To the Episcopal Conference (15 June 1984)

On Friday, 15 June 1984, the Holy Father addressed the Swiss Episcopal Conference at Einsiedeln, speaking to the Bishops of their collegiality. “it presupposes communion of thought in the face of doctrine, and communion of will in the face of the great mission of the Church.”

Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,

1. Our meeting takes place in the middle of my pastoral visit. Or rather, in the center. Because this exchange is, in a sense, the most important moment, the one in which we bishops demonstrate our fraternity and our common concern for the evangelization of our people.

Everything I do here - with my special responsibility as Bishop of Rome at the head of the episcopal college - I do with you and for you who bear the daily solicitude of this Church, with its sorrows and its joys. I hope that it will be a help and an encouragement for you, and I myself am happy to receive the testimony of your Swiss community with its diverse faces.

In July 1982, for the ad limina visit , I discussed with you a certain number of requirements, of which you yourselves were very aware and which remain important. I do not need to repeat this speech today. We have just discussed some crucial points where the sensitivity of the faithful and pastors is very keen, and whose issues take on great relief: among others, the way of living episcopal collegiality in relations with the Holy See, the responsibilities of the laity in the Church, the practice of the sacrament of Reconciliation, certain particular aspects of the liturgy, the problem of the formation of priests in seminaries, the questions raised by the ecumenical approach. We discussed together the appropriate orientations in these areas. Some of these problems will be dealt with more fully on the occasion of other meetings. In this interview, it is first the question of collegiality that will hold our attention, then that of your authority as bishops. And as Brothers, we will confront ourselves with the challenges of evangelization in the Church and in society.

First of all, I would like to tell you how much I appreciate the loyalty and clarity of your approaches to the Holy See. The problems you address, or the questions you ask, are precisely circumscribed. In 1982, you sought serious and demanding contact with most of the Roman Dicasteries; then you shared your reflections with the aim of advancing mutual understanding, of giving the Holy See the opportunity to grasp the acuteness of certain problems in your country, and also to allow it to challenge you on what is essential in the universal Church, with reference to the Tradition that has lived throughout the centuries.

I know that you have prepared the stages of this journey with meticulousness, a meticulousness sometimes put to the test on the ground by events or contacts to which one must also give their place, because it is to make room for the spontaneity of hearts. I am grateful to you for what you have accomplished to make your faithful and the Swiss people understand the spiritual and human role of the Pope and the meaning of this pastoral visit.

You have sometimes suffered from certain reactions around you. As Saint Peter wrote in his first letter, we must sometimes accept not being understood: “If you show yourselves zealous for what is good . . . do not be afraid, do not be troubled. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect” ( 1 Pet. 3:13, 14-16). Certainly, we must always seek to eliminate the wrinkles of our Church, to make it holier, more consistent with faith in Christ the Savior, with great humility; and we must also recognize in others the good and the Christian virtues wherever they are at work, and even rejoice in them. This goes hand in hand with fidelity to what is essential in our Catholic identity, and which we must affirm and deploy with serenity, precisely in respect of the conscience of all. And sometimes we will suffer for our fidelity, as the Bishop of Rome experienced, as the Apostles and the Church of all times have experienced, as Christ, who experienced this trial to the extreme.

This is where the communion that unites us, that unites you to the Successor of Peter, proves to be of capital importance, a communion in charity and the search for truth, with the frankness, trust and patience that this presupposes.

2. Among you, Bishops of Switzerland, you already experience a form of collegial collaboration. Well before Vatican II, which gave value to the Episcopal Conferences, since the last century, the Swiss bishops have met regularly here, in Einsiedeln. The sensitivities of your populations are certainly very diverse, but there are pastoral problems that are quite similar, and it is appropriate that you pool your reflections and certain apostolic means, that you adopt similar or even common measures on essential points. In your Episcopal Conference, reduced in number, it is also easy for you to express yourselves, to exercise each one of your responsibility, as I see it today. The responsibilities to be assumed in the service of the whole are even numerous and heavy. Commissions can help you usefully, in an advisory capacity; They cannot have your responsibility or your authority by themselves, and, in close connection with you, they must ensure that they correspond to the true spiritual needs of all, within the framework of the common norms of the Church.

But collegiality, in the strict sense, is more than your collaboration among yourselves. It unites all the bishops among themselves, around the Successor of Peter, to teach the doctrine of the faith, to implement the common discipline, and to face the needs and progress of the universal Church. It derives from that of the Twelve united around Peter, it extends it and is exercised in a similar way. The Second Vatican Council set it out in fundamental texts, notably the Constitution “ Lumen Gentium ”. It is essential to invite our priests and our faithful to reread these texts, to study them, to meditate on them.

