Pope Benedict XVI says Church Exists to Evangelize: Announces Synod on the New Evangelization

Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, in 2012 on 'The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith'

'The missionary task is not to bring about revolution in the world but to transfigure it, drawing power from Jesus Christ who "convokes us at the table of his Word and Eucharist, to taste the gift of his Presence, to form ourselves in his school and live more and more consciously united to him, Master and Lord". Next Synod of Bishops on "The New Evangelization"

P>VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - On Sunday, October 24, 2010, World Mission Sunday, the Holy Father presided over the Angelus prayer at the closing of the Synod of Middle Eastern Bishops. He used the occasion to announce that he will convene a Synod on the "New Evangelization". This follows on his having established, Motu Propio, a Pontifical Council on the new Evangelization on October 12, 2010.  The Apostolic Letter 'motu proprio, Ubicumque et semper' - the Latin means "Always and Everywhere" demonstrated this Pope's commitment to this new evangelization and his clear conviction that we are living in a new missionary age.

Pope Benedict XVI frequently uses the expression "New Evangelization". It was coined by his predecessor of blessed memory, the Venerable John Paul II. Pope John Paul II's concept of a New Evangelization contained within it the understanding that some cultures are "post-Christian" and need to be "re-evangelized." Pope Benedict has made it clear that he sees the entire West in that category. When John Paul visited the America's on January 22, 199, he released an inspired Apostolic Exhortation entitled "The Church in America". In it we read these words: 

"The new Evangelization calls for a clearly conceived, serious and well organized effort to evangelize culture. The Son of God, by taking upon Himself our human nature, became incarnate within a particular people, even though His redemptive death brought redemption to all people, of every culture, race and condition. The gift of His Spirit and His love are meant for each and every people and culture, in order to bring them all into unity after the perfect unity existing in the Triune God" (Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia in America, 70).

In the ancient Christian manuscript, ''Epistle of Diognetus," written to a pagan who inquired into the Christian faith, the writer states well the role of the Christian: "Christians are not distinguished from the rest of mankind by either country, speech or customs. . They reside in their respective countries, but only as aliens. They take part in everything as citizens and put up with everything as foreigners. . What the soul is in the body that the Christians are in the world. The soul is spread through all the members of the body, and the Christians throughout all the cities of the world."

This ancient manuscript was cited by the Second Vatican Council and has been a favorite for both Pope Benedict XVI as it was for his predecessor, John Paul II. He referred to it once again on World Mission Sunday. 

I think we might all be better off, particularly we who live in the United States, if we pretended that we just awakened in a strange land filled with idols and drunk on its own debauchery. Perhaps, then, we would spend less time bemoaning how bad things have gotten and spend more time in focused prayer, the New Evangelization and missionary activity. The sickness of our contemporary culture will not be cured by a "moral rearmament" or even by well-intended and desperately required political participation-though both have a role to play. What is needed, above all else, is this "New Evangelization."

We present the words of Pope Benedict XVI on World Mission Sunday announcing that he will call