To the Episcopal Secretariat of Central America (SEDAC) (2 March 1983)

TO MEMBERS OF THE EPISCOPAL SECRETARIAT
 OF CENTRAL AMERICA (SEDAC)

Wednesday, March 2, 1983

On Wednesday, 2 March 1983, the Holy Father addressed members of the Episcopal Secretariat of Central America, in the Central Seminary of Saint Joseph of Costa Rica, speaking of themes he considered most important, to “find a new reason for profound unity in Christ, [in] the broad mosaic formed with each of your local Churches, spread across the various nations.”  

Dear Brothers in the Episcopate

1. " Ubi charitas et amor Deus ibi est ": where charity and love reign, God is there. It is the Lord who today, at the beginning of my apostolic visit to Central America, Belize and Haiti, brings us together in his love, conforming us, as in the primitive community, "in one heart and in one soul" (cf. Act . 1 , 14).

As a sign of particular benevolence and communion with you, Shepherds of the flock of Christ, I wanted this pilgrimage of love, reconciliation and peace to be undertaken by me, moved by the Holy Spirit and concern for all the Churches (cf. 2 Cor. 11 , 28), opened up with this meeting. It is the fraternal meeting of the Successor of Peter with the successors of the Apostles, and that of all with the Shepherd of Shepherds, Jesus Christ.

I greet you, therefore, with great affection, and in you I also greet with affection each and every one of the members of your respective dioceses and of all the nations and peoples of Central America, brothers to each other by so many titles.

During these days I want, like Saint Paul, to proclaim Christ crucified, dead and risen (cf. 1Cor . 1, 23; 15, 3 s.), in whom resides our unity, our hope and in whom we have life in fullness . It is the living Word of the Gospel that must fall, once again, like a fruitful seed on this good land of your people.

During my visit to the different countries I propose to develop some themes that I consider most important in the current historical moment of your beloved particular Churches. I want to speak with the heart of a father and the affection of a brother to all the People of God. And as the visit wants to have a unitary character imposed by the same external conditions, which in each stage or place expresses to an ecclesiastical sector, I direct it to that same sector throughout Central America and, more broadly, Latin America. In this global teaching you will also find a new reason for profound unity in Christ, the broad mosaic formed with each of your local Churches, spread across the various nations. And that in the one Lord they are inseparably linked to the universal Church.

2. The existence of someone who believes that Jesus is Lord (cf. Phil . 2:11) can only develop in a dialogue of love, in which it is He, Jesus Christ, who takes the initiative. This dialogue must have the attitude of service for which He chose us (cf. Jn . 15, 16).

Indeed, at the center of our election as Pastors of his Church and the sending to announce the Gospel, is the question that the Lord asked Peter: "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" ( John 21, 15). It is the question that He asks, in a certain way, to each Bishop. Because only in love is it possible for us to understand our ecclesial vocation. And our service to our brothers and sisters has its starting point in our unity with the Lord, of whom we are a sacrament (cf. Lumen gentium , 21), ambassadors (cf. 2 Cor. 5, 20), despite carrying the aroma of Christ in fragile vessels (cf. 2 Cor . 4, 7).

The dialogue of love in the Lord that allows us to say with complete sincerity, despite our weakness: "Lord, you know that I love you" ( John 20:16), has its roots in the trust with which He places in our care ecclesiastical communities. This is a commitment of fidelity, a source of fruitfulness and pastoral energy. Because our strength does not come from the weight of weapons, but from the Gospel. That is why, in the inaugural speech of the Puebla Conference, I made you aware that it was not the quality of technicians or politicians that, as Bishops, you could contribute, because that is not your mission, but the quality of Pastors. This is what I now repeat to you: that you strive to be guides and models of the flock (cf. 1 Pet . 5, 3) and that, like Jesus, you know how to be good Shepherds who always go ahead of their faithful, to show them the safe path, heal their wounds and miseries, their divisions and falls, and reconcile them in a new unity in the Lord, who never ceases to call for unity in Him.

3. The Risen Lord brings together the Church. It is a sacrament of communion (cf. Gaudium et spes , 42), " koinonia ", communion around the Resurrected One: "May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You" ( Jn . 17 , 21). What an admirable call to unity, in the wake of his passion! It is not a unit that is the result of artifices and compositions, of calculations, of the sum of improper transactions. Unity cannot be achieved at the cost of diluting identity. Nor is unity the simple external association of mere coexistence. Unity in its fullest and most perfect form is that which is proposed to us as an example: that of the Son with the Father (cf. Jn 10:30). It is unity of love, communion, delivery, unity, in a word, affective and effective.