The solidarity of the bishops is underlined in a very strong way, with the terms episcopal college, episcopal order or body and hierarchical communion of all the bishops with the Sovereign Pontiff ( Lumen Gentium , 4). Our collegiality is affective: fraternal, trusting relationships must always hold a large place in it, as is normal for the disciples of Christ whose first commandment is to live love and unity: this is his testament. Our collegiality is at the same time effective: it presupposes communion of thought in the face of doctrine, and communion of will in the face of the great mission of the Church. This is why speaking of collegiality is to underline your total solidarity with the Head of the college and, with him, your responsibility in the whole college, with the awareness that your official declarations, your actions, your orientations, the way of exercising your episcopal ministry in Switzerland, are necessarily also “for others”, whose pastoral commitment they affect. “As members of the episcopal college . . . each one (of the bishops) is bound, with regard to the universal Church . . . to that solicitude which is, for the universal Church, eminently profitable . . . All the bishops, in fact, must promote and safeguard the unity of faith and of the common discipline of the whole Church, form the faithful to love for the whole mystical Body of Christ . . .” ( Lumen Gentium , 23).

In fact, you thus ensure the very good of the particular Church where you are the visible principle and foundation of unity ( Ibid .). There can sometimes be a certain tension between, on the one hand, the wishes or needs felt by Christians at the grassroots, in function of particular or new circumstances or sensitivities, and, on the other hand, the principles or directives expressed by the Magisterium of the whole Church. This problem is similar to that of inculturation in the young Churches. It is also true that, on the ground, Christians and their pastors are well placed to find the appropriate way to present these principles, with convincing reasons, or precise applications. It is also true that they are more subject to pressure from those around them and from opinions or practices which do not necessarily derive from the faith, or are not all consistent with it. The universal Church - and in particular the Bishop of Rome, with the Dicasteries of the Apostolic See - then renders the inestimable service - even through perhaps more general language and less circumstantial provisions - of tracing the sure path that is based on living Tradition, takes into account the various aspects of the Christian mystery and Christian ethics, avoids simplifications and pitfalls, and maintains solidarity with all the Churches. This is, for example, what the Synod of Bishops of 1980 did, and the exhortation “ Familiaris Consortio ” took up the essence of this work, to clarify the problems linked to marriage and to guide the action of pastors and faithful throughout the world. Similarly, the last Synod advanced the reflection on penance and the sacrament of Reconciliation, while the corresponding document is being prepared with the participation of the General Secretariat of the Synod. The only climate that is appropriate in these relations between the Holy See and the particular Churches is that of dialogue, trust, availability, plenary communion - cum Petro et sub Petro - in what has been carefully considered, decided and adopted for the whole Church. And of this, dear Brothers, you are, in the first rank, the witnesses and the artisans.

Yes, we must always work to maintain this climate. We must not neglect, of course, to explain often the fundamental reasons for the practice of the Church, as you strive to do. Finally, it is important to invite the Christian people to focus their attention not only on pastoral means, but on the goal that Jesus assigned to his Church and on the spirit of evangelization. In this perspective, every serious Christian remains very humble and seeks to open himself to the Holy Spirit, and to all his brothers and sisters who, throughout the world, bring “universal consent to the truths concerning faith and morals” ( Lumen Gentium , 12).

3. This is why we must often ask ourselves, and our Christians, the fundamental questions: in our way of doing things, is Jesus Christ proclaimed in season and out of season , with respect for individuals and groups, to guarantee the authenticity of the act of faith in freedom, but clearly and boldly according to the last words of Christ to his Apostles: “Go and make disciples of all nations” ( Matt . 28:19-20). Is God truly prayed to as God, with the concern to seek his will and to adhere to it? Is the holiness of individuals the primary objective of pastoral work? Is the Truth presented, at the cost of the cross and of renunciations? Are the ministers of Christ aware of their formidable mission to speak and act in the name of Christ? Is the Church built up in solidarity, like the Body of Christ? Do those who take an active position in the Church, those who hold the means of social communication or other responsibilities, remain open to what other Christians who are less vocal think or feel, even though they may be in the majority? Do we measure with a spirit of maturity the scope, the limits and all the consequences of the practices that we would like to propose to other members of the community? Where is peace, unity and love among the disciples of Christ?

Dear Brothers, in the face of the trials that the Church is going through today - the phenomenon of secularization that risks dissolving or marginalizing the faith, the lack of priestly and religious vocations, the difficulties for families to live Christian marriage - we must recall the need for prayer . The graces of renewal or conversion will only be given to a Church in prayer. In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed that his Passion would correspond to the will of the Father, to the salvation of the world; he implored his Apostles to watch and pray so as not to enter into temptation ( Matt . 26:41). Let us lead our Christian people, individuals and communities, in ardent prayer to the Lord, with Mary.

4. To enable us to fulfill our mission as Pastors, Christ wanted us to have the necessary authority, in the service of the truth. Walking in front, leading, showing the way, caring that it remains open to all, while remaining authentic, clarifying, calming, gathering, such is our daily bread.

