Vatican City, Feb 12, 2010 / 13:58 pm
"The blossoming of priestly and religious vocations depends in good part on the moral and religious health of the Christian family," the Holy Father told Romanian and Moldovan bishops on Friday, as urged them to respond to the challenges being faced by the family in their countries.
The bishops met with Pope Benedict XVI as part of their "ad Limina” visit to the Holy See.
Addressing the bishops on the penultimate day of their visit, Benedict XVI placed a special emphasis on the importance of good relations between bishops and the priests that work with them as "first and precious collaborators."
He exhorted the bishops to be "true fathers" to their priests and to guard the “communion between you and with them in a climate of affection, attention and respectful and fraternal dialogue." Additionally, the Pope emphasized the need for the bishops to look after their priests' “spiritual and material conditions and to always keep them up-to-date in theological and pastoral matters.”