Scottish Catholic Observer

THE Holy Father spoke this morning at the colloquium in Rome for new bishops that was attended by Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen and Auxiliary Bishop Stephen Robson of St Andrews and Edinburgh.

Pope Benedict XVI told the bishops, who arrived from around the world for the five-day event, that Christians are ‘called to the challenge of the new evangelisation.’ He also insisted that they must ‘boldly invite the people from every walk of life to an encounter with Christ and to render more solid the faith’ as pastors of their dioceses.

He reminded them that ‘[as bishops] your primary concern must be to promote and support a more determined commitment of the Church in favour of the new evangelisation in order to rediscover the joy in believing and find the enthusiasm to communicate the faith.’

“Evangelisation, in fact, is not the work of some specialists, but of the entire People of God, under the guidance of the pastors,” he added. “Each believer, in and with the ecclesial community should feel responsible for announcing and witnessing to the Gospel.”

The Pope, who has often referred to the importance of the New Evangelisation in the run up to the Bishops’ Synod and the Year of Faith, highlighted the difficulties that Catholics face today, and looked at how the Faithful can spiritually tackle these issues with graceful and pure hearts.

“The effects of the new Pentecost, despite the difficulties of the times, spread to reach the life of the Church in all its forms: from the institutional to the spiritual, from the participation of the lay faithful in the Church to the charismatic flowering and holiness,” he said.

The Pope also encouraged the bishops to flourish in their Episcopal service.

He quoted Pope Paul VI when he said: “We need to evangelise man’s culture and cultures (not in a purely decorative way, as it were, by applying a thin veneer, but in a vital way, in depth and right to their very roots)… always taking the person as one’s starting-point and always coming back to the relationships of people among themselves and with God.” (Evangelii nuntiandi)

His Holiness made a reference to the duties of Episcopal service and entrusted the future of the priesthood, by making a special call for the bishops to take care of the seminarians.

“Take special care of seminarians, concerned that they are formed humanly, spiritually, theologically and pastorally, so that the community can have joyful and mature pastors and reliable guides in the faith,” he said.

Both Bishop Gilbert and Bishop Robson have spoken about vocations to the Catholic priesthood and religious life in Scotland.

Bishop Robson, who was inspired by a priest as a young Anglican man to covert to Catholicism, believes that ‘vocations work’ begins with ‘personal relationships.’

“Christ didn’t say ‘I’m going to start my Church off so I need a programme, I need a pastoral plan,’” the auxiliary bishop told the SCO after his Episcopal ordination in June. “Jesus went to Peter and Andrew and said ‘follow me;’ ‘learn from me;’ ‘come and see!’ and ‘I call you friends’—things like that! If the bishop is interested in vocations, vocations will come. I think for most of us, who are priests, there is someone that inspired us, that made us think ‘I’d like to be like that.’”

In a recent faith seminar for young Catholics in Aberdeen on the diversity of vocation, Bishop Gilbert, said: “God calls everyone He has created to love Him with their whole being. This means that he calls all to holiness, to a close following of him and obedience to His will. But each of us has his or her own path. Each of us has his or her own vocation in the Body of Christ, both in time and in eternity.

“Each of us already has a vocation, God is with us and is calling us every day to live the present well.”

In the spirit of New Evangelisation, Bishop Gilbert has also resolved to encourage an increase in Mass attendance.