In this connection, We express Our paternal gratitude to all those priests who, even at considerable sacrifice, have helped and still help their brethren, especially the sick and aged. By acting in this manner, they give a shining proof of that mutual charity which Jesus Christ has laid down as the distinctive mark of His disciples: “By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”.90Ioann., XIII, 35. We trust that these ties of brotherly love will become ever closer among priests of all nations so that it may become ever more obvious that they, ministers of God the Universal Father, are united by the bond of charity, wherever they live.
But you well understand that such a problem cannot be adequately resolved unless the faithful feel the obligation to help the clergy according to their ability and to take every step needed to achieve this end.