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Vatican City, Vatican, 22nd
October 2004 (CNA) -
Pope John Paul II, in
an address to bishops from Angola and Sao Tome this
morning – the 26th anniversary of the beginning of his
papal ministry – spoke about the need to work for
justice and reconciliation and urged the education of
chastity and chaste love as the “solid hope to overcome
the forces that threaten the institution of the family,
and at the same time, to free humanity of the
devastating scourge of AIDS."
The Pope, who urged the
bishops “to rebuild the communities destroyed by war, to
console wounded hearts and help the people entrusted to
you so that they may make progress on the path of the
Gospel," said that "today more than ever, Angola needs
peace with justice; specifically reconciliation,
rejecting every temptation to resort to violence…I urge
you to work tirelessly for reconciliation and to bear
authentic witness through acts of solidarity and aid for
victims of the decades of violence," said the Holy
Father.
Turning his thoughts to
threats facing family life, he exhorted proclaim "the
liberating message of authentic Christian love," urging
educational programs to emphasize that "true love is
chaste love, and that chastity offers us solid hope to
overcome the forces that threaten the institution of the
family, and at the same time, to free humanity of the
devastating scourge of AIDS."
The Holy Father urged young
people to have recourse to the sacraments saying that
"through a life of prayer and a solid sacramental life,
they will remain united to Christ in order to pass on
the values of the Gospel in their environments and they
will generously assume their role in transforming
society."
He emphasized that Catholic
schools are "an especially effective means to ensure"
the formation of young people, and told the bishops to
"promote religious and moral teaching, also in public
schools, in order to create a consensus in public
opinion on the importance of this type of formation.
This service, which could come from closer collaboration
with the government, is an important form of active
Catholic participation in the society of your country,"
he said.
Referring to the selection
and formation of priests, the Pope said that "candidates
for the priesthood must be carefully selected and
formed," as well as their professors, "with clear human
and priestly maturity."
Priests, he continued, "are
called to give up material goods and consecrate
themselves to the service of their brothers and sisters
through the complete personal gift of self of celibacy.
Scandalous behaviour must always be analyzed,
investigated and corrected."
The Holy Father remarked in
conclusion that the "flourishing number of vocations to
consecrated life, especially to female religious life,
is a magnificent gift from heaven to the Church of Sao
Tome and Angola."
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