668 Acta, Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale

Naturally, t ha t teaching should be placed in the wider context of the whole Christian approach to suffering, whereby "the redemptive value of suffering, accepted and offered to God with love, derives from the sacrifice of Christ himself, who calis the members of his Mystical Body to share in his sufferings, to complete them in their own flesh 1 8 " . 1 9 Indeed, in a so­ ciety which often values people more for what they "do" or "have" than for who they "are", the Church must continue to implement the Gospel parable of the Good Samaritan. Her pastoral activity "for" and "with" the infirm ought to be solidly grounded on the affirmation that , because we are all created in the image and likeness of God, 2 0 we enjoy an indestruc­ tible personal dignity which is not lessened by pain or serious illness. 2 1

The witness of a convincing solidarity with the suffering and the dying should be the normal mark of a society genuinely on the side of life.

6. Dear Brothers: integrai to our prophétie mission as heralds of "the t ru th of the Gospel" 2 2 is the challenge to proclaim the Church's full teach­ ing on the responsible transmission of human life within marriage. I note with satisfaction your Conference's statement entitled "Human Sexuality from God's Perspective", marking the twenty-fìfth anniversary of the En­ cyclical Humanae vitae, This is an opportune moment for you to increase your efforts to restore respect for God's wise and loving plan for human sexuality. With admirable clarity, my predecessor Pope Paul VI reaf- firmed the Church's constant tradition of "the inseparable connection, willed by God and unable to be broken by man on his own initiative, between the two meanings of the conjugal act: the unitive meaning and the procreative meaning". 2 3 A fully consistent ethic of life requires a con- certed effort by Bishops, moral theologians and pastors of soûls to help the faithful to understand more clearly tha t conjugal fulfilment is linked to respect for the intrinsic meaning and purpose of human sexuality.

An enormous challenge awaits you in proclaiming-in a way tha t is convincing and supporti ve-the beauty and splendour of true conjugal love. As Shepherds you must be watchful tha t the word of God in its full- ness is faithfully taught. When necessary, you must take the "appropriate

1 8 Cf. Col 1:24. 1 9 Redemptoris missio, 78. 2 0 Cf. Gen 1:27. 21 Cf. Christifideles laici, 37. 2 2 Gal 2:14. 2 3 Humanae vitae, 12.