Source: The Holy See
This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the bishops of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI).
The following is the address delivered by the Pope to those present during the meeting:
Address of the Holy Father
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am truly very pleased to meet you. This Hall, which is between the Basilica and the Square, is filled with the emotions that accompanied recent events. Indeed, the Pope must cross it in order to look out from the central Loggia. Beloved Pope Francis did so for his last Easter Urbi et Orbi Message, which was his extreme, intense appeal for peace for all peoples. And I too, on the evening of the election, wanted to echo the announcement of the Risen Lord: “Peace be with you!” (cf. Lk 24:3; Jn 20:19).
I thank you for your prayer and for that of your communities: I am in great need of them! I am grateful, in particular, to Cardinal Zuppi, also for the words he addressed to me. I greet the three Vice Presidents, the Secretary General, and every one of you. The history of the Church in Italy shows the particular bond that unites you to the Pope and that – according to the Statutes of the Italian Episcopal Conference – “qualifies in a special way the communion of the Conference with the Roman Pontiff” (Art. 4 § 2). Following the example of my predecessors, I too am aware of the relevance of this “common and particular” relationship, as it was defined by Saint Paul VI, speaking at the first General Assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference (cf. Address, 23 June 1966).
In exercising my ministry together with you, dear brothers, I would like to be inspired by the principles of collegiality, which were elaborated by Vatican Council II; in particular, the Decree Christus Dominus, which emphasizes that the Lord Jesus constituted the Apostles in the manner of a college or stable class, of which he placed Peter, chosen from among them (cf. n. 19). It is in this way that you are called to live out your ministry: collegiality among yourselves and collegiality with the successor of Peter.
This principle of communion is also reflected in a healthy cooperation with the civil authorities. The Italian Episcopal Conference is indeed a space for discussion and the synthesis of the bishops’ thought regarding issues most relevant for the common good. Where necessary, it guides and coordinates the relations between the individual bishops and the regional episcopal Conferences with such authorities at the local level.
Pope Benedict XVI, in 2006, described the Church in Italy as “a lively reality … which conserves a capillary presence in the midst of people of every age and level” and where “Christian traditions often continue to be rooted and to produce fruit” (Address to participants in the Fourth National Ecclesial Convention, 19 October 2006). Nevertheless, the Christian Community in this country has been facing new challenges for some time, linked to secularism, a certain disaffection with the faith, and the demographic crisis. In this context, Pope Francis observed, “It takes boldness to avoid getting used to situations that are so deeply rooted as to seem normal or insurmountable. Prophecy”, he says, “does not exact wrenches but courageous choices, proper for a true ecclesial community: they lead us to allow ourselves to be ‘troubled’ by events and persons and to enter into human situations, animated by the healing spirit of the Beatitudes” (Address at the opening of the 70th General Assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference, 22 May 2017).
By virtue of the special bond between the Pope and the Italian bishops, I would like to indicate some pastoral concerns that the Lord places in our path and which require reflection, concrete action and evangelical witness.
First of all, there is a need for renewed zeal in the proclamation and transmission of faith. It is a question of placing Jesus Christ at the centre and, following the path indicated by Evangelii gaudium, helping people to live out a personal relationship with Him, to discover the joy of the Gospel. In a time of great fragmentation, it is necessary to return to the foundation of our faith, to the kerygma. This is the first major commitment that motivates all the others: to bring Christ “into the veins” of humanity (cf. Apostolic Constitution Humanae salutis, 3), renewing and sharing the apostolic mission: “What we have seen and heard, we proclaim now to you” (1 Jn 1:3). And it is a question of discerning the ways in which the Good News can be made to reach everyone, with pastoral actions capable of intercepting those who are most distant, and with tools suitable for the renewal of catechesis and the languages of proclamation.
The relationship with Christ calls on us to develop a pastoral focus on the theme of peace. Indeed, the Lord sends us into the world to bring his same gift: “Peace be with you!”, and to become its creators in everyday life. I am thinking of parishes, neighbourhoods, areas within the country, the urban and existential peripheries. There, where human and social relationships become difficult and conflict takes shape, perhaps subtly, a Church capable of reconciliation must make herself visible. The apostle Paul urges us, “If possible, on your part, live at peace with all” (Rm 12:18); it is an invitation that entrusts a tangible portion of responsibility to every person. I hope, then, that every diocese may promote pathways of education in non-violence, mediation initiatives in local conflicts, and welcoming projects that transform fear of the other into an opportunity for encounter. May every community become a “house of peace”, where one learns how to defuse hostility through dialogue, where justice is practiced and forgiveness is cherished. Peace is not a spiritual utopia: it is a humble path, made up of daily gestures that interweave patience and courage, listening and action, and which demands today, more than ever, our vigilant and generative presence.
Then there are the challenges that call into question respect for the dignity of the human person. Artificial intelligence, biotechnologies, data economy and social media are profoundly transforming our perception and our experience of life. In this scenario, human dignity risks becoming diminished or forgotten, substituted by functions, automatism, simulations. But the person is not a system of algorithms: he or she is a creature, relationship, mystery. Allow me, then, to express a wish: that the journey of the Churches in Italy may include, in real symbiosis with the centrality of Jesus, the anthropological vision as an essential tool of pastoral discernment. Without lively reflection on the human being – in its corporeality, its vulnerability, its thirst for the infinite and capacity for bonding – ethics is reduced to a code and faith risks becoming disembodied.
I particularly recommend cultivating a culture of dialogue. It is good for all ecclesial realities – parishes, associations and movements – to be spaces of intergenerational listening, of comparison with different worlds, of caring about words and relationships. Because only where there is listening can communion be born, and only where there is communion does truth become credible. I encourage you to continue on this path!
The proclamation of the Gospel, peace, human dignity, dialogue: these are the coordinates through which you can be a Church that incarnates the Gospel and is a sign of the Kingdom of God.
In conclusion, I would like to leave you with some exhortations for the near future. In the first place: go forward in unity, thinking especially of the synodal path. The Lord, Saint Augustine writes that the Lord, in order to keep his body well-composed and in peace, exhorts the Church, through the Apostle Paul: The eye cannot say to the hand, I do not need you, nor again the head to the feet, I do not need you. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? Stay united and do not defend yourselves against the provocations of the Spirit. Synodality becomes a mindset, in the heart, in decision-making processes and in ways of acting.
Secondly, look to tomorrow with serenity, and do not be afraid to make courageous choices! No-one can prevent you from being close to the people, sharing life, walking with the last, serving the poor. No-one can prevent you from proclaiming the Gospel, and it is the Gospel that we are invited to bring, because it is this that everyone, ourselves first, need in order to live well and to be happy.
Take care that the lay faithful, nourished with the Word of God and formed in the social doctrine of the Church, are agents of evangelization in the workplace, in schools, in hospitals, in social and cultural environments, in the economy, and in politics.
Dear friends, let us walk together, with joy in our heart and song on our lips. God is greater than our mediocrity: let us allow ourselves to be drawn to Him! Let us trust in his providence. I entrust you all to the protection of Mary Most Holy: Our Lady of Loreto, of Pompeii and of the countless shrines to be found throughout Italy. And I accompany you with my blessing. Thank you.
