Pope's Message to Filipino Prelates

The message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the Filipino Prelates holding their plenary meeting at the St. Pius XII hall in Manila and I am presenting here some excerpts.  The full text of this new item can be read at CBCP Online .  I found the message touching because it goes to the heart of the role of a Bishop and of a priest and it shows how important are their role for the sanctification of the Church, which is very much needed by the Filipino Church.  The active participation of the Church of the laity, which is so evident now, should not make drive away priests nor make them complacent of their role in teaching the doctrine of the faith.  How many times do we see Bishops and priests give to much emphasis on issues like politics or the environment.  Although I would opine that these issues can legitimately be the concern of the Church because pastoring the flock is also integrative.  While attention is given to the temporal well being of the flock, the Bishops and priests should give more attention to the administration of the Sacraments and the teaching of the Word of God, by preaching, homilies and catechism.  Sacraments can only be performed by the ordained clergy and is intended to sanctify the faithful.  Teaching the Word of God is also the major concern of the Ordained.  Although in some cases these functions can also be shared by the lay faithful.  Sometimes I feel sad that many secular issues have overridden this concern for the spiritual needs of the Church.  Sometimes concern for the environment or for politics is misconstrued as catechism. I feel sad that the basic teachings of the Church are not imparted on the faithful.  It is sad to note also that many homilies now are centered on how to vote, and how to fight for the integrity of the environment and seldom do I hear homilies that expounds on the words of the Scriptures, of the church fathers and other useful lessons.  We should remember that Sunday masses more often is the only time that Catholics do see their parish churches and this is a very good opportunity to impart teaching.  I  hope that our Bishops and priests will give more attention to how the liturgy is celebrated and how beautiful it should be.  These things cannot just be delegated to the lay.  But the Priests should also give attention and supervise.  I wish that our priests should give more time for the celebration of the sacred mysteries so that people will be encourage to go to church and grow fervent in their faith.  This is also one way of encouraging vocations to the priesthood.  The many times our priests engaged in secular concerns tends to discourage young men to enter to the priesthood.  This is perhaps because who would want to be ordained if one would simply be a social worker or an environmentalist.  No one needs ordination to be an environmentalist. 


"He said a bishop’s role is to sanctify, and in order to do this one must first tend to his own holiness of life.  “By preaching the Word, offering Eucharistic sacrifice, and administering the sacraments to God’s people, the clergy in your respective dioceses ...may grow in holiness,” Benedict XVI said. ....Bertone said the pope is urging Filipino prelates to continue acting their role as the chief catechists of their respective pastoral jurisdictions. This means, he said, that bishops must be willing always and everywhere to stand up and teach those in need of instruction and for them to “manifest ever more clearly the spirit of God at work in the world.” In parting, Cardinal Bertone assured the bishops of the pontiff’s “apostolic blessing” while commending their works for the Catholic Church."