You are in the Church, the last Council reminds us, "the principle of unity" (cf. Lumen gentium , 23). The axis and fidelity of the Pastors’ mission is to be instruments of unity in the community.

Your reality as Masters is oriented towards unity in faith. The Church is a community of believers, that is, of those "who participate: in the same faith. And to protect and enrich the unity of faith in the community, and, therefore, the ecclesiastical identity, the Spirit of Christ sustains the dynamic life of the Magisterium, vital service of the Church.

Service to unity is Evangelization, through which Churches are born. The Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi contributed, in a notable way, as you saw at the Puebla Conference, to deepening what the essential mission of the Church consists of. Hence the strong insistence on the absolute priority of evangelization.

In close correlation is the need for catechesis about which very precise clues can be found in the Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi tradendae . Because without active, indefatigable evangelization, without lucid and systematic catechesis, faith would weaken. And it would take serious risks: true unity. You will provide an outstanding service to your Churches if you increasingly involve the laity in such important tasks.

4. We must always be careful not to implant it; nor is our universe of faith dismantled. It could occur when merely human criteria replace the contents of faith or when the coherence and intrinsic cohesion of the symbol of faith are neglected. To this end, an adequate elaboration in the field of Christology and Ecclesiology becomes essential: Agreed principles in this regard were highlighted in the Puebla Document , which collected what I expressed at the beginning of the Third General Conference ( Puebla , January 28, 1979).

An authentic Christology cannot leave aside either the integrity of the New Testament revelation, taking advantage of the serious progress recognized in research, nor the indispensable reference to the Magisterium. A Christology that serves as nourishment for our communities cannot be created if the theological work does not have its roots in the faith of the Church and in a personal faith that becomes an offering of one's existence to the Lord.

How, on the other hand, can we elaborate Ecclesiology without fully living the " sentere cum Ecclesia "? How can we feel about the Church if it is not loved with the hearts of children? I will speak again about the requirement for a fervent and deep love for the Church as a mother in tomorrow's homily.

I know well, dear Brothers, that you are making a determined effort to fulfill your mission and that a renewing commitment can be seen in many parts, which you are at the forefront of. Because you want to be servants of unity in fidelity to the faith, in everything that constitutes the sacramental life of the Church. This, in fact, comes together through the Word and the Eucharist, the center of all sacramental life. Therefore, an evangelization that did not culminate in sacramental practice would not be complete or understandable. And as the Christian community lives from the Eucharist, its unity is never deeper than when it shares the bread of the Word and the Eucharist in agreement.

These are realities that we need to live in the warmth of the Church, the family of God. On the other hand, the dangers are not unknown to you and you do not hide them in your Pastoral Letters, along the lines of Puebla. I referred to this with concern in messages to some of your Episcopal Conferences.

5. The internal unity of the Church requires prompt and sincere acceptance of the Pastors’ teaching. This managed to create over the centuries a rich spiritual heritage in Latin America, and in Central America it was made possible by the sense of loyal communion of the faithful people.

There is a Christian sense of the People of God, a sensus fidelium , which constitutes a guarantee and like a wall invulnerable to attacks and insidies. Your people are faithful and when you give them the whole and pure bread of the Gospel they immediately accept it; and, on the contrary, they know how to distinguish when it is adulterated. "I bless you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you hid these things from the wise and revealed them to little ones" ( Mt. 11, 25).

From our hearts as Pastors rises this same grateful prayer to the Father of mercies for the faith in Latin America, which in many cases becomes, with all right, demanding.

Therefore, try with all your efforts to preserve and strengthen your own unity first and foremost. Within each Episcopal Conference and also at a broader level. As we read in the Epistle to the Colossians: "But above all, clothe yourselves with charity, which is the bond of perfection. Let the peace of Christ dwell in your hearts, to which you were called, that you might form one body"( Col. 3, 14-15).

In this way, you will not lack the respect and obedience of the faithful people who know that through your ministry they come closer to the same Christ, whom the Bishop represents, that is, makes present, and in whose name and person he acts.

Around the Bishops, the unity of priests, "providing collaborators" of the episcopal ministry, must also be preserved; that of religious men and women and lay people. The best guarantee for fruitful preaching is the testimony of the unity of the Church. Then as now, this proof that is willing to receive the Word of God must be real: "See how they love one another."

In this unity in faith, true ecumenism must grow, which is the desire for fidelity to Christ in doctrine and attitudes. And that will translate into loyal collaboration.

6. Such unity must grow around the teachings of the last Council, a source of permanent ecclesiastical revitalization. In it we have the most certain criteria for renewal at the present time.

