Ad Limina 2017 (Part 4)

Icon of the baptism of Jesus at St Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Parish.

Pope Francis has made clear from his pontificate that, in virtue of our Baptism, we are called to be missionary disciples. By “disciple” we mean one who has come to know the truth that Jesus alone leads to life and thus follows him by allowing his teachings and promptings to inform and shape every aspect of one’s life. By “missionary” we mean that Jesus “sends” those who follow him on mission with the message of the Gospel, especially to the poor and any who live on the peripheries of our societies. 

Monument in Piazza di Spagna



I mention this because “missionary discipleship” emerged as the unifying theme of our visits today to yet more Vatican dicasteries. The first was to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, located in the Piazza di Spagna, very near the famous “Spanish steps” and next to the extraordinary monument to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, visited by the Pope every year on December 8^th. This congregation, since its establishment in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV, has been concerned with the missionary activity of the Church throughout the world. It oversees the work of the Church especially in Africa, Asia and parts of Oceania. Yet, as we were reminded today by the Prefect, Cardinal Filoni, the entire Church is called to be missionary. 

The missionary activity of the Church has many facets. The multiform mission of the Church is made visible in the second dicastery visited today, namely, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. This is a new department, recently created by Pope Francis by bringing together the following pre-existing Pontifical Councils: Justice and Peace; Cor Unum; for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People; and for Health Care Workers. Here we discussed the need to protect and uphold the conscience rights of our healthcare workers, particularly those who are pressured to perform activities that are contrary to their religious or moral convictions. As one official rather trenchantly put the matter, “Doctors are not executioners.” We also touched upon the situation of our Indigenous brothers and sisters in Canada, and the welcome, care and integration we are called to extend to immigrants in our land, especially to those recently arrived as refugees. Our country in particular was congratulated for the warm and generous welcome extended throughout our history, but especially recently, to people in need arriving at our borders. 

Since Christ died for all people of all time, the Church understands her missionary activity ordered to the fostering of deep and lasting unity among all peoples. This leads us into ecumenical dialogue, which was discussed when Bishops gathered in the afternoon at the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. More broadly, the very important matter of interreligious dialogue occupied our attention when we met with the Archbishop Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. In our gatherings, it has been noted that we Bishops of Canada offer a particularly wonderful and effective sign of unity in the communion we demonstrate among the Bishops of the Latin Rite and those of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. This was underscored when we met with officials of the Congregation for Oriental Churches, the dicastery that oversees the relations of the Holy See with the many Catholic Churches of non-Latin Rite who are in communion with Rome. 

 

Bishop Terrio, Fr Schumacher, Archbishop Smith, and Bishop Bittman at dinner in Rome.

 

At the end of the day Bishop Greg and I, in the company of Bishop Paul Terrio, met up with one of our priests doing graduate studies here in Rome, Fr. Michael Schumacher. We took him out to dinner in Trastevere, one of my favourite areas of Rome. We found a restaurant near one of Rome’s most ancient churches dedicated to Our Lady, Santa Maria in Trastevere. Its mosaics are of breathtaking beauty. 

 

Santa Maria in Trastevere

 

Missionary disciples. As has been observed and discussed more than once this week, humanity today knows great suffering. It is incumbent upon all followers of Christ to embrace fully our call and duty to bring the Gospel to all situations as thus proclaim real hope.

 

More photos from Bishop Bittman's Ad Limina album: https://goo.gl/photos/js7ueZty6MHKboX3A

 

Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Piazza di Spagna.

Read the Ad Limina Blog series here.

Part 5: http://archbishopsmith.blogspot.ca/2017/03/ad-limina-final-part-5.html
Part 4 (this post): http://archbishopsmith.blogspot.ca/2017/03/ad-limina-2017-part-4.html
Part 3: http://archbishopsmith.blogspot.ca/2017/03/ad-limina-2017-part-3.html
Part 2: http://archbishopsmith.blogspot.ca/2017/03/ad-limina-2017-part-2.html
Part 1: http://archbishopsmith.blogspot.ca/2017/03/ad-limina-2017.html