The Council said, concerning the laity: “Let them open up to these Pastors their needs and wishes with all the freedom and confidence that are fitting for children of God and brothers in Christ. To the extent of their knowledge, their competence, and their rank, they have the faculty and even sometimes the duty to manifest their feelings concerning the good of the Church. This must be done, if necessary, by means of the institutions that the Church has established for this purpose and always with sincerity, courage, and prudence, with the respect and charity that are due to those who, by reason of their sacred office, hold the place of Christ” ( Lumen Gentium , 37). In the same spirit, the constitution “ Lumen Gentium ” continued: They “must embrace, in the promptitude of Christian obedience, what the sacred pastors, as representatives of Christ, decide in the name of their magisterium and authority in the Church” ( Ibid .).

Yes, unity around the Bishop is the sine qua non condition of the status of the Catholic faithful. And one cannot claim to be with the Pope without also being with the bishops united with him, nor be with the bishops without being with the Head of the College of Bishops.

As for the questions posed by Christians, we must accept that, despite the mercy that must always be the rule, reflecting the mercy of God, some of them remain without a satisfactory solution, because it is the very facts of the problems that prevent it. I am thinking of certain cases of divorced homes, certain cases of priests, certain situations of mixed marriages. In all cases, we must help to find a deeper spiritual attitude that bears witness in its own way to the truth.

I do not want to dwell on your role with regard to priests, lay people, religious, since I have the opportunity to speak to them directly, before you. But for candidates for the priesthood, I strongly encourage what you are trying to do to awaken vocations: let us be convinced that they are not lacking, but that at the same time these young people, eager to give themselves to the exclusive service of Christ and his Church, are seeking authentic formation. Attempts at “clericalization of the laity” or “secularization of the clergy” - to bluntly designate certain tendencies - cannot succeed, either for the exercise of the ministry or for the awakening of vocations. The clear line drawn by Vatican II must guide all those who have the serious responsibility of awakening vocations. And the same is true, of course, for the spiritual, liturgical, pastoral - as well as theological - formation that must be provided to seminarians, in a community oriented entirely and solely towards the priestly life, with the demands that characterize it and from which one cannot escape. We have just mentioned this problem. The Church always recommends to diocesan bishops to consider seminaries as the pupil of their eyes.

5. Principles of the unity of their diocesan community, the bishops are, with it, the witnesses of Christian hope in the midst of all their people, so that the Gospel, proclaimed and lived, appears there as Good News, a salvation.

The society of your country certainly already lives many human and Christian values, which have often been mentioned in recent days: hard work, widely accepted discipline, civic co-responsibility, honesty, prudence, welcoming foreigners, the poor and refugees, generosity towards the Third World and humanitarian works, horror of violence, love of peace, respect for others in their differences . . . It is up to the Church, drawing on these values, which moreover have their roots in Christian history, to reveal the spiritual motivations and ultimate demands of these behaviors, to deepen their meaning, to broaden their scope. And I know, dear Brothers, that this is your constant concern; a certain number of your documents and interventions bear witness to this, and again very recently.

For example, you invite us to move from philanthropy to charity, from sympathy in the face of poverty to respect for human dignity and even to love of man, the image of God, to the recognition of Christ who wants to be in the least of his own. To the asylum offered to immigrants or refugees, you would like us to join the warmth of fraternal understanding, friendship, and cooperation. You ensure that we do not forget, in this area, the demands of social justice and the various human rights. You contribute to opening minds and hearts to the great problems of the world and to the scourges that afflict other environments or other peoples: hunger, drugs, fratricidal wars. The capital importance of the education of children and young people makes you seek, with parents, the most appropriate means of ensuring it, not only through catechism, but through Catholic schools or other educational means. Finally, you remain very concerned about family values ​​which are put to the test when the love of fiancés or spouses is lived selfishly, in search of immediate pleasure for oneself, without definitive commitment to the person of the other spouse and the children born of the union. You feel the urgent need to educate in this fidelity as well as in the generous acceptance of life. It would be contradictory to seek to help the undernourished of the world, if one did not respect at home the life of the child in the womb of its mother from conception, or the value of life ending until natural death.

All these ethical demands are not always understood and accepted in a society that loses the religious reasons for respecting man; they can even give rise to revolts, or accusations of political intervention. But, ultimately, we will appreciate the courage of the Church when we understand that it defends in all its depth the dignity of man, his freedom, his hope. You know that for this it is necessary to show public opinion the great human issues that are involved. And for Christians, it is appropriate never to detach these moral demands from the conditions of the spiritual progress of man, created in the image of God, redeemed by Christ, and capable, with grace and despite his weaknesses, of taking the steep path of the beatitudes which is in fact the path of peace, joy and life.

Dear Brothers in the Episcopate, we will interrupt our conversation here to meet with your collaborators, the priests of your dioceses. I pray the Lord to inspire you and strengthen you in your magnificent mission, the weight of which I carry with you. May his Holy Spirit give you, as he did to the Apostles, the courage of witnesses and the hope of those who see the invisible!

© Copyright 1984 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

 Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana