Despite demands, bishops must preach hope, pope says

Published: 2003-10-16

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The demands on a bishop's time and the tasks he must carry out are almost overwhelming today, but he still must go forward preaching hope to the world, Pope John Paul II said. "We need to become, for each and every person, in an outstanding and visible way, a living sign of Jesus Christ, teacher, priest and pastor," the pope wrote in a new apostolic exhortation to his brother bishops. The document, "Pastores Gregis" ("Shepherds of the Flock"), was the pope's response to the 2001 world Synod of Bishops, which discussed the identity and role of the bishop in the church and in the world. Pope John Paul signed the document Oct. 16, "the 25th anniversary of my election to the pontificate," during a Vatican ceremony with cardinals and bishops from around the world.

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