Dear brother priests!
The International Meeting "Parish Priests for the Synod" and the dialogue with those who took part in it, are an opportunity for me to remember in my prayers all the parish priests of the world, to whom I address these words with great affection. The Church could not move forward without your commitment and service. This is so obvious that to say it seems almost banal, but that doesn't make it any less true. That's why I want above all to express my gratitude and esteem for the generous work you do every day, sowing the Gospel in every kind of soil (cf. Mk 4:1-25).
As you are experiencing in these days of sharing, the parishes in which you minister are found in very different contexts: from those on the outskirts of megalopolises - I've known them personally in Buenos Aires - to those, vast as provinces, in the least densely populated regions; from those in the urban centers of many European countries, where ancient basilicas are home to ever smaller and older communities, to those where we celebrate under a large tree and where birdsong mingles with the voices of many children...
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