The bishops of the U.S. will be meeting soon for what I believe is an annual meeting. I was surprised this morning to open Papa Luciani’s book, Illustrissimi, and find that the page that surfaced was Luciani’s letter to the Spanish governor of Milan in 1630. (Remember, these letters are fiction. Luciani wrote in the 1970s.)
The end of his letter reads:
“Let all shepherds remember: they have not been ‘set up by Christ to assume by themselves the weight of the redeeming mission of the Church’…. In their turn, laymen must take care not to limit their co-responsibility to all-to-easy protest: they must add practical proposals, capable of being carried out; and above all they must collaborate in carrying them out. And more: They must remember that their contribution to the good of the Church must not happen in a disorderly way, but ‘under the leadership of the sacred guide,’ whose own charisma must be recognized and authenticated.
“Dialogue? The Council documents speak of it about fifty times.. It must then be effected with goodwill on both sides. The bishops must not listen only to themselves; let them consult, examine together with others, before deciding. And let the faithful speak ‘with that freedom and trust that befits the children of God and brothers in Christ….. always with truth, strength, and prudence, with reverence and charity.’….. Dialogue is useful insofar as those who participate in it have faith in it and observe its just rules.” (Albino Luciani, Illustrissimi, pg. 94)
Agreed!