The Synods of Bishops are another valuable instrument of rejuvenation and unity. And on another level, the Document of the III General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate must also continue to contribute to unity, both in doctrinal and pastoral terms. There you confirmed, in fact, your firm desire for unity. This unity in the Church of Christ is achieved, as you well know, around Peter. Today, gathered here, we are a testimony of communion in Christ which, without a doubt, gives great joy and confidence to all of your faithful.

The Episcopal Secretariat for Central America, SEDAC, also has its headquarters in Costa Rica, born precisely from the felt need to coordinate pastoral action in the region. With deep esteem I greet all the members of this episcopal body, which maintains close ties with CELAM that help it provide better ecclesiastical service.

There are diverse and important forms of pastoral communion for more fruitful work in the Churches, which cannot be isolated, but reciprocally very correlated.

7.- The ecclesial community is and must be leaven in the world. It is a very firm seed of unity and peace. Unfortunately, there are divisive factors that infiltrate your countries in a dangerous way. There are many tensions, (the clashes that threaten serious conflicts and have opened the doors to the desolating torrent of violence in all its forms. How many lives taken cruelly and uselessly! People who have the right to peace and justice find themselves shaken due to inhuman fights, hatred, revenge, honest and hard-working people lost their peace of mind and security.

And yet, only through the paths of a dignified and just peace is it possible to achieve the progress to which your people have a perfect right and which for a long time has been denied to them. Only with respect for the eminent dignity of man, of all men, can a better future be achieved in harmony with his legitimate aspirations.

The Gospel stands in defense of man, especially the poorest and most disadvantaged, those who lack the goods of this earth and who are marginalized or not taken into consideration.

Love for man, the living image of God, must be the best incentive to respect and ensure respect for the fundamental rights of the human person. That is why the Church stands up as a defender of man and, at the same time, as a banner of peace, of concord, of unity. These are also the objectives that I will not forget on my visit.

It is indeed necessary and urgent in your countries that the Church, when proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel to people who have suffered intensely and for a long time, continues to courageously expose all the social implications that the Christian condition entails.

Without ever forgetting that its first and indispensable mission is to proclaim salvation in Christ. However, without hiding situations that are incompatible with a sincere profession of faith, and trying to encourage those attitudes of effective conversion to which that same faith should lead.

When fulfilling this mission, every man of the Church must take into account that he cannot resort to methods of violence that are repugnant to his Christian condition, nor to ideologies that are inspired by reductive projects of man and his transcendent destiny. On the contrary, based on the clear identity of the Gospel and an integral vision of the human being, it will strive with all its energy to eliminate oppression and injustice in its various forms, trying to expand the spaces for human dignity .

Here the social doctrine of the Church, which rejects as inadequate and harmful both the materialist plans of purely economistic capitalism and those of an equally materialist collectivism, which oppresses the dignity of man, will find its faithful and irrevocable application . 13).

I admire your dedication as Pastors in such difficult circumstances for your people. May your example of unity as Bishops, and that of the communities you pastor, be a guarantee of social concord, which from the heart of the Church builds bridges inside and outside each of your homelands. May the Lord grant the gift of concord and peace to sister nations with the same history, the same tradition and the same vocation of freedom.

8. The current situations of struggle, mistrust and inhumanity — which unfortunately prevail painfully in more than one nation in this geographical area — are not, and cannot be, something that must inevitably continue. To put. To put an end to such a painful state of affairs, contribute with all your strength, Bishops of Central America, to create a world more worthy of man, more just, supportive and fraternal.

Faith tells us that we can responsibly change the course of history to be architects of our own destiny. The Lord of history makes man and people protagonists, subjects of their own future, responding to God's call. He made everything available to man, king of creation, to make creatures a hymn of praise to God; and the glory of God is the living man, who has his life in the vision of God (cf. Saint Irenaeus, Contra haereses , IV, 20, 7: PG 7, 105). During these days of renewal I will frequently return to the theme of justice and peace. I will spare no effort in asking everyone to mobilize existing energies in order to ensure that one and the other illuminates your destiny, both within each country and internationally. Yes, preserve concord among your nations at all costs. Nothing is so regrettable and alarming as the mere threat of a war that would devastate the countries in conflict and turn them into a sad scene of strange interests.

Be bearers, dear Pastors, of these same feelings to all the countries and all the communities that I will visit full of desire and hope. Intimately united with Christ, let us translate more and more, in our attitudes and procedures, in the Church and in society, the recommendation of Saint Paul: "I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all say the same, and let there be no divisions among you; be perfect in the same spirit and in the same mind"(1 Cor.1, 10).

I place these objectives and my pilgrimage under the protection of the Mother of God and the Church. May she, who tenderly accompanied the College of Apostles in receiving the strength of the Spirit, obtain for you from her Son the grace, strength and perseverance that you need in your selfless service to the Church. So be it.

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