Pope tells religious that church still needs their prayers, service

Published: 2005-09-29

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church always has relied on the prayers, prophetic voice and dedicated service of religious priests, brothers and sisters and still needs them today, Pope Benedict XVI said. "There is not a human or ecclesial environment where they are not present, often silently, but always hardworking and creative," the pope said in a Sept. 29 message to members of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. "Certainly, consecrated life today is not without trials and difficulties, as is the case in other sectors of the church's life," the pope said in his message to members who were holding their plenary meeting at the Vatican. "But rather than list the difficulties that consecrated life encounters today, I want to confirm to all consecrated men and women the closeness, concern and love of the entire church," he said. Pope Benedict encouraged members of religious orders to continue responding to the Second Vatican Council's call to make following Christ their first priority, placing nothing before love of Christ.

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