| 16 - 15.10.2012 SUMMARY
- ELEVENTH GENERAL CONGREGATION (MONDAY, OCTOBER 15 2012 - MORNING)
- FILM: BELLS OF EUROPE
- EXHIBITION ON THE OCCASION OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS
- NOTICES
- ERRATA CORRIGE
ELEVENTH GENERAL CONGREGATION (MONDAY, OCTOBER 15 2012 - MORNING)
- INTERVENTIONS IN THE HALL (CONTINUATION)
Today, Monday, October 15, 2012, in memory of Saint Theresa of Jesus, virgin , doctor of the Church, Discalced Carmelite, at 9:00 a.m, in the presence of the Holy Father, with the chant of the Hour of Terce, the Eleventh General Congregation began for the continuation of the interventions by the Synod Fathers in the Hall on the Synodal theme: «The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith».
President delegate on duty H. Em. Card. John TONG HON, Bishop of Hong Kong (CHINA).
At the end of the Congregation, the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops His Exc. Msgr. Nikola ETEROVIC, Titular Archbishop of Cibale (VATICAN CITY) presented the Holy Father a volume on the X Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which was celebrated in 2001 on the theme: The Bishop: Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Hope of the World. The Holy Father donated a copy to each of the Synodal Fathers and Participants to this Assembly.
At this General Congregation, which ended at 12:30 am with the prayer of Angelus Domini 251 Fathers were present.
INTERVENTIONS IN THE HALL (CONTINUATION)
The following Fathers intervened:
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Josip BOZANIĆ, Archbishop of Zagreb (CROATIA)
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Antonio Maria VEGLIÒ, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (VATICAN CITY)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Luigi NEGRI, Bishop of San Marino-Montefeltro (ITALY)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Vincenzo PAGLIA, Archbishop-Bishop Emeritus of Terni-Narni-Amelia, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family (VATICAN CITY)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Francis Xavier Kriengsak KOVITHAVANIJ, Archbishop of Bangkok (THAILAND)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Jean-Baptiste TIAMA, Bishop of Sikasso, President of the Episcopal Conference (MALI)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Olivier SCHMITTHAEUSLER, M.E.P., Titular Bishop of Catabum castra, Vicar Apostolic of Phnom-Penh (CAMBODIA)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Dominique REY, Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon (FRANCE)
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Lluís MARTÍNEZ SISTACH, Archbishop of Barcelona (SPAIN)
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Francesco COCCOPALMERIO, President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (VATICAN CITY)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Eusebio RAMOS MORALES, Bishop of Fajardo-Humacao (PUERTO RICO)
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Angelo SCOLA, Archbishop of Milano (ITALY)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Taras SENKIV, O.M., Titular Bishop of Siccenna, Auxiliary Bishop, Protosyncellus and Apostolic Administrator "ad Nutum Sanctae Sedis" of Stryj of Ukrainians (UKRAINE)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Stanisław GĄDECKI, Archbishop of Poznań (POLAND)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Sebastian Francis SHAW, O.F.M., Titular Bishop of Tino, Apostolic Administrator of Lahore (PAKISTAN)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Joseph ABSI, of the Missionary Society of St.Paul, Titular Archbishop of Tarsus of the Greek-Melkites, Auxiliary Bishop and Protosyncellus of Damas of the Greek-Melkites (SYRIA)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Alexander Thomas KALIYANIL, S.V.D., Archbishop of Bulawayo (ZIMBABWE)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Berhaneyesus Demerew SOURAPHIEL, C.M., Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Abeba, President of the Episcopal Conference of Etiopia and Eritrea, President of the Council of the Ethiopian Church (ETHIOPIA)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Filipe Neri António Sebastião DO ROSÁRIO FERRÃO, Archbishop of Goa and Damão (INDIA)
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Antonio María ROUCO VARELA, Archbishop of Madrid, President of the Episcopal Conference (SPAIN)
- H. Em. Rev. Card. John NJUE, Archbishop of Nairobi, President of the Episcopal Conference (KENYA)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Beatus KINYAIYA, O.F.M. Cap., Bishop of Mbulu (TANZANIA)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Dominic Ryōji MIYAHARA, Bishop of Fukuoka (JAPAN)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. William SLATTERY, O.F.M., Archbishop of Pretoria, Military Ordinary for South Africa (SOUTH AFRICA)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Virgil BERCEA, Bishop of Oradea Mare, Gran Varadino of the Romanians (ROMANIA)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. John WONG SOO KAU, Archbishop Coadjutor of Kota Kinabalu (MALAYSIA)
The summaries of the interventions are published below:
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Josip BOZANIĆ, Archbishop of Zagreb (CROATIA)
In my intervention I specifically refer to the roots of the inestimable gift of faith. And I ask in what way is it born, does it live and grow the credibility of a witness of faith.
Since the beginning of the Church and Christianity, the treasure of faith has found the highest as well as most fertile manifestation in the courageous witness of martyrs.
The profession and confession of faith is tangible, in fact, in the lives given by pastors, by priests, religious men and women; but also - this must be emphasized strongly - by the lay faithful, their families. All, the ones and the others, humble and courageous witnesses who show - through their martyrdom - the place where an authentic faith arises and grows: the heart and the life of who falls in love with Christ.
In the recent history of the Church in Europe, but also in other places throughout the world, there are witnesses and experiences of this martyrdom which arose even as icons of holiness: and the liturgical memory which the Church celebrates with veneration is the eternal sign that martyrdom is always the most explicit and convincing form of transmission of the faith.
I would also like to call attention to the new forms of martyrdom, bloodless but still suffered, which are present and demanded today in the context of a globalized world.
A question we might ask ourselves as Church, and ask the faithful of our communities, as a Church on the path, would be if we know how to be close to Christian witness that faces the challenges of todays world.
In fact, there is an inescapable question which we must all ask ourselves: Where does our non-credibility become counter-witness for others?
In fact, the faith should never be closed within the private dimension, because the Christians witness is by its very nature public.
Even the pilgrimages become a natural way for man, sharing the dimension of the homo religiosus with the homo ritualis, with the Christian proposal.
All this can be seen, in a special way, in the Marian sanctuaries, frequent places for pilgrimages. Where the faithful, above all, come close to the sacrament of reconciliation: and thus live an authentic path of conversion.
Finally, the importance and the necessity to increase the value of the extraordinary culture born from Christian roots.
