Here is a translation of the Holy Father’s message to the participants at the meeting of the Presidents of the Doctrinal Commissions of the European Episcopal Conferences (Esztergom, Hungary, January 13-15, 2015).
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Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
On the occasion of the meeting of the Presidents of the Doctrinal Commissions of the European Episcopal Conferences with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at Esztergom, in the religious heart of Hungary, between January 13 and 15, 2015, I wish to transmit to you my cordial greeting.
“I thank Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for this timely initiative that emphasises the importance of the local Episcopates, and in particular the Doctrinal Commissions, in their responsibility for the unity and integrity of the faith as well as its transmission to the younger generations. As I wrote in my Apostolic Exhortation ‘Evangelii Gaudium’, resuming the teaching of the dogmatic Constitution ‘Lumen Gentium’ of Vatican Council II, ‘Episcopal conferences are in a position to contribute in many and fruitful ways to the concrete realisation of the collegial spirit’. (n. 33).
I hope that your meeting will contribute to enabling a collegial approach to various doctrinal and pastoral difficulties that present themselves in Europe today, with the aim of inspiring in the faithful a new missionary zeal and greater openness to the transcendent dimension of life, without which Europe risks losing the very ‘humanistic spirit’ that it loves and defends. (Cf. Address to the European Parliament, November 25, 2014).
Entrusting your works to the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary, model of every believer, I impart my heartfelt blessing.
From the Vatican, January 9, 2015
[Translation by ZENIT]
