Cardinal
Filoni in Vietnam: Evangelii Gaudium the programmatic text of the Church today
(Vatican Radio) The Prefect of the Congregation for the
Evangelization of Peoples, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, is this week making a
pastoral visit to Vietnam. On Tuesday, he held meetings in Hà Nội with
the members of the Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, and a group of priests.
In his discourses, he
spoke of the missionary activity of the Church, especially in relation to Pope
Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium.
The full text of the two discourses are below.
Meeting of the Prefect
of the Congregation for the
Evangelization of Peoples
with the Bishops of the
Episcopal Conference of Vietnam
20/01/2015 - Hà Nội
Your Eminence,
Cardinal John Baptist Pham Minh Mân,
Your Excellency, the
Papal Representative,
Your Excellency, the
President of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam,
Brothers in the
Episcopate:
Allow me to greet with
particularly warm wishes His Excellency, Monsignor Peter Nguyễn Văn Nhơn,
Archbishop of Hà Nội, who was created a Cardinal by Pope Francis only a few
days ago, and who will be joined to the College of Cardinals this coming
February 14th.
This is a most
beautiful gesture toward this zealous Confrere, and a great honor for the
Church of Hà Nội and all of Vietnam. I am very happy to be here with you
and sincerely thank the Episcopal Conference for the invitation allowing me to
visit your Country. I have before me an entire week in which to meet,
from North to South, the many members of the People of God in Vietnam –
Bishops, priests, religious men and women, seminarians, and laity – and to pray
together in the celebration of various liturgies. My two predecessors,
Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe and Cardinal Ivan Dias, both visited Vietnam,
returning with a wonderful impression of a living Church. I, too, on this
occasion, can see with my own eyes the vitality of your Community, the
steadfast Faith of the Vietnamese faithful, about which you have told me in our
meetings and from the reports of the Papal Representative. I know that
religious practice is high (80-93%) and fervent - not just for Sunday Mass, but
also throughout the week. I know also that in all of the Dioceses and
parishes the faithful love to gather together in organizations for the lay
apostolate, and this is very interesting. Everywhere they show a
particular interest in the Word of God and in study of the Catechism.
Moreover, they desire to contribute, using their own labor and talents, to the
building up and development of the Church, as well as the Country.
Dear Brother Bishops,
the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium [EG] is an invaluable document,
because it is the programmatic text of the Church today and represents the
vision that Pope Francis has given for the years to come. He says that
the joy of the Gospel is the basis for evangelization. It is born and reborn in
the personal encounter with Jesus, from which is derived the change in life and
the missionary spirit. In fact, joy, by its nature, always seeks to
communicate itself: “For if we have received the love which restores meaning to
our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others?” (n. 8).
Evangelization is the natural consequence of this joy, that consists in having
met the Lord and having been renewed by Him: “It is not by proselytizing that
the Church grows, but ‘by attraction’” (n. 15). It follows that one who
evangelizes must be in continual, personal conversion in order to become an
authentic witness to the Gospel. The virtuous life of all the
members of the People of God manifests the noble and fascinating beauty of the
Gospel. At the same time, it is a decisive requisite for the work of
evangelization in the world of today.
This year marks the
Fiftieth Anniversary of the Conciliar Decree Ad Gentes [AG], concerning the
missionary activity of the Church. There is says that missionary activity
flows directly out of the nature itself of the Church. Through this
missionary impulse, the first seeds of the Faith were brought here to Vietnam
through the work of the Jesuits, the Fathers of the Foreign Mission Society of
Paris, the Dominicans, the Augustinians, the Franciscans, and so many
others. The tiny seeds have taken root in the culture and customs, such
that today the Faith has become a part of the lives of many Vietnamese
Christians. In 2010, the Church in Vietnam celebrated the Jubilee Year,
commemorating the 350th Anniversary of the first two Apostolic Vicariates, and
the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Hierarchy. Today, we
must remember that it has been 400 years since evangelization here first
began. The initial creation of the Hierarchy marked the passage from
“mission” status to the first configurations of a local Church, with the
Bishops beginning to assume direct responsibility. Hence, every Bishop
must continue to personally assume responsibility for evangelization, because
“The mandate of Christ to preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15)
primarily and immediately concerns them (the Bishops), with Peter and under
Peter” (AG, n. 38).
