Pope Francis yesterday told new bishops to be humble in their work and open to better ways of evangelising otherthan just 'the way it's always been'.
The Pope said: 'Do not be imprisoned by the nostalgia of having only one answer to apply in all cases.'
He added that 'discernment' is 'a creative process that is not limited to the application of methods. It is an antidote against rigidity, because the same solutions are not good everywhere.'
The message from Pope Francis came in an audience with participants in the annual training course for new bishops held in Rome and organised by the Congregation of Bishops and the Congregation of Eastern Churches, reported by the Catholic News Agency.
He stressed the need for humility. 'Remember that God was already present in your dioceses when you arrived and will still be there when you are gone,' he said.
'And, in the end, we will all be measured not on the accounting of our works but on the growth of God's work in the heart of the flock that we keep in the name of the "Shepherd and keeper of our souls".'
The Pope said that discernment requires humility and obedience. 'Humility with regard to your own projects. Obedience with regard to the Gospel, the ultimate standard; to the Magisterium, who guards it; to the norms of the universal Church, which serve it; and to the concrete situation of people," who are looking to draw from the Church what will be most fruitful to their salvation,' he said.
Bishops were urged to pray in order to discern. 'Only in the silence of prayer can one learn the voice of God, perceive the traces of his language, access his truth.'