[00240-02.02] [IN175] [Original text: Italian]
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Antonio Maria VEGLIÒ, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (VATICAN CITY)
The topic of human mobility offers significant possibilities for new evangelization, since it presents men and women, young and old, marked by meaningful life experiences, projects, insecurities and sufferings, which shed light on the most pressing questions of their existence, and they feel the need to give meaning to their daily life. Faced with profound questions, the faith is shown to be an answer that interprets, illuminates and fills them with meaning, and Christ appears as the ultimate key to an understanding of human life.
The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People wishes to underline the importance of the migratory phenomenon and, with it, the entire issue of human mobility. This offers the Church new opportunities for evangelization. With reference to those who do not know Christ and who establish themselves in countries of Christian tradition, there is the challenge of offering them the Kerigma. On the other hand, those who have been evangelized in their country of origin need pastoral accompaniment that helps them remain firm in the faith, while they may in turn become evangelizers.
The migratory phenomenon also places in discussion the welcoming communities, obliging them not only to review the proposals of evangelization, but also putting the very faith of its members to the test, in particular at the moment of proclaiming it to others.
With regard to the indissoluble relationship between the love for God and love for ones neighbor, the presence of mobile persons has also required a supportive response from the Church, at the same time an evangelizer, since charity proclaims and bears witness to faith (Benedict XVI, Caritas in veritate, 15). The sphere of suffering and solidarity presents itself as a space for dialogue with the world and an area for testimony of the faith, where charity is the fundamental tool for the new evangelization.
The principal challenge is to know how to link these two inseparable aspects, explicit evangelization and human promotion, avoiding the reduction of our action to just one of these, or satisfying ourselves with a simple silent testimony or implicit evangelization.
In effect, among pastoral workers in this sector there is growing awareness that both social attention and explicit evangelization form part of the mission entrusted to them.
In the context of human mobility, pilgrimage is also a field favorable to the new evangelization. During recent decades, we have become aware of this possibility, passing from a devotional practice to a pastoral of pilgrimage, discovering that this moment becomes an opportunity for the renewal of the faith and also for a first evangelization. In this sense, I would underline five ideas that may be considered more deeply: first of all, it is necessary to make use of the appeal that characterizes pilgrimage to sanctuaries; then we must attend to the pastoral care of welcoming mobile peoples; to ensure synchronicity on the questions that emerge from the heart of the pilgrim; to take into consideration that our proposal must be faithful to the Christian characteristic of pilgrimage, without reductionism; and finally, to help the pilgrim to discover that his or her path has a precise destination.
For all of this, the current phenomenon of human mobility certainly appears to be a providential opportunity to proclaim the Gospel to the contemporary world.
[00243-02.04] [IN178] [Original text: Italian]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Luigi NEGRI, Bishop of San Marino-Montefeltro (ITALY)
The Church has never contrasted atheistic ideology with a religious ideology, but rather the life of the Christian people in witness of the Risen Lord. In the even minimal spaces allowed by dictatorships, the Christian people have always cried out the beauty of the faith, the intensity of hope, the force of charity.
So there never has been the need for a hypotheses of mediation to decide in which spaces the Church could be a presence: it has only been the case of beginning to make Christianity.
New evangelization means to re-propose the event of faith as an explicit certitude of the presence of Jesus in the life of the Church, which is the educational instrument where faith is consolidated and directs living the mission as true self-realization. Faith thus becomes culture, critical enthusiasm of the faith, the ability for dialogue within the horizon of charity. This implies a reasoning that is open to reality, alien to a techno-scientistic usage aimed at possessing it.
New evangelization is the flow of life that takes on different forms of recognition, worthiness, correction when necessary, propitiating their encounter in the life of the Church. The action of the Spirit is what must be supported and which cannot be substituted with human projects.
[00134-02.03] [IN103] [Original text: Italian]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Vincenzo PAGLIA, Archbishop-Bishop Emeritus of Terni-Narni-Amelia, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family (VATICAN CITY)
In his opening homily, the Holy Father underlined: Matrimony is a Gospel in itself, a Good News for the world of today because it is based upon the grace that comes from the triune God. The union between man and woman speaks strongly about God. It is a Good News because it answers the rooted need for an inscribed family, from its origins, deep within man and woman. God said: It is not right that the man should be alone. I shall make him a helper (Gen 2:18). Man is nothing by himself: everything relies on inter-dependence. Yet, so much of Western history has been conceived as the liberation from any tie, even family ties. The explosion of the family seems like the number one problem of todays society, even if few realize this. This does not hold true for the Church, truly an expert in humanity, as Paul VI said. We cannot be silent. And not because we are conservative or defenders of an obsolete institution. The stability itself of society is at stake. Of course, it is urgent, very urgent, for a more careful cultural reflection for the Family to become the center of politics, of economy, of culture, and a more attentive strategy to defend its rights on national and international levels. Another aspect must be underlined. While being a minority, there are many Christian families that live, even heroically, faithfulness and marital and familial commitment. This extraordinary light of love should be placed in the candelabra so that it may illuminate and warm this world of ours so saddened and blurred. The Church must become more the family of families, even the wounded ones, living a mutual movement of give and take. What is opened here is the broad spectrum of the family as the subject of evangelization. John Paul II asserted: the future of evangelization largely depends on the domestic church. Experience tells us that the Church attracts if it is truly lied in a familial way. And if we find pastoral infertility in so many corners of the world, isnt it because we have become more of an institution than a family? Living the Church in a familial way and the family as a small church - is the challenge of a Church of Communion, the one hoped for by Vatican Council II - even today we will taste the joy of the first Christian community when day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved (Act 2:47).
[00153-02.02] [IN122] [Original text: Italian]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Francis Xavier Kriengsak KOVITHAVANIJ, Archbishop of Bangkok (THAILAND)
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Thailand is of the opinion that it is necessary that all the Bishops, priests, men and women religious and the laity be concretely revived in faith and Christian life aiming at Discipleship and sharing the Good News with regards to the teaching of the Church, liturgy, life of prayers and continuous formation, using the means of BEC (Basic Ecclesial Communities) through coordination of the various Catholic entities and the CBCT commissions especially the Episcopal Commission for Pastoral Care of the Christians. The parochial community will enable the BEC to be the sign of active life of a parish which will be a new community, communion of communities, based on the culture of love and will become a good approach for the pastoral care and evangelization Ad gentes.
The Catholic Church in Thailand is amid our brothers and sisters of other faiths. The Church is essentially the sign and instrument of announcing the Kingdom of God and all the disciples of Christ are called to announce and share the Good News to both those who have not yet heard and those who are not yet in the same sheepfold. The appropriate way to bring about mutual understanding in society is through the Interreligious Dialogue which is the way suitable for our new evangelization.
