Renewal in the Spirit encouraged the faithful to guard against “faults of fidelity and perseverance precisely in the hour of trial.”
Year for priests
The committee communiqué expressed gratitude for “so many priests who suffer in silence because of the Gospel and offer their lives, in the midst of incomprehension and persecutions, in the daily commitment of making our world more just.”
The group also promised prayer so that those who have “offended God and men with deplorable conduct, will come to their senses and rediscover a style of life in keeping with the vocation and mission they have embraced.”
It encouraged victims to “trust the justice of God and not only that of men,” and assured that “the love that can be found in the Church is greater than the evil suffered.”
Love for the Pope
Renewal in the Spirit addressed a “grateful thought” to Benedict XVI, calling him an “honest man and pastor.”
The communiqué added, “If he suffers, all Christians suffer; if he denounces with courage the ‘filth’ that disfigures the luminous face of the Church, it corresponds to us to make her capable of a pure and infectious love.”
The national committee cited the Pope’s own exhortation in “Caritas in Veritate”: “Development needs Christians with their arms raised towards God in prayer, Christians moved by the knowledge that truth-filled love, caritas in veritate, from which authentic development proceeds, is not produced by us, but given to us.
“For this reason, even in the most difficult and complex times, besides recognizing what is happening, we must above all else turn to God’s love. Development requires attention to the spiritual life, a serious consideration of the experiences of trust in God, spiritual fellowship in Christ, reliance upon God’s providence and mercy, love and forgiveness, self-denial, acceptance of others, justice and peace.”
