THE NEW EVALGELIZATION

At the meeting of the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2012, Pope Benedict XVI said it was the Church’s responsibility to evangelize to the modern world. The Church has to take the sacraments to the world. He said the sacramental journey with Baptism, the Eucharist, Confession and Confirmation, is where we encounter the Lord’s call for holiness.

The pope said the new evangelization is to intensify the gospel in countries where the Church is losing strength- where people are not going to mass or passing on the faith to younger generations. The pope said the Church must fight against religious illiteracy and indifference.

He went on to say that there are many countries where inhabitants, in many cases not knowingly, await with lively expectations the first proclamation of the gospel. He said we must ask the Holy Spirit to arouse in the Church a new missionary dynamism whose main protagonists are pastoral workers and the lay faithful. The message is still the same. He said it is just a matter of using new methods to promote the gospel and to explain why it is relevant in today's world and in people's lives.

The Holy Father said in those countries where the church has lost strength, people have lost a precious treasure. He said they have fallen from a lofty dignity- not financially or in terms of earthly power, but in a Christian sense, their lives have lost a sound and secure direction. They have become, often unconsciously beggars for the meaning of existence.