In the context of multiple cultures in Asia the dialogue with respect will widen the venue of mutual listening to the religious experiences and mutual collaboration. The Catholic faithful through the Basic Ecclesial Community, therefore, filled with faith, love and hope will be able to enter into the dialogue not only, with our Christian brothers and sisters of various denominations, but also with the Buddhists, the majority of the population in Thailand, to cooperate and together create true unity and peace in Thai society. And with the Risen Lord in the midst of two or three, united in His name, we Catholic faithful in Thailand, can share God's love to everyone.
[00167-02.03] [IN130] [Original text: English]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Jean-Baptiste TIAMA, Bishop of Sikasso, President of the Episcopal Conference (MALI)
Mali is a Sahelian country located in Western Africa, with a population of 15 million in habitants and a majority of agri-pastoral people. Of this population, we estimate that 3 to 5 % are Christians with a majority of Muslims going from 80% in the South to 100% in the northern area.
The socio-political situation was peaceful and stable from 1991 up until December 2011. From January 17th 2012, the rebellion in the North of the country, helped by the Islamist movements armed and supported by Al Qaeda, disturbed this peace. Today this movement occupies 2/3 of the country and threatens democracy and the existence of other religions. It extols the establishment of Islamic law in the entire country.
It is in this context that the Church pursues new evangelization understood as the rooting of the faith of the faithful and passing the witness of the Mission between foreign Missionaries and autochthonous pastors. Since 1988, the celebration of the centennial of the presence of missionaries, the Church has made an effort to participate in the material and human responsibilities, for the formation of local pastors and animators of the communities, the elaboration of documents of catechesis, the inculturation of the liturgy, to reinforce what was acquired in the first evangelization.
The Church makes an effort to elaborate pastoral plans, creating new parishes and putting into place Christian base living and dynamic communities for the witness and the proclamation. The strong points of this initiative are:
- Formation of local pastors and laity (creation of seminaries and centers of formation);
- Translation of the Word of God in the local languages to make them more accessible and organizing sessions of Biblical formation for the laity;
- The elaboration of a program of catechesis.
[00168-02.02] [IN131] [Original text: French]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Olivier SCHMITTHAEUSLER, M.E.P., Titular Bishop of Catabum castra, Vicar Apostolic of Phnom-Penh (CAMBODIA)
The Khmer Rouge genocide killed bishops, priests, religious persons and the majority of Christians. For twenty years now, we are living a new time of the Acts of the Apostles with a first announcement of the Good News ensured by the small group of survivors, supported by the massive arrival of missionaries. Today we have about 200 adult baptisms each year... The small Church of Cambodia is in some ways a laboratory for evangelization in a Buddhist world, fully entered into a process of secularization driven by globalization a bit like the Asian dragons. The Ad Extra Mission is intimately tied to the Ad Intra Mission. Ad Extra and Ad Intra are mutually enriched by stimulating each other with the same and unique Mission of Evangelization!
Some meaningful points for a first proclamation of Jesus Christ and which may be extended also to a reflection about new evangelization.
Two fundamentals:
1. The true encounter with Jesus Christ opens the heart to charity and to the experience of forgiveness to lead to the discovery of the gift of life.
2. The laity are apostles in this world (apostolicam actuositatem).
How can the Church be the sacrament of Christ in the world for a new evangelization in actions and in truth?
1. A Church that touches the heart
2. A simple Church
3. A Church Hospital
4. A Church in prayer
5. A joyful Church.
[00169-02.02] [IN132] [Original text: French]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Dominique REY, Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon (FRANCE)
Evangelizations finality is the conversion of men, in other words, embracing the novelty of Christ (cf. Instrumentum laboris, no. 24). This conversion begins within the Church through the pastoral changes to be carried out. For the countries of ancient Christianity this means going from a traditional Christianity to a Christianity of personal adhesion to Jesus Christ and missionary involvement.
This pastoral conversion concerns all the baptized and all the actors of ecclesial life, but especially the pastors: bishops and priests. For the new evangelization to not be merely a slogan or a catalogue of actions to be taken, to not be asphyxiated by immobility, bureaucracy or clericalism, the pastors must be better prepared in the practice of the pastoral governing.
1. This conversion of the pastors first points out a task of personal sanctification.
2. This conversion must be followed by a deeper re-reading of the Council texts and the Magisterium of the Church, to be able to penetrate an ecclesial and theological intelligence of missionary renewal, of which he is the minister.
3. This conversion also calls for an apprenticeship on the new way of practicing pastoral responsibility: to place the direct proclamation of faith at the head of the ordinary pastoral, to promote a catechesis of initiation of the catechumenal type for beginners and those starting again and proper apologetic paths, to develop an ecclesiology of communion that allows the complementarity of the states of life and embraces the charisms, to favor the creation of places of welcome and of dialogue open to spiritual expectations, to incite the witness of charity in Christians.
4. Finally, the new evangelization calls for a new style of pastoral life (Pastores dabo vobis, no. 18) for priests and for bishops.
[00170-02.02] [IN133] [Original text: French]
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Lluís MARTÍNEZ SISTACH, Archbishop of Barcelona (SPAIN)
The Archdiocese of Barcelona has lived a highly evangelistic event. The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to dedicate the Basilica of the Holy Family, which has energized the diocesans with a new passion for announcing the Gospel. The celebration, along with eleven other European cities, the Missio Metropolis, and the Atrio de los Gentiles, events that have opened our diocesan Church to a new style of announcing Jesus and his Gospel.
Relevant aspects in order for the New Evangelization:
l. Focus on the rediscovering of the Gospel with its announcement and its center which is Jesus Christ, able to appeal to people today.
2. Pay special attention to the laity, which already has a long and fruitful tradition in the Church of Barcelona.
3. To improve Sunday Mass so that it will be a benchmark for the New Evangelization.
4. Provide spaces, moments and movements for spirituality and personal Christian experience among the laity.
5. Encourage pastoral reflections of faithful reading of the reality we live in and the signs of the times on our world and the challenges that occur to be really a New Evangelization.
[00171-02.02] [IN134] [Original text: Spanish]
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Francesco COCCOPALMERIO, President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (VATICAN CITY)
I would like to draw your attention to a point that, to my mind, seems to have received little consideration. The great obstacle to the new evangelization is certainly the division between Christians. I would therefore present the issue through the formulation of this question: in carrying out the task of the new evangelization, would it be possible to consider some form of co-operation between the Catholic Church and the other Churches and ecclesial Communities?
