November 16, 2007
Papal Address to Missionaries
"The Baptized Are Called to the Spreading of the Gospel"
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).-
Here is the text of the address Benedict XVI delivered today in
English to superiors general of missionary societies, in Rome
for a meeting organized by the Congregation for the
Evangelization of Peoples.
* * *
Your Eminence,
Your Excellencies,
Dear Fathers,
It is a particular pleasure for me to greet you, the Superiors
General of Missionary Societies of Apostolic Life, meeting here
in Rome at the invitation of the Congregation for the
Evangelization of People. Your assembly, which brings together
the Superiors of the fifteen Missionary Societies of pontifical
right and the six of diocesan right, bears eloquent witness to
the continuing vitality of the missionary impulse in the Church
and the spirit of communion uniting your members and their
manifold activities to the Successor of Peter and his universal
apostolic ministry.
Your meeting is also a concrete sign of the historic
relationship between the various Missionary Societies of
Apostolic Life and the Congregation for the Evangelization of
Peoples. In these days you have sought to examine new ways of
consolidating and strengthening this privileged relationship. As
the Second Vatican Council observed, Christ’s command to preach
the Gospel to every creature applies primarily and immediately
to the College of Bishops, cum et sub Petro (cf. "Ad Gentes,"
38). Within the hierarchical unity of the Body of Christ,
enriched by the variety of gifts and charisms bestowed by the
Spirit, communion with the successors of the Apostles remains
the criterion and guarantee of the spiritual fruitfulness of all
missionary activity. For the Church’s communion in faith, hope
and love is itself the sign and foretaste of that unity and
peace which is God’s plan in Christ for the whole human family.
One of the promising indications of a renewal in the Church’s
missionary consciousness in recent decades has been the growing
desire of many lay men and women, whether single or married, to
cooperate generously in the missio ad gentes. As the Council
stressed, the work of evangelization is a fundamental duty
incumbent upon the whole People of God, and all the baptized are
called to "a lively awareness of their personal responsibility
for the spreading of the Gospel" ("Ad Gentes," 36). While some
Missionary Societies have had a long history of close
collaboration with lay men and women, others have only more
recently developed forms of lay association with their
apostolate. Given the extent and the importance of the
contribution made by these associates to the work of the various
Societies, the proper forms of their cooperation should
naturally be governed by specific statutes and clear directives
respectful of each institute’s proper canonical identity.
Dear friends, our meeting today gives me a welcome opportunity
to express my gratitude to you and to all the members of your
Societies, past and present, for your enduring commitment to the
Church’s mission. Today, as in the past, missionaries continue
to leave their families and homes, often at great sacrifice, for
the sole purpose of proclaiming the Good News of Christ and
serving him in their brothers and sisters. Many of them, also in
our time, have heroically confirmed their preaching by the
shedding of their blood, and contributed to establishing the
Church in distant lands. Today, changed circumstances have led
in many cases to a decrease in the number of young people who
are attracted to missionary societies, and a consequent decline
in missionary outreach. All the same, as the late Pope John Paul
II insisted, the mission ad gentes is still only beginning, and
the Lord is summoning us, all of us, to be committed
wholeheartedly to its service (cf. "Redemptoris Missio," 1).
"The harvest is great!" (Mt 9:37) While conscious of the
challenges you face, I encourage you to follow faithfully in the
footsteps of your founders, and to stir into flame the charisms
and apostolic zeal which you have inherited from them, confident
that Christ will continue to work with you and to confirm your
preaching with signs of his presence and power (cf. Mk 16:20).
With great affection, I commend you, together with the members
and associates of your various Societies, to the loving
protection of Mary, Mother of the Church. To all of you I
willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of wisdom,
strength and peace in the Lord.
© Copyright 2007 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
