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exists. In countries of other religious traditions,
or profoundly secularized countries, it will mean
sparking new processes for evangelizing culture,
even though these will demand long-term plan-
ning. We must keep in mind, however, that we
are constantly being called to grow. Each culture
and social group needs purification and growth.
In the case of the popular cultures of Catholic
peoples, we can see deficiencies which need to
be healed by the Gospel: machismo, alcoholism,
domestic violence, low Mass attendance, fatalis-
tic or superstitious notions which lead to sorcery,
and the like. Popular piety itself can be the start-
ing point for healing and liberation from these
deficiencies.
70.âIt is also true that at times greater emphasis
is placed on the outward expressions and tradi-
tions of some groups, or on alleged private rev-
elations which would replace all else, than on the
impulse of Christian piety. There is a kind of
Christianity made up of devotions reflecting an
individual and sentimental faith life which does
not in fact correspond to authentic âpopular pi-
etyâ. Some people promote these expressions
while not being in the least concerned with the
advancement of society or the formation of the
laity, and in certain cases they do so in order to
obtain economic benefits or some power over
others. Nor can we overlook the fact that in
recent decades there has been a breakdown in
the way Catholics pass down the Christian faith
to the young. It is undeniable that many people
