Be a sign of mercy and closeness

A large number of priests, religious and deacons from various religious communities in Melaka-Johor welcomed Archbishop Joseph Marino, the Vatican Amb

Jun 09, 2017

JOHOR BAHRU: A large number of priests, religious and deacons from various religious communities in Melaka-Johor welcomed Archbishop Joseph Marino, the Vatican Ambassador to Malaysia, Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia and Timor Leste and Apostolic Delegate to Brunei, at Majodi Centre on May 17.

After the brief introduction by Bishop Bernard Paul, the Apostolic Nuncio addressed the gathering, conveying, above all, the “thoughts, affection and expectations of the Holy Father for you and the whole Church of Melaka-Johor.”

The gathering provided the opportunity for the clergy and religious to chat informally with the representative of the Pope in this region.

In his address, Archbishop Marino reflected on the document, The Joy of Love, in which Pope Francis is proposing a new vision of being Church and a new way of dealing with complicated issues with regard to marriage and the family.

Archbishop Marino says that this Exhortation is especially timely, as it represents an invitation to Christian families to value the gifts of marriage and the family, and to persevere in a love strengthened by the virtues of generosity, commitment, fidelity and patience.

Secondly, he said, it seeks to encourage everyone to be a sign of mercy and closeness wherever family life remains imperfect or lacks peace and joy.

Archbishop Marino pointed out that the Pope has clearly stated, “The Church is called to come out of herself and to go to the peripheries: the mystery of sin, of pain, of injustice, of ignorance and indifference to religion, of intellectual currents, and of all misery.”

How are we to meet people in these difficult situations, he asked. By changing the rules or imposing new rules? Neither, said the Pope. The Nuncio mentioned that the Holy Father, on many occasions throughout the Exhortation, will affirm that imposing rules and norms is not the way to deal or settle the matter being reflected upon with all its complexity.

The Nuncio mentioned that the third paragraph states, “I would make it clear that not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium,” because, and these are the words of the Pope: there are “various ways of interpreting some aspects of that teaching or drawing certain consequences from it” and, because, “each country or region, moreover, can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its traditions and local needs.

When dealing with difficult situations, the Nuncio said, the Church on many occasions, instead of giving “understanding, comfort and acceptance”… “imposed a set of rules that only lead people to feel judged and abandoned by the very Mother called to show them God’s mercy.

He said rather than offering the healing power of grace and the light of the Gospel message, some would “indoctrinate that message, turning it into ‘dead stones to be hurled at others”.

Moreover, he said, the Pope clearly states, “While stating the Church’s teaching, pastors are to avoid judgments that do not take into account the complexity of various situations, and they are to be attentive, by necessity, to help people experience and endure distress because of their condition.”

He said that while Pope Francis calls us to go beyond rules and idealized doctrine and wasting our time on judging and condemning, he knows that he must provide the Church with some principles in order to assist many of our people who are confronting challenges in marriage and family life.

The Nuncio mentioned that he does so by pointing us to missionary creativity, which has, as its basis the recognition of the power of grace, which is the love of God who is with us in our journeys in life.

He said, “The paradigm then is journey, a movement, which implies that each person goes through a personal growth,” adding that in this context, marriage becomes, according to Pope Francis, “a dynamic path to personal development and fulfillment rather than as a lifelong burden.”

Expounding further, he said, we approach love, marriage and family as an adventure which implies growth and development, setbacks and failures, always with the presence of the grace of God which keeps us walking in the right direction.--By Vincent D’Silva

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