I believe that an affirmative answer must be given to this question.
The commitment to the new evangelization, in the ancient Christian countries, requires a renewed relationship between the Catholic Church and the other Churches and ecclesial Communities. If this is true in every part of the world, it is even more so in Europe. The division between Christians is anyway not entirely innocent in terms of the de-christianization of the Old Continent and also in relation to its current political and cultural weakness in the gathering of the nations. Concerted commitment among Christians to a new evangelization therefore becomes a priority.
Without wishing to confront the entire and complex question, I will limit myself to underlining the urgency in the context of the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches: among the latter, I consider contacts with the Orthodox Russian Church and the Orthodox Romanian Church to be particularly pressing.
Unlike in past decades - those of Communist oppression - the peoples of the East now find themselves facing a new social and cultural situation which brings them closer to the peoples of the West. Consumerism and relativism have, also for these people, become the subtle poison that pushes them towards a devastating secularization. The Orthodox Russian Church, for example, is called upon to face the new condition of the younger generations, who are lacking in ideals and who risk being swallowed up by the invasion of consumerism.
This is why it is urgent to hypothesize moments of common reflection or even a simple structure of connection and collaboration between the Churches for a pastoral strategy that may lead the different Christian traditions to revitalize and render more effective their missionary work. And the tradition of the Catholic Church can certainly be of significant stimulus and support, above all for the orthodox Churches.
At the same time, civil society in Europe has an extreme need for consistency among Christians, also in relation to the great ethical and social challenges that it must face at the beginning of this millennium. More organic attention from this new perspective would appear more urgent than ever. There is already a link between CCEE and KEK. There is the recent agreement between the Catholic Church in Poland and the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow. I ask myself, therefore, why we should not reinforce our commitment precisely in the context of the new evangelization.
It would therefore seem very evident that a great ecumenical advantage would derive from such cooperation, and it would greatly consolidate the front of the forces fighting against secularization. It would also present an extraordinary sign to Islam.
[00172-02.04] [IN135] [Original text: Italian]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Eusebio RAMOS MORALES, Bishop of Fajardo-Humacao (PUERTO RICO)
This Synodal Assembly on new evangelization is looked upon with joyful hope in Puerto Rico. We thank the Holy Father Benedict XVI to having called for this urgent and necessary Synod, to work on the serious problems that humanity is facing today and which are a challenge for the New Evangelization.
Before this Synodal Assembly, we would like to present the situation of the family as a vital institution of society and a seat of evangelization, while being questioned as well as immersed in a process of rapidly evolving transformation. The fact that a new culture is arising around this fundamental institution of society is certain, aside from the Gospel and Social Doctrine of the Church.
Today the family is not only discussed as a Christian model. In fact, there are also other circumstances that obey the ideological or private interests of some groups, which demand comparison to the institution of the family or in decrease its value. Certainly, there are families with difficult situations or in difficult conditions whom we must deal with on the pastoral and spiritual level. Therefore, the new evangelization is facing the family sphere, which requires missionary and pastoral urgency.
Pope John Paul II stated in the Familiaris Consortio that future evangelization largely depends on the domestic Church. In a speech to the families in 1994, he also said that it was the time of the family, called upon to assume a fundamental role in the task of new evangelization.
Therefore, the family being the patrimony of humanity, treasure of the people..., school of faith, gymnasium of human and civil values..., as stated by His Holiness Benedict XVI at Aparecida, we propose a priority for the family in the area of New Evangelization, before this Synodal Assembly.
[00173-02.02] [IN136] [Original text: Spanish]
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Angelo SCOLA, Archbishop of Milano (ITALY)
What are the constitutive dimensions that must not be lacking in evangelization? In the wake of the summary of the Acts of the Apostles (Ac 2:42, 46-47) we can identify four: 1. These remained faithful to... the breaking of bread and to the prayer: the Eucharist is the inexhaustible fount of community life. 2. These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, proclaimers of the Word of God in all areas of human existence. Saint Paul speaks of education in the mind of Christ (cf. 1Cor 2:16). Saint Maximus the Confessor describes it in this way: I too say I have the thought of Christ, that is, the thought that thinks according to Him and thinks of Him in all things. 3. They were faithful to communion: having Jesus Christ in common, Christians tended freely to share their existence with all their brothers. Communion, for the Christian, precedes all other things, it is an a priori necessity. 4. Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved: the mission of the Church is the thankful testimony that allows the joy at the encounter with Christ to shine through, a joy that becomes a yearning for all brothers to be saved. Not a method, but the method of the new evangelization consists of proposing a community life in which the conscious faithful regularly put into practice these four constitutive dimensions indicated in the Acts of the Apostles.
[00174-02.04] [IN137] [Original text: Italian]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Taras SENKIV, O.M., Titular Bishop of Siccenna, Auxiliary Bishop, Protosyncellus and Apostolic Administrator "ad Nutum Sanctae Sedis" of Stryj of Ukrainians (UKRAINE)
Todays man finds himself in an environment of cultural chaos, that deforms his comprehension of Truth and Goodness, and destines him to self-isolation and subjectivism. As a consequence of the consumeristic mentality there emerges a moral and religious relativism that is transformed into various forms of pseudo-religiosity and the unconscious opening of man to dialogue with divine transcendence in a religious act. These tendencies may be described as autonomous religiosity. In any case, all this may be considered as a space for evangelization.
Evangelization is the preaching of the word, which is the Word heard from God, and therefore it is a divine-human reality expressed in the form of an interpersonal dialogue. This dialogue of evangelization is the principle of the birth and growth of personal faith, as an experience of dialogue, with the help of which any personal alienation is overcome by the free relationship with God, with ones neighbor, with oneself. The aim of evangelization is to reanimate in man the essential need for God who saves, and to convince him that his life acquires meaning only through communion with Christ in the community of the Church, to convince him to open himself to the Savior where he needs to be saved.
The dialogue of evangelization must touch the deepest human expectations, their essence, the revelation of which may be very painful as it places man before the radical nature of a choice: the offer of salvation may not be reduced to the satisfaction of subjective desires, avoiding the possibility of substituting the hidden desire for salvation with the desire for psychological or material comfort.
It is therefore necessary to rediscover faith as the way of authentic relationships, in which the absolute dignity of others is affirmed. That faith has as its basis the Word that demands obedience, the reason for which is the love that anticipates its comprehension.
