Vatican City, Sep 26, 2008 / 22:30 pm
In his address this morning to the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Uruguay, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the prelates to teach "the faith of the Church in its entirety" and not to shy away "from an explicit proclamation of the moral values of Catholic doctrine."
The Holy Father addressed the bishops in the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo during their ad limina visit. The Pontiff reminded them that often these moral values "are the subject of debate in political and cultural circles and in the communications media, such as those referring to the family, to sexuality and to life from conception to natural end."
"A visit to the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul," the Pope told them, "provides a good opportunity to delve more deeply into the significance of the ministry of the successors to the Apostles." It is "an opportunity to reinforce the bonds of effective and affective unity among the college of bishops, which must demonstrate the ideal of the ecclesial community since its origins: that of 'oneness of heart and mind', a visible example to promote a spirit of fraternity and harmony among your faithful, and in modern society so often dominated by individualism and rivalries."
Such communion also appears, the Holy Father noted, in the Uruguayan bishops' implementation of pastoral guidelines inspired in Jesus' meeting with the disciples in Emmaus, when "the Master, who accompanied and conversed with His companions, explained the Scriptures to them."