Among the bishops who met the Holy Father, 5 are spiritual Sons of Don Bosco: mgr. Biord Castillo, bishop of La Guaira; Msgr. Parravano Marino, auxiliary bishop of Caracas; Msgr. Gonzáles Pérez, bishop of Guasdualito; and the apostolic vicar of Puerto Ayacucho and the apostolic vicar emeritus, respectively, mgr. Reyes Sequera and Msgr. Divassón Cilveti.
"We were confirmed in our apostolic ministry and as pastors of our dioceses of Venezuela by Pope Francis. It was a wonderful experience," said Msgr. Mario Moronta, first vice-president of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference and bishop of the diocese of San Cristóbal.
"He asked us to continue doing our work. He was struck by the fact that in all our relations we speak in the name of the Venezuelan people and not of a group: We speak in the name of God's people. He asked us to reaffirm with concrete gestures, in the midst of the crisis, the sense of belonging and of service to the people; in a special way towards the most needy," added Msgr. Moronta.
Among the topics of the conversation, at the center was "the situation we are experiencing and that challenges us, to reaffirm our commitment to work with priests and laity for the people."
There was also talk of formation in seminaries and of attention towards priests. Pope Francis reminded the bishops that "our first neighbor should be the priest". The Pontiff also urged the bishops to have "open eyes" on the prevention of pedophilia.
An important issue addressed was "the work we have carried out along the borders with priests and lay people," said the bishops, "through throughway houses and the delivery of over eight thousand free meals to migrants. The Pope encouraged us to continue to be the voice of hope."
The meeting ended with the hymn to the Virgin of Coromoto, and Msgr. Moronta also blessed the Pope on behalf of the Venezuelan people.
In a press conference, the bishops added that the Pope asked them to "maintain their closeness to the people" and to continue "always on the side of those who suffer the most."
