Pope Francis delivered a text titled the “Beatitudes of the Bishop” to members of the Italian Bishops' Conference.
The message was originally written by the Archbishop of Naples. After Pope Francis read it, he decided to share the text with the over 200 bishops gathered in Rome in a plenary assembly. It reflects the Pope's idea of how bishops worldwide should lead their lives as pastors in today's world.
POPE FRANCIS
'A short text. You each have it, they are the Beatitudes of the Bishop. I found them by chance.'
Among those in the document are:
Blessed is the bishop who makes poverty and sharing his lifestyle.
Blessed is the bishop who considers his ministry a service and not a power.
Blessed is the bishop who does not shut himself up in administrative buildings and becomes a bureaucrat.
The Pope's message applies not only to the Italian bishops, but to each of the more than 5,000 Catholic bishops around the world.
JM
