the full message of the pope to the bishops

“To the members of the Conference of Bishops of France

Informed of the holding of the Plenary Assembly of the Conference of Bishops of France in Lourdes, His Holiness Pope Francis asked me to send you this fraternal message of encouragement, trust and closeness.

He took note of the broad outlines of the program of your work, and noted in particular the attention that you will pay to relations between the Church in France and the Church in Africa. This choice is wise because you need each other so much! While greed, selfishness, indifference, the spirit of exploitation that unfortunately political and economic practices impose have often disfigured relations between nations and peoples, Christian Communities, on the contrary, must strengthen their bonds: they are only one spirit in Christ. May charity and mutual support between your local Churches not only promote the missionary renewal of Communities, but also participate, through the testimony given, in the construction of a fairer and more fraternal world.

It is resolutely towards the future that we must turn and Pope Francis is delighted that most of the themes that you will address concern issues of evangelization, for example the presence of priests in the territories, seminaries, information Catholic, the organization of dioceses, etc. You are strong in the riches and experiences of the past, ready to grasp without fear the signs that the Spirit gives to face challenges and consider the transformations and reforms that he suggests. The Holy Father invites you to live all this animated by an unshakeable Hope which must inhabit your assembly. Not only is Hope the theme of the next Jubilee that we will soon all experience together, but even more so the Church of France is called to recognize it as a strong – and I hope prophetic – sign that the Lord addresses to it, to it in particular: the reopening for worship of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. May the Church of France, like this admirable restored building, which is its own, strong in its faith, proud of its history and its irreplaceable contribution to the construction of your country, and above all filled with love for the neighbor and for the Heart of Jesus, always announce with joy the good news of salvation… and may it be heard.

The Heart of Jesus! In conclusion, I would like to mention the beautiful Encyclical on the Sacred Heart, Dilexit nos, which has just been published. There is no need to recall the threats currently weighing on the world, nor the sometimes worrying challenges that present themselves to the Church. The Holy Father concludes by recalling the extent to which both need to rediscover – or discover – the love of the Heart of Christ, which is ultimately the only key to the future. And he does it in striking terms: “A river which does not run out, which does not pass away, which always offers itself anew to those who want to love, continues to spring from the wound on the side of Christ. Only his love will make possible a new humanity” (n. 219). Only his love…! The Encyclical highlights the considerable place that the saints of France had in the development and understanding of this devotion. You are therefore more than others called, and able, to benefit from this heritage and I invite you to invest widely in it, because it is in the Heart of Christ that “we become capable of healthy and happy relationships, capable to build the Kingdom of love and justice in the world” (n. 28). More than bringing back into fashion a devotion often wrongly judged to be dusty and outdated, it is about understanding how much Jesus loves everyone, how much he loves the Church of France, its pastors that you are, its faithful; how much he loves the whole world.

Pope Francis gives you the Apostolic Blessing which he extends to your collaborators and to all the faithful of your dioceses.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State of His Holiness »