The Conciliar Document
Ad Gentes still remains valid for us today. The Holy Father, Pope
Francis, in Evangelii Gaudium, citing Redemptoris Missio, reaffirmed that
“…today missionary activity still represents ‘the greatest challenge for the
Church’ and ‘the missionary task must remain foremost’” (n. 15) the
responsibility of the Bishop. The Bishop, as head and center of the
Diocesan apostolate, must promote, direct, and coordinate missionary activity,
and, furthermore, must encourage all the members of the People of God to
participate in missionary works. Priests, religious brothers and sisters,
as close collaborators with the Bishops in evangelization, are called to
live their own proper vocations and charisms to become “the salt of the earth
and light of the world”. In the one Body of Christ that is the Church,
each baptized person has received from God a personal call to be a witness to
the Gospel in every circumstance in which one finds oneself. One must
avoid any self-centered mentality that seeks to preserve the Faith only for
one’s personal salvation; rather, one must contribute to the building up and
growth of the community, committing himself to the apostolate. It must be
remembered that “Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she
has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are
“disciples” and “missionaries”, but rather that we are always “missionary
disciples” (EG, n.120). One must never forget that this missionary task
can only be realized with the collaboration and prayer of the entire Church.
It is noteworthy that
this missionary task “is one and the same everywhere and in every condition,
even though it may be carried out differently according to circumstances” (AG,
n. 6). That is to say that the path of evangelization is not an easy one
to tread, and in fact, “…circumstances are sometimes such that, for the time
being, there is no possibility of expounding the Gospel directly and forthwith”
(AG, n. 6). We certainly must not forget that St. Paul urged the
proclamation of the Word of God whether “convenient and inconvenient” (2
Timothy 4:2), but, “in this case”, the Conciliar Document Ad Gentes writes
“…missionaries can and must at least bear witness to Christ by charity and by
works of mercy, with all patience, prudence and great confidence. Thus they
will prepare the way for the Lord and make Him somehow present” (n. 6).
The Servant of God Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận, a witness to hope
and minister of the mercy of God, is an extraordinary example of announcing the
Gospel in every moment, convenient or inconvenient; yet, he shows us as well
how to exercise patience and prudence, especially in dialogue. Our Holy
Father Francis often affirms the need to promote dialogue and the culture of
encounter.
The role of your
Episcopal Conference consists primarily in orienting and coordinating the works
of evangelization, avoiding wasteful use of resources in terms of persons and
projects, and in such a way that at every level – local, civil, and social – the
whole reality can be integrated, putting into communion the works of the
persons and groups that make up the Church. As such, this realizes unity
in plurality - that unity which is not uniformity.
Before concluding my
brief remarks, I would like to offer to all of you, dear Brother Bishops, a
word of appreciation for the work of evangelization that you have undertaken
through your pastoral generosity and through your laudable communion with the
Holy Father.
I entrust each one of
you, your Dioceses, and your pastoral ministry to the maternal protection of
Our Lady of La Vang. May the Holy Spirit, through the intercession of
Mary, renew in you the desire to serve the Reign of God with your whole heart
and strength, in solidarity with the Holy Father and with each other.
Meeting of the Prefect
of the Congregation for the
Evangelization of Peoples
with the Priests
20/01/2015 - Hà Nội
Dear Brothers in the
Priesthood,
1.
Greeting.
I greet you, dear
Brothers, and I bring you the blessing of our Holy Father, Pope Francis.
I am happy to be in this holy land, a land of a living and steadfast Church,
where the blood of many martyrs has flowed heroically. Every year on the
24th of November – the day on which the Church celebrates the Memorial of the priest,
St. Andrew Dung-Lac, and his 126 Companion Martyrs – I have the occasion to
read again the beautiful letter of St. Paul Lê Bảo Tịnh, written to the
seminarians from his prison cell. I am deeply moved by his love for the
Lord Jesus and for the Church, as well as his pastoral concern for the
seminarians entrusted to him. His example always prompts in me an ardent
desire for the Lord and to serve His Church. As priests and those
responsible for the Church in Vietnam, you are called to be “salt and light”
(cf. Mt. 5:13-15) in this society. Imitate your heroic predecessor
martyrs and be worthy to be their successors.
2.
Evangelii gaudium. Dear Brothers, the theme of evangelization is still relevant
and will always be present, since the Church by her nature is missionary. This
theme is reaffirmed and underlined by Pope Francis, particularly in the
Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (EG). This invaluable document must be
the point of
reference for the Church of Vietnam, which is called concomitantly to a path of
conversion and to a strong commitment to evangelization. In this sense,
we recall that evangelization comes forth from the Gospel and is continuously
reborn in the personal encounter with Jesus. This encounter with Jesus
brings with it a change of life and, at the same time, gives true and profound
joy that always seeks to communicate itself. “For if we have
received the love which restores meaning to our lives,” the Pope writes, “how
can we fail to share that love with others?” (EG, n. 8). To evangelize is
to proclaim Christ, and to encounter Him is to be renewed by Him. What
the Pope wrote in his Encyclical Lumen Fidei, and reiterated in Evangelii
Gaudium, is interesting: “It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but
‘by attraction’” (n.15). As those evangelizing, we experience this joy of the
Gospel in becoming sons of God, in being priests of the Lord, and in the
service to the faithful entrusted to our care.
