Pope tells U.S. bishops to be holy, imitate poverty of Christ

Published: 2004-04-29

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II told U.S. bishops that their effectiveness as church leaders rests on an attitude of service and a witness of personal holiness. That includes adopting a lifestyle that "imitates the poverty of Christ" so that the church can better identify with the struggles and suffering of the poor, he said. The pope made the remarks in a talk April 29 to a group of 13 bishops from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands. The bishops were on their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican, a series of consultative meetings made every five years. The pope, who met with each bishop earlier in the week for individual talks, pronounced only a few paragraphs of his text, which focused on the bishop's sanctifying role. He said the universal call to holiness applies in a particular way to a bishop, who should act as a "spiritual father" and a herald of the Gospel.

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