POPE John Paul II has called Australia’s bishops to be ‘fearless’ in the face of secularism and to renew their efforts in promoting the celebration of Sunday Mass.
These were among key areas the Pope covered in his address to the bishops on March 26 during their ad limina visit to Rome, when they presented him with their five-yearly reports on their dioceses.
He also urged the bishops to continue their focus on evangelisation and upholding the uniqueness of marriage, and he acknowledged the leadership of the Church in Australia in social justice and solidarity.
The Pope said ‘the pernicious ideology of secularism has found fertile ground in Australia’.
‘At the root of this disturbing development is the attempt to promote a vision of humanity without God,’ he said.
The Pope urged the bishops to give pastoral priority to catechetical programs which instruct the faithful about the true meaning of Sunday and inspire them to observe it fully.
Intimately linked to the liturgy was the Church’s mission to evangelise, he said.
He told the bishops he was sure their initiatives to ‘promote a culture of vocation’ would bear fruit.
Supporting the bishops in their ‘steadfast efforts to uphold the uniqueness of marriage’, the Holy Father said the growing trend in society to equate marriage with other forms of cohabitation was of particular concern.
He described the Church’s contribution to social justice and solidarity in Australia as noble.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president, Archbishop Francis Carroll of Canberra and Goulburn, addressed the Pope on behalf of the visiting bishops and the Church in Australia.
‘We assure Your Holiness of our constant prayer that you would be strengthened in body and refreshed in spirit as you continue at great personal cost to show your solicitude for all the Churches,’ Archbishop Carroll said.
