Pope Francis to Bishops: “Never get tired of being the advocate of life"

By Edward Pentin | Pope Francis’ homily this morning appeared directed towards the German episcopate, as well as his official address that he gave the country's bishops today at the end of their ad limina visit.
Some wonderful words this morning from Pope Francis homily:
The Pope further reminded the bishops that the Church must “never get tired of being the advocate of life, and should never step back from proclaiming that human life must be protected unconditionally from conception to natural death.”
Any compromise on this issue, he added, “makes one guilty of being part of a ‘throwaway culture,’” in a society where the suffering of the weakest and most defenseless — the unborn, the elderly, and the sick — have left their wounds. “All of us in the end will suffer the painful consequences,” he said.
He told the bishops to highlight the importance of Confession during the Year of Mercy, which can help “reform the Church”, and to stress the “intimate connection” between the Eucharist and the priesthood. The “precious collaboration” of the laity cannot be a “surrogate” for the priesthood. “If there is not priest, there is no Eucharist,” the Pope said.
Read more here: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/pope-warns-of-erosion-of-faith-in-germany-worldliness-in-the-church/