3.
Spiritual Life. First of all, I would like to speak about the spiritual life of
priests, because “If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit”,
according to the teaching of St. Paul to the Galatians (5:25). With these
words, the Apostle reminds us that the spiritual life of the priest must be
animated and guided by the Spirit of God, Who leads us to sanctity, perfected
by charity. We priests, more than the rest of the faithful, are called to
sanctity through our identity: being consecrated with the Anointing and sent to
announce glad tidings to the poor. The sanctification of the priest
consists above all in his intimate and profound bond with Jesus, Head and
Pastor of the Church. Priests are called to radically live the Gospel,
following the example of the chaste, poor, and obedient Christ. The priest is,
first and foremost, one who is called to be configured to Jesus, the Eternal
High Priest. In other words, we must love as Jesus loves, think as Jesus
thinks, act as Jesus acts, and serve as Jesus serves in every moment of our
lives. The priesthood is not a profession or a bureaucratic office,
fulfilled by working contracted hours; it is a “style of life”, not a
job. The priest lives out his Priesthood, but he never possesses it
all. We must be priests of God rather than being “clerical”: simply going
through the motions of being religious. To fully live out the priestly
identity, the spiritual life of the priest must be tied to prayer, to listening
to the Word of God. Pray and listen like Mary. This is the behavior
of him who places his trust in the power of God, allowing himself to be transfigured
by Jesus, the Good Shepherd, allowing himself to be corrected by God and
allowing God to act in his own life.
4.
Moral Life. Regarding the moral life, I would like to speak of priestly
celibacy. This choice must be considered within the context of “…the link
between celibacy and Sacred Ordination, which configures the priest to Jesus
Christ the head and spouse of the Church. The Church, as the spouse of
Jesus Christ, wishes to be loved by the priest in the total and exclusive manner
in which Jesus Christ her head and spouse loved her” (Pastores Dabo Vobis, n.
29). Understood thus, the priest embraces celibacy “continually renewed with a
free and loving decision” (Ibid.), being aware of the weakness of his own human
condition. Thus, we know that “To put into practice all the moral,
pastoral and spiritual demands of priestly celibacy, it is absolutely necessary
that the priest pray humbly and trustingly” (Ibid.). One way to protect the
priestly life is to foster fraternal relationships with brother priests.
The accompaniment and support of other priests are always a gift of grace and
an invaluable aid to bringing life into our Priesthood and into our
ministry. If this fraternal relationship is lacking among priests, a crisis
always follows. A good relationship of esteem and confidence must also be
fostered with one’s own Bishop, as the father and head of our local Church.
5.
Pastoral Life. Concerning the pastoral life, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has
warned us of the risk that runs among priests “obsessed with protecting their
free time”. He writes: “This is frequently due to the fact that people feel an
overbearing need to guard their personal freedom, as though the task of
evangelization was a dangerous poison rather than a joyful response to God’s
love which summons us to mission and makes us fulfilled and productive. Some
resist giving themselves over completely to mission and thus end up in a state
of paralysis and acedia” (EG, n. 81). In order to dedicate our entire
lives and all that we have to the service of the Church, we need to have the
pastoral charity of Jesus, Who has given His life for the flock. We must
imitate Jesus in His gift of Self and in His service. It is precisely
pastoral charity, with which we must be imbued, that enriches our priestly
ministry and will determine “our way of thinking and acting, our way of
relating to people” (Pastores Dabo Vobis, n. 23). Pastoral charity asks
of us a pastoral conversion, urging us to “go forth from our own comfort zone
in order to reach all the ‘peripheries’ in need of the light of the Gospel”
(EG, n. 20). The privileged recipients of pastoral charity are the poor, the
marginalized, the little ones, the sick, sinners, and unbelievers.
In a particular way in
the large cities, we need to focus our attention on the immigrants and to the
“slaves” of the modern day. In his Message for the World Day of
Peace 2015, the Holy Father spoke of the various kinds of slavery: workers
reduced to servitude, migrants, female and male sex slaves, to name a
few. Furthermore, in his message for the 101st Word Day of Migrants and
Refugees 2015 (September 3, 2014), he wrote that “Jesus is ‘the evangelizer par
excellence and the Gospel in person’ (ES, 209). His solicitude, particularly
for the most vulnerable and marginalized, invites all of us to care for the
frailest and to recognize His suffering countenance, especially in the victims
of new forms of poverty and slavery.” Pastoral charity renders us always
more available to assume whatever responsibilities arise for the good of the
Church and of souls.
Dear Brothers in the
Priesthood, I thank you for your zeal and for your tireless commitment to
evangelization. Let us continue onward, animated by our common love for
the Lord and for Holy Mother Church. May Our Lady of La Vang protect you
and walk by your side. May we remain always united in prayer.
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