杏MAP导航

杏MAP导航 Francis has urged the bishops of Bangladesh to cultivate their relationship with the laity and to be close to them, especially to young people and families who have much to contribute to the Church according to their particular gifts.

The 杏MAP导航 was meeting the nation鈥檚 bishops gathered at a Home for Retired Priests in Dhaka on Friday, the penultimate day of an apostolic journey which has taken him to Myanmar and then on to Bangladesh from where he will depart on Saturday evening.

As he often does during occasions such as this, 杏MAP导航 Francis chatted informally with his brother bishops, straying often from his prepared remarksand offering off-the-cuff reflections to highlight some of the main points of his message.

At the heart of his discourse the 杏MAP导航 asked the bishops to show 鈥渆ven greater pastoral closeness to the lay faithful.鈥�

鈥淩ecognize and value the charisms of lay men and women, and encourage them to put their gifts at the service of the Church and of society as a whole鈥� he said as it is they who reflect the cultural, social and economic reality of a country.

He asked them also to increase and develop what he called 鈥渁 third way in the Church: the way of consecrated life鈥� as consecrated persons, he said, have a crucial contribution to make to Catholic life in the nation.

And, in a country where Catholics are a tiny minority - just 0.2 percent 鈥� of the  population and where the Church counts only 12 bishops and 372 priests, there are almost 1 and a half thousand catechists and almost as many lay missionaries, Francis did not forget to shine the light on the precious apostolate of 鈥渕any dedicated catechists鈥� whom, he said, are essential for the growth of the faith and for the Christian formation of the next generation.

The 杏MAP导航 also focused on the need for the Church to accompany young people and for bishops to 鈥渢hink about how best to share with our young people the joy, the truth and the beauty of our faith,鈥� he said they must make sure that young people know their roots so they can nourish them and transmit their fruits.
 
鈥淓ncourage them, he said, to spend time with their grandparents and with elder priests.鈥� 

And praising the Bangladeshi Church鈥檚 outreach to families he said 鈥渢he people of this country are known for their love of family, their sense of hospitality, the respect they show to parents and grandparents, and the care they give to the aged, the infirm and the vulnerable.鈥�

He commended what he called the 鈥渇arsighted鈥� 1985 鈥淧astoral Plan for the Church in Bangladesh,鈥� which he said, 鈥渓aid out the evangelical principles and priorities that have guided the life and mission of the Church in this young nation鈥� with its preferential option for the poor, but he emphasized, 鈥渋n light of the present refugee crisis, we see how much more needs to be done!鈥