[00175-02.05] [IN138] [Original text: Italian]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Stanisław GĄDECKI, Archbishop of Poznań (POLAND)
Our youth today find themselves in an unsustainable condition. On the one hand, they are thrown long before the appropriate mental age into a world rich in information, knowledge, sensations, and opportunities for encounters, but on the other hand, they are left alone by adults on the path of their formation.
No other age has known the individual and mass freedom that is experienced by our young people. But this liberty does not correspond to any promise for the future, as the older generation has abandoned its educative role.
The current problem is the absence of care that adults show to the new generations. It is not that adults in general are not concerned about the future of their children, but rather that their concerns do not coincide with caring for them. The concerns of parents are not sufficient to offer support in the formation of their children. As in a sort of reversal of the Oedipus myth, it is the fathers who kill their offspring.
This situation requires an adequate response. Adults - in particular those who have drifted away from the Church - must reassume their responsibility.
In our diocese we have sought to help them in this, proposing a catechism for adults carried out by other adults. Inasmuch as the younger generations usually compare their faith with that of adults, baptized parents may again - for the love of their children - become their first and indispensable catechists.
Adult catechists, as witnesses of faith and bearers of the content of faith, are often better than priests at preparing other adults for their educative role.
This is not possible without the support of evangelizing communities, who may help evangelized persons (including non-baptized adults, who need to be led to an encounter with Christ, baptized adults, who have drifted from the faith, and the baptized who wish to deepen their faith).
The routes by which lost adults may arrive do not necessarily need to be through the parishes, but rather those areas with which they identify themselves: clubs, hospitals, prisons, homes for mothers with children, the parents of children preparing for their first communion or for baptism, places of human activity), as well as places of education (nursery, school, university, the worlds of culture and mass media).
[00176-02.05] [IN139] [Original text: Italian]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Sebastian Francis SHAW, O.F.M., Titular Bishop of Tino, Apostolic Administrator of Lahore (PAKISTAN)
The New Evangelization has been welcomed by the Church in Pakistan, hoping that through evangelization the Church will find willingness to accept the present realities objectively, and find concrete solutions to live the gospel of Christ today. In view of this, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Pakistan felt the need to translate the Catechism of the Catholic Church into Urdu, the national language, so that people may have access to the basics of our faith.
Before I share the activities planned for the New Evangelization I want to highlight that Pakistan is a predominantly Islamic country with a Blasphemy law. I would like to thank the Holy Father and many other Church and state leaders who intervened to save the life of Asia Bibi with regard to the false charges of blasphemy. Pakistans population is 180 million but only about 2% is Christian. As such, we cannot depend on any of our neighbouring countries, such as Afghanistan, India, Iran or China for faith formation programs.
For the New Evangelization, a healthy sense of human relationships as it was with Jesus is essential. However, a disposable sense of relationships as in consumerism dominates our daily lives today. For example the psyche behind the use of a tissue paper is very relevant in the sense that however expensive or perfumed the tissue paper may be, the relationship with it ends the moment you use it and throw it away; so, it is, unfortunately, the unconscious psyche that dominates our relationships today in families, parishes, places of work, etc.
In spite of the religious fundamentalist challenges to our Catholic faith in Pakistan, we in the Church through interreligious dialogue invite Islamic scholars and civil society, and other religious minorities to endeavor to build up a harmonious society in which all Pakistanis could live the common religious values which we profess together, such as justice, peace, respect for environment, good governance with reciprocal love and concern. Finally, I humbly request you to keep us in your prayers so that we the little flock of Christ in Pakistan may continue to be the beacon of faith for the transformation of people, culture and society, energized by the New Evangelization.
[00178-02.03] [IN141] [Original text: English]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Joseph ABSI, of the Missionary Society of St.Paul, Titular Archbishop of Tarsus of the Greek-Melkites, Auxiliary Bishop and Protosyncellus of Damas of the Greek-Melkites (SYRIA)
The Church is living in a pluralist context on the level of the entire world. Because of this a contact open to all possibilities arises. One of the results of this contact is the openness of some Muslims to Christianity, undoubtedly helped by todays means of communication. Some of them have even reached the point of discovering in Christ the loving face of God the Father.
Dealing with the new evangelization of the Western world in general, one must not lose sight that in the eyes of the Muslims, the de-Christianization of Europe has not taken away from this old Christian continent its Christian identity. The Muslims do not see the difference between Christians and Westerners, because they do not distinguish, themselves, between what is religious and what is political and social. What precedes the Westerners is perceived by the Muslims as preceding the Christians. Now, Western behavior, especially on the cultural and political level and in a general way, harms the religious and national sensitivity of the Muslims, their values, their ethics and their culture. Consequentially, this forms an obstacle to their openness to Christianity and to their possible evangelization.
The majority of Muslims are convinced that the relaxing of mores, the exploitation of weak and poor peoples, the disdain of the Muslim religion that they feel from Westerners, comes from Christians. What can be done to stop the Muslims from confusing Christianity and the West, Christians and Westerners, and to not feel ridiculed and frustrated? The Synod, in its configuration of new evangelization, should lean towards this question, to learn how to avoid, as much as possible, tensions and misunderstandings and what to do so that the Muslims may be more receptive with regards to the Church and to the Gospel.
[00198-02.04] [IN142] [Original text: French]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Alexander Thomas KALIYANIL, S.V.D., Archbishop of Bulawayo (ZIMBABWE)
Traditionally Zimbabwe is a Godfearing and a very religious-minded nation. All the various tribes here have deep belief in an almighty God. The nation highly values Christian principles in all its policies and programmes. However modern trends of local politics, secularism and freedom of individuals have diminished these sacred Christian principles. In the last 50 years or so many indigenous Christian churches have emerged which integrate Christian principles and traditional practices. These seem to attract more people than the traditional mainline churches especially due their approach to sickness, suffering and evil.
From 1980s the idea of church as a family has been greatly accepted with the introduction of Small Ecclesial Communities. There are also various associations for laity starting with the children to the elders which are very popular. People always have a sense of belonging to each other. Therefore these two approaches seem to be very effective in evangelizing. There are many new areas which still need primary evangelization. Catechists play a very vital role in this evangelisation process.
Challenges faced by the Church: conflict between cultural practices and faith; rise of indigenous churches; mushrooming of Pentecostal churches; politicisation of churches by the government;
materialism and secularism; lack of initiative by priests and religious; economic meltdown and migration; HIV and AIDS and sicknesses; tribal and ethnic divisions; lack of media freedom; incomplete families; Catholic institutions like schools and hospitals have lost their hold on faith.
