Friday, February 17, 2012

Cardinals and bishops during the meeting on the New Evangelisation



Cardinal Dolan introduces the New Evangelization: “Over the fifty years since the convocation of the Council, we have seen the Church pass through the last stages of the Counter-Reformation and rediscover itself as a missionary enterprise.” And Mgr. Fisichella comments on the vital importance of a strong and responsible faith






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The Archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan opened the College of Cardinal’s day of prayer and reflection – ahead of the Concistory – by talking about evangelisation in a world of secularism marked by contradictory religious imagery.

The theme of evangelisation is the order of the day in this meeting of cardinals who are busy preparing for the Year of Faith called by Benedict XVI, which is due to begin next October 11th.

Dolan is one of the 22 clerics who are to receive the red biretta from Benedict XVI. The Archbishop of New York - a city which “might” appear to be “the “capital of a secular culture”… but is also a very religious city” – outlined seven points for an efficient evangelisation strategy. He called for trust and courage in the mission, reminding listeners that Christianity means having faith in a Person not a concept. Dolan also spoke of “catechetical illiteracy” as a “challenge” that needs to be overcome in the Year of Faith called by the Pope.

“The New Evangelization is accomplished with a smile, not a frown,” he said. And “the Church is about a yes! not a no!” The announcement of the Gospel is an act of “love” that may require “the shedding of…blood.” “Sadly, today we have martyrs in abundance,” he said.

Dolan also took a stab at speaking some Italian to win over his audience. “Thank you, Holy Father and brethren, for your patience with my primitive Italian. When Cardinal Bertone asked me to give this address in Italian, I worried, because I speak Italian like a child.”

Adopting a serious tone again, he reiterated his call to theologians to “speak of the faith like a child”. And – he said –maybe that’s a fitting place to conclude: we need to speak again as a child the eternal truth, beauty, and simplicity of Jesus and His Church.”

In his speech on the Year of Faith, the President of the Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, Rino Fisichella, affirmed that the main goals are: “To renew and fortify faith at a moment of great crisis such as this, in which Christians seem indifferent, detached from life and the community and often confused by history’s events which have led to a serious crisis of identity and social responsibility.”

“The key aspects of faith are no longer known – Fisichella continued – and there has been an unprecedented decrease in participation in sacramental life.” According to Fisichella, “the missionary enthusiasm that had once led many to leave their own Countries to move to lands where the name of Jesus Christ was not yet known has been significantly dampened.”

Fisichella also emphasised “the deep fragmentation of culture in general, which often prevents people from achieving a common vision and undertaking a joint commitment.” In this context, the Year of Faith proclaimed by Benedict XVI with its programme of initiatives that are in the process of being defined, “presents itself as an ideal opportunity for the whole Church to offer one common and unified testimony of its faith.”





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