in the Holy Spirit.
Dear brothers and sisters who listen to me from Africa! I entrust to
your prayers in a special way the fruits of the labors of the Synod
fathers, and I encourage you with the words of the Lord Jesus: be
salt and light in the beloved African land!
As this Synod concludes, I would like now to recall that next year a
Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East. On the
occasion of my visit to Cyprus I will have the pleasure to consign
the "Instrumentum laboris" of this meeting. I thank the Lord, who
never tires in building up his Church in communion, and I invoke
with confidence the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary.
[After the Angelus the Pope greeted the pilgrims in various
languages. In Italian he said:]
I offer a special greeting first of all to the thousands of faithful
gathered in Milan, in the Piazza del Duomo, where this morning the
liturgy of the beatification of the priest Don Carlo Gnocchi was
celebrated. He began as a sound educator of boys and young men. In
the 2nd World War he became the chaplain of the Alpini (The mountain
infantry of the Italian army), with whom he participated in the
tragic retreat in Russia. It was then that he dedicated himself
completely to a work of charity. Thus, in Milan during
reconstruction, Don Gnocchi worked to "restore the human person,"
gathering orphaned and mutilated boys and offering them help and
formation. He gave all of himself to the very end, and dying gave
his corneas to two blind boys. His work continued to develop and
today the Don Gnocchi Foundation is on the cutting edge in the care
of persons of every age who need rehabilitative therapy. As I greet
Cardinal Tettamanzi, Archbishop of Milan, and I rejoice with the
Ambrosian Church, I make the motto of this beatification my own:
"Alongside of life, always."
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[In English, he said:]
I am happy to greet all the English-speaking visitors present today
in Saint Peter’s Square. We have just concluded the Second Special
Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops which has been a period
of grace. I invite all of you to pray for our brothers and sisters
of Africa. May the Lord, who granted sight to the blind man of the
Gospel, renew their faith that they may always see and follow
clearly the path of reconciliation, justice and peace which leads to
salvation. Upon all of you and upon all the people of Africa I
invoke God’s abundant blessings.
© Copyright 2009 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Look
at the One they Pierced!
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
