Pope to bishops: 'gossip and wealth destroy the
Church'
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis
on Friday told bishops that division, gossip and money are weapons in the hands
of the devil.
Speaking to a group of
recently appointed bishops of mission countries at the end of a formation
course organized by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the
Pope said each bishop is called to give testimony of God’s love, care and mercy
with their own lives and example.
Pointing out that bishops of
mission countries come from places that are “different and distant”, each of
you – Pope Francis said – has “the great privilege and responsibility of being on
the front lines of evangelization”.
Inviting them never to forget
that one of their foremost duties is to respond immediately to the requests and
needs of their priests, the Pope warned them against the evils that can wreak
damage and destroy their mission to evangelize.
He reminded them that a
missionary bishop’s first duty as a pastor is to reach out to the lost sheep
and to bring the joy of the gospel to those who perhaps do not know Jesus or
have rejected him.
He spoke of the vocation of
the episcopal ministry saying that each bishop is called give testimony of
Jesus’s care and love for all men and women also through their own personal
example.
And he warned of the dangers
that can foil this vocation mentioning specifically the factors that – he said -
become weapons in the hands of the devil bent on destroying the Church.
“The devil – he said – has
two weapons: the main one is division; the other is money”.
And saying that the devil
slips in through one’s pockets and wreaks havoc through ‘the tongue’, Pope
Francis described the tendency to gossip as “a terroristic” one.
“He who gossips is a
terrorist who throws a bomb” – because gossip, he said, destroys.
Urging those present to fight
against divisions which can destroy the local Church and the universal Church,
he said there are many difficult challenges to overcome, but thanks to the
grace of God, thanks to prayer and thanks to penitence, it is possible.
Pope Francis concluded his
address to the new missionary bishops urging them to take good care of the
people of God who have been entrusted to them, to take good care of their
priests, and of their seminarians. “This – he said – is your job”.
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