LIBERATE THE CONSECRATED LIFE BY LIBERATING HOPE
[A summary of the intervention]

Holy Father, Your Most Reverend Emminences, Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters
May the Lord give you peace!

I speak in the name of the Union of Superiors General and refer to number 92 of the Instrumentum Laboris where it speaks of Consecrated persons as "a living proclamation of the Gospel of hope".

My intervention is inspired by the meaningful encounter between a Bishop and a believer of the XIII century. I refer to Francis of Assisi, who, following the Gospel sine glossa, initiated an original form of Consecrated Life (CL), and to Bishop Guido of Assisi to whom Francis entrusted himself with confidence. And the Bishop, aware that the voice of the Spirit was at the heart of this "revolution", became his friend; he even accompanied him to Rome, to the "Lord Pope", for the approval of his way of life.

Save hope by saving the prophecy of the CL
In the desire to share in the humility and poverty of Jesus of Nazareth, Francis experienced the misunderstanding and opposition of his father and fellow citizens that developed into a public process. Bishop Guido was present and, with the confidence of a father, strengthened the hope of a new life expressed by Francis, covering him with his mantel and taking this new "poor man of Christ" under his authority.

The consecrated are witnesses to hope, in the Church and in the world, since with their style of life they show the primacy of the Kingdom that is already present and functioning. To save the prophecy of the CL is the duty of all in the Church; it should be of common interest. The CL, in fact, like the life of Jesus, is of the order of prophecy before that of service.

Protect hope by protecting the foundations of the CL
The movement born of Francis spread quickly, with a surprising growth in the number of Friars. This provoked not a few difficulties and various problems arouse, but Bishop Guido did not become demoralised. He continued to accompany the "original" group without toning down their creativity. Having obtained, in fact, the approval of the forma vitae, the Friars, two by two, spread out all over Italy and the world, presenting themselves first of all to the Bishops, "fathers and lords of their soul", offering a witness of service, reconciliation and minority lived in fraternity.

Liberate hope liberating the potentiality of the CL
The radical nature of the CL is the reason for them not having fixed roots that are not in God, so that it becomes part of their nature not to allow themselves be tied in to schemes that are defined once and for all.

The Bishop, sign of hope, has the obligation to animate the life of the religious communities of his Diocese towards creativity, the acceptance of risks in new types of presence, of new ministries; to encourage them to take paths along which only a truly Gospel charity can move; to stimulate their presence in places of break-down, of tension and division, just like Francis of Assisi who, unarmed, went to meet the Sultan Malek-El-Kamil and succeeded in dialoguing with him while the Crusade armies were occupied only with overwhelming the enemy. A prophetic gesture like this remains a sign of hope for everyone in all times because it does not try to offer an automatic or simplistic solution to a problem, but opens up fresh horizons that can be transformed into new ways of dialogue and reconciliation.

St. Francis is a result of this spiritual dynamic: obedience to the Spirit and to the Church. Where Institution and Charism meet, it is not necessary to wait long for the miracles of God.

Thanking all the Bishops for the service of hope that they have given and give so generously to all Consecrated persons, as Bishop Guido gave to the Poverello of Assisi, I hope that the Spirit will again today give to the Church prophets and prophetic communities as signs of hope along the path of the Kingdom.

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