VATICAN CITY, JUNE 1, 1999  (ZENIT).- In his address to the Bishops of Cameroon, present in Rome for their visit "ad limina apostolorum," John Paul II took up the question of priestly celibacy, its reasons and its meaning.

"Let your priests not be discouraged!" he began by saying, understanding that fidelity to the priestly vocation is not easy. "In contemporary society there are many obstacles to faithfully living the commitments made on the day of ordination; there are also many obstacles that impede thinking of the priesthood as a service to God, the Church, and the world."

In order to understand the priestly vocation, it is necessary to think of the priesthood as a "total gift of self." This total self-giving has its clearest expression in "celibacy, which is a grace from the Lord that all priests must make efforts to live," the Holy Father said.

Priestly celibacy, according to the Pontiff, provides the men and women of our time with "a testimony of undivided consecration to the mission entrusted to them and a living sign of the world to come, which is already present among us through faith and charity."

The Pope also offered advice to the Bishops in the event of priests having problems living their promise. The Bishops should be "brothers attentive to the difficulties" of their priests, always "ready to welcome them and to trust them," supporting them in their efforts for a holy life which, in the end, "is the most eminent way of giving testimony to the faithful."