The above mentioned challenges are an opportunity for us to rethink on our evangelising methods in Zimbabwe. The year of faith we are in is the right time to put in place measures to manage most of the abovementioned challenges. We are very confident that this year is going to be a start afresh to our pastoral approaches.
[00199-02.03] [IN143] [Original text: English]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Berhaneyesus Demerew SOURAPHIEL, C.M., Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Abeba, President of the Episcopal Conference of Etiopia and Eritrea, President of the Council of the Ethiopian Church (ETHIOPIA)
Small Christian Communities, established as the most local presence of the Catholic and Universal Church, share this same mission. Small Christian Communities provide an ideal pastoral context to establish and develop lay ministries. One of the most significant differences between traditional Catholic Associations and Small Christian Communities resides in the apostolic orientation of the latter.
Small Christian Communities are not built on the personal holiness of their members but in their humble availability for and faithfulness to their apostolic mission; personal holiness is a requirement and a consequence of the mission, not its final purpose. Small Christian Communities have an essential apostolic spirituality oriented to mission. Without mission, the Small Christian Community, as well as the universal Church, would be unfaithful to its very fundamental vocation of being a witness to the Gospel. This mission becomes a concrete reality with the establishment of lay ministries to be exercised in the restricted area of the community.
Lay Ministries, therefore, are not to be conceived as accessory or optional activities of the Small Christian Community in order to relieve the work of the priest. They are part and parcel of its life and growth and when ministries decline it is the whole life of the community that declines. Experience has shown enough what religious associations who are centered only in prayer and devotion can become: a sort of exclusive spiritual club for holy members only, more faithful to the minutiae prescribed by the handbook written by their founder than to the demands of Jesus in the Gospel.
The field is vast and open to pastoral creativity. However, in establishing new lay ministries, care must be taken that the dialogue, consultation and communion with the local Bishop is observed and that a periodical evaluation is performed lest a disparate variety of lay ministries conducted without a common vision and pastoral guidelines may result in creating disconcert and confusion among the people of God.
Such is the main challenge of the new evangelization. Though a relevant re-education of our Christian people is necessary in the field of lay ministries, it is not certainly from the side of our Christians that objections and resistance to them will come. Christians are eager to participate in a more active way in the life and growth of the Church.
[00200-02.03] [IN144] [Original text: English]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Filipe Neri António Sebastião DO ROSÁRIO FERRÃO, Archbishop of Goa and Damão (INDIA)
The Parish is the place where the faithful gather to grow in faith, live the mystery of ecclesial communion and take part in the Churchs mission (cf. EA 25). The Church in India has embraced A New Way of Being Church through Small Christian Communities. The faithful of a neighbourhood reflect collectively on the Word of God, pray together and act in solidarity for the integral development and authentic liberation of the human person. Experiencing conversion, growing in the personal encounter of Jesus and recognizing him in one another, the faithful place the various gifts and charisms of the Spirit at the service of the evangelizing mission of the Church and enter into a dialogue of life and action in their own places with people of other faiths. This calls for a new type of leadership, particularly from priests who, shunning all signs of dominating and arrogant attitudes, follow Jesus in humble, self-emptying, animating and encouraging leadership. Lay faithful are specifically called to seek the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and ordering them in the spirit of Christ according to the plan of God in the vast and complex arena of the socio-cultural spheres of our modern society. The pastors must ensure that the laity are formed as evangelizers able to face the contemporary challenges, not just with worldly wisdom and efficiency, but inspired by the truth of Christ (cf. EA 45). This needs a paradigm shift in our thinking and a radical reallocation of our resources.
[00201-02.03] [IN145] [Original text: English]
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Antonio María ROUCO VARELA, Archbishop of Madrid, President of the Episcopal Conference (SPAIN)
There is no way of getting away from the Sitz im Liben of the New Evangelization, if we want to apply and carry it out properly. Secularism is perhaps its most characteristic mark. The story of secularization which began in the 17th century culminated in the 20th century with the postulation of the death of God and the exaltation of the Superman. The two most terrifying totalitarianisms of the time - Communism and Nazism - like the two World wars are inexplicable without these two theses that went into crisis after 1945. Vatican Council II, called at that historic crossroads to update the doctrine and pastoral of the Church, opened the way for her to surpass herself ad intra and ad extra.
Nevertheless the revolution of 1968" relaunched it and radicalized it to the extreme of denying the dignity of every human being: the healthy offspring of a chimpanzee is worth more than a disabled child, according to a famous English-speaking anthropologist. Has the Church - bishops, priests, religious and lay people - been up to this challenge? Have they perhaps sometimes been influenced by the secular ideology? Has it not cost us sometimes showing what and who we are inside and outside of the public forum of history (Benedict XVI). The Holy Father called us to deworldification. We have to respond by examining our consciences and with the conversion of our hearts. Without this profoundly spiritual premise, the undertaking to evangelize would be pointless. Evangelized Church - evangelizing Church: this is John Paul IIs equation!
[00214-02.04] [IN160] [Original text: Spanish]
- H. Em. Rev. Card. John NJUE, Archbishop of Nairobi, President of the Episcopal Conference (KENYA)
There is little interest in religion and much less for the theme of the "true religion"; what seems to count are, rather, religious experiences. People are looking for different modalities of religion, selected by everyone taking up that which they find pleasing in the sense of ensuring for them that religious experience which they find more satisfying on the basis of their interests or needs at the moment.
Today, for a good number of people, God is not denied, but is unknown. Is it not necessary to examine, from this unique perspective, the present crisis in which society finds itself? It is time to throw open wide the doors of our Churches and to return to announcing the resurrection of Christ, whose witnesses we are. As the holy bishop Ignatius wrote, It is not enough to be called Christians; we must be Christians by our witness. If someone today wants to recognize Christians, he must be able to do so not on the basis of their intentions, but on the basis of their commitment in the faith. We have the duty to shape the whole of society with Christ's teachings and spirit.
The theology we teach and live today has to be a science of faith that tries to help human reason to grasp better the truth that is sustained by faith.
Faith and reason have to collaborate to make them more intelligible to the believer.
The theologians of our time have no choice but to be saints not just instructors of truth.
We need an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Savior of the world.
We need a Faith working through love (Gal 5:6).
The Creed must be that daily prayer offering a synthesis of faith known and lived.
Today we need to face honestly and courageously faith challenges which confront us.
We need to become aware of the great commitment which faith demands.
