Madrid, Spain, Nov 5, 2010 / 23:08 pm
Bishop Jose Ignacio Munilla of San Sebastian asked Pope Benedict XVI to confirm Spain in her faith during his Nov. 6 – 7 visit. “In the Catholic Church, the Pope is the guarantor of our unity in the faith – or said differently – he is the one who confirms us in the faith,” the bishop said.
In his message titled, “Benedict, Confirm us in the faith!” Bishop Munilla explained that the “channel through which we receive God’s revelation is twofold,” through both “Tradition and Scripture.”
“The authentic interpretation of revelation is a mission entrusted to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him.”
The Pope's main role is the “work of unity,” Bishop Munilla said. However, he noted that this task “is not the fruit of human strategy, but rather is a response to the will of Jesus Christ himself, such that the unity of the Church might become a sign that helps a divided and fractured humanity to believe.”
Bishop Munilla also referred to the Pope’s authority and his governance of the Church. “We are aware that at a time in which there is a crisis in our Western culture regarding the principle of authority, the authority of the Pope is not easily understood.”
The bishop thanked Pope Benedict XVI “for making every effort to confirm us in our faith.” Bishop Munilla then offered the Pontiff “our humble collaboration so that you can carry out the task entrusted to you by Christ: Tend my sheep.”