Hence, giving account of faith starts from the credibility of our living as believers and from the conviction that grace acts and transforms to the point of converting the heart. It is a journey which has to still find Christians committed to it after two thousand years of history. What I wish for and what I would like to hear from us today is a response to the question: What are you doing, my friend? each one of us would be able to reply: I am visibly growing in faith.
[00226-02.03] [IN163] [Original text: English]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Beatus KINYAIYA, O.F.M. Cap., Bishop of Mbulu (TANZANIA)
The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith Intervention on the laity and their duty to evangelize based on Instrumentum Laboris No.33-34, 82
Instrumentum Laboris No. 82 states that the Church has many resources at her service, the first of which is the great number of baptized lay people. Through their energy and faith, therefore, they should provide renewal in ecclesial settings.
In Africa, we have noticed growing hidden agenda to systematically remove the influence of the Church and her leadership from issues of public concern. Some of the new government legislations aimes at removing the Churchs role in education, health care, social services to the communities and a moral voice that defends fundamental values of the Gospel.
Give the situation, the lay people, whose particular vocation places them in the midst of the world and in charge of the most varied temporal tasks, must exercise their baptismal call to evangelize the vast and complicated world of politics, economics, culture, sciences and the arts, without forgetting the mass media. They have to evangelize:- the human love, the family, the education of children and adolescents, professionals and the suffering. The more Gospel-inspired lay people are engaged in these realities, the more these realities will be at the service of the Kingdom of God.
We the leaders have the duty to train them properly by having more pastoral centres and High Institutions of Learning, by having more local synods that will involve them in all stages, and by designing more programs of spiritual formation for them such as retreats and seminars. Also we have to encourage missionary spirit among them.
The world is a vast vineyard. The owner of the vineyard is the Lord and He invites every man, woman, and child to come into the vineyard and work it so as to make it produce the fruits of many good works. In the work of evangelization, it is upon the lay faithful to infuse a Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws and structure of the society in which they live. It is the laity who will permeate and perfect the temporal order of things with the spirit of the Gospel.
[00224-02.03] [IN146] [Original text: English]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Dominic Ryōji MIYAHARA, Bishop of Fukuoka (JAPAN)
Last year Japan was struck by a terrible earthquake and tsunami, which was followed by the nuclear incident. On that occasion, His Holiness Benedict XVI, international Caritas, numerous bishops conferences and people of good will from every country sent all sorts of aid and prayers, an expression of a cordial and sincere solidarity. I appreciate, then, this occasion to thank His Holiness and the whole world, in the name of the Japanese Bishops Conference.
Underlining this social situation of recovery from an unprecedented calamity, it would be better to read the documents of Vatican Council II, especially Gaudium et Spes. This Constitution, clearly indicating the position and role of the Church in society, says: The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts (GS 1).
The Church which is in Japan has an awareness of the role and original mission of the Church for society. In fact, those who go to support the suffering in the areas that were struck by the calamity, receive many things from the suffering, for example, hope, encouragement, comfort, etc. Perhaps Jesus is hidden in the city. We have to look for Jesus in society in order to meet with Jesus within peoples, listening to the voice of the peoples, asking them what they need as well. The Church wishes to be like an artery for society, carrying hope, encouragement, comfort and providing new energy throughout society, in the same way that the human body is given life by the action of the arteries that transport oxygen and nutrition and get rid of waste. If the Church moves away from society, evangelization will not bear fruit. It is indispensable that, through evangelization, the Church should abundantly infuse new blood into social and family life. To do this, it first of all has to face up to the reality of society; it has to discern in the present situation the clear signs of the times, to spread the light of the Gospel; and renew all of society from within.
Finally, I hope that this Synod will be an occasion to provide courage and faith to those who live their faith sincerely and want to keep it strong, even in difficult situations. Especially in the mission lands, it is not unusual to find within a family only one believer. Rather, cases like this are rather numerous. I am certain that if, through this Synod, we will instil courage, hope and support to these sincere believers, the Synod will bear plentiful and worthwhile fruits.
[00202-02.02] [IN147] [Original text: Italian]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. William SLATTERY, O.F.M., Archbishop of Pretoria, Military Ordinary for South Africa (SOUTH AFRICA)
Given the present structures of the church and the importance of liturgy and the parish community much depends on priests (81-89 in the Instrumentum Laboris).
With few trained formators in many seminaries do seminarians personally encounter the Lord? Who discerns?
If young priests come out with poor human formation they will be unsympathetic and unable to make people belong. Belonging is as the heart of community, belonging is an image of the Holy Spirit. The real signs meaningful to young people in this subjective age are recognized by them in the area of belonging and interpersonal relationships.
If the young priest has poor spiritual formation, if he has not contemplated the absolute beauty of God personally he will lack in zeal for prayer and be blind to discernment. He will be unable to train others in holiness.
With unsupervised pastoral formation the priest will be unlikely to experience the gifts of the laity and so dominate rather than collaborate as desired in No 106 of the Instrumentum Laboris.
If the priest has poor theology it will be the blind leading the visibly impaired.
To deal with the modern media (131 I.L) I like the policy of the English Church prior to the papal visit when they carefully selected and trained bright young people to defend and explain their faith. An attractive young lady doctor is much more effective in media propounding on medical issues than an elderly unmarried bishop.
The evangelizing of youth must involve a) exposure to the world of the poor and b) involve doing something for Christ-even as simple as pilgrimage and c) reflection together on such experiences. I would like some formal recognition of the pastoral services such as Catechists, Chaplains and Spiritual Directors both men and women in the life of the Church.
For bishops ourselves Bishops' Conferences must create space for us to discern evangelization in our spiritual and pastoral lives. As father and brother we bishops must travel closely with our priests evaluating their parish apostolates and keeping before them the light of Evangelization. We must welcome the new movement but continue with them to keep the vision of the diocese within the contours of their charisms.
[00203-02.03] [IN148] [Original text: English]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Virgil BERCEA, Bishop of Oradea Mare, Gran Varadino of the Romanians (ROMANIA)
The New Evangelization can not be implemented any differently from the first one. It needs saints, prophets, men and women full of the Holy Spirit. Todays evangelizers must rediscover those characteristics, those traits which have always distinguished evangelizers, because only in this way does their preaching become accessible, believable.
There are new challenges for which we are often unprepared; a world full of new idols that men bow to; clubs and markets which are jam-packed, compared to the frequency of liturgical attendance. There are new temples which exalt a different way of living, one that is completely parallel to that which the Church proposes. Quick and powerful sensations, intense experiences and not only these are what todays youth are looking for.
Romania today is experiencing widespread emigration (cf. Instrumentum laboris no.55): more than five million emigrants all over the world. This mass transmigration from their native countries to Western countries unites, in a sense, the suffering from leaving ones country with the reciprocal exchange of gifts.
Faced with all of these challenges we must find a language and a method which can reach the heart of the post-modern man. We believe that exemplary individuals, prayer which integrates man in his totality (body-mind-heart) and the school of icons are methods both ancient and also new for a new evangelization.
The Greek-Catholic Church of Romania would like to humbly share its recent experience. May that experience be an icon for the whole Church. The stigmata of witnessing to the point of the shedding of the blood of 12 bishops, priests and lay persons who died in prison for the great fault of being Catholic during the Communist regime constitute the way to teach future generations. Behind bars, their prayers sustained those at home and today provide the stimulus for a new evangelization. Witness of bloodshed and suffering bathes the land of Romania and extends to the entire Church. The example of these martyrs evangelizes, their witness strengthens and gives courage for the birth of new Christians. These model individuals have become so in prayers and icons.
[00204-02.08] [IN149] [Original text: Italian]
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. John WONG SOO KAU, Archbishop Coadjutor of Kota Kinabalu (MALAYSIA)
The call for a New Evangelization presupposes a realization that our present methods and expressions are no longer attractive or appealing to the world caught up by, drifted along and even pushed by changes that are expedited by advancement in science and technology, and by human greed.
Numerous reflections and conferences have been organized at various levels after Vatican II, trying to read and understand the signs of the times. Many Statements and Exhortations too have been released for local Churches to respond to the changing situations with courage and hope. But the messages have not been able to be transmitted fast and wide enough. We need to humbly admit that our past responses were outpaced by changes in the world. We are simply unable to provide solutions to individuals and societies trapped in the structures and occasions of sins. Our voices are either being suppressed by national laws or by powerful forces that control the media. I wish to add the dimension of a movement towards fanaticism and extremism (cf. IL 63-67). Therefore, there is an urgent need to review our methods of transmitting the Church's teachings in terms of vocabulary, format, expression and means.In a world of increasing conflicts in beliefs and ideologies, our laity as minorities in certain regions, such as in Asia, must be trained to respond to critical situations when their faith is threatened. Interreligious dialogue is to be made a crucial part of their agenda for new evangelization. At the same time, we need to ensure that the basic rights of Christians as minorities in certain regions need first to be protected and their faith be strengthened.
If Church leaders are unable to withstand the changes in the world, how can they help others? Scandals, bad leadership, materialistic lifestyles and loss of pastoral zeal are among the liabilities in our evangelizing mission. In view of the special status of the ordained ministers, seminary formation is to be seriously reviewed. The quasi-monastic, intellectual, easy and comfortable life (cut off from the world) has failed to form pastors relevant and responsive to the needs of people today and tomorrow.
Finally, the question arises as how to help our people remain credible witnesses of the gospel in the contemporary world. I propose that our Social Doctrine should be made an essential and integral component of our catechesis and homilies. The Good News explained through the Social Doctrine may be more palatable to the inquisitive mind of the modern man.
[00205-02.03] [IN150] [Original text: English]
FILM: BELLS OF EUROPE
At the end of the Twelveth General Congregation this afternoon, in the Synod Hall, the movie Bells of Europe - a journey in faith through Europe will be shown to the Synodal Fathers and the other Participants. A description follows:
The film - which has been produced by the Vatican Television Centre with the support of a number of different institutions - includes a series of outstanding original interviews with the most important religious leaders from the main Christian confessions: Pope Benedict XVI, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow, Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, Lutheran Bishop Huber; and with leading figures in the world of politics and culture: Hans-Gert Poettering, former president of the European Parliament; Alexander Avdeyev, former Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation; P. Fr.-X. Dumortier, Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University, and President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano.
These various voices together reflect on the reasons for hope in a shared future between Christian Churches and men and women of good will in East and West, on evangelisation and Christian witness, not only in Europe but in the world today. The thread binding their reflections together is the sound of bells ringing out from various parts of the continent, and the music of the great Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.
Since the film contains only brief extracts of the interviews, which are very long and constitute a resource of great importance, a booklet has been prepared containing the full text of the interviews in both Italian and English. The booklet will be distributed to the Synod Fathers and to the other Members of the Synod.
The distribution rights for Bells of Europe, both as a television transmission and as a home video, belong to RAI Cinema, which made a vital contribution to the production of the film.
We hope that - especially in the home video version and with the help of the complete texts of the interviews - the film may help to stimulate encounter and debate on the relationship between faith and the future of humankind, both in Europe and elsewhere.
[00257-02.04] [NNNNN] [Original text: Italian]
EXHIBITION ON THE OCCASION OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS
The new evangelization, starting from the origins of Christian faith. This is the meaning of the exposition in the entrance to the Paul VI Hall and entrusted to the Vatican Museums for the occasion of the XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Three ancient Christian artifacts accompany the work of the Synod Fathers and the other participants at the Synodal Assembly. The artworks, of great historical and artistic value, come from the catacombs and represent symbolic images of primitive Christianity; their choice was made by the Pius Christian Museum, where the works are kept.
The description of the exhibited works were published in Bulletin no.4, dated October 8, 2012.
[00021-02.03] [NNNNN] [Original text: Italian]
NOTICES
- PRESS CONFERENCE
PRESS CONFERENCE
The second Press Conference on the Synod works (with simultaneous translations in Italian, English, French) will be held in the John Paul II Hall of the Holy See Press Office on Thursday October 18 2012 (after the Relatio post disceptationem), at 12:45 pm approximately.
Speakers:
- H. Em. Rev. Card. John TONG HON, Bishop of Hong Kong (Xianggang) (CHINA)
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Francisco ROBLES ORTEGA, Archbishop of Guadalajara (MEXICO)
- H. Em. Rev. Card. Laurent MONSENGWO PASINYA, Archbishop of Kinshasa (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. Ján BABJAK, S.I., Metropolitan Archbishop of Preov of the Catholics of Byzantine Rite, President of the Council of the Slovak Church (SLOVAKIA)
- H. Exc. Rev. Mons. José Horacio GÓMEZ, Archbishop of Los Angeles (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)
- Rev. F. Federico LOMBARDI, S.I., Director of Holy See Press Office (VATICAN CITY)
ERRATA CORRIGE
The corrections published in the Errata Corrige in Bulletin No.14 can be found in the specific Bulletins published in these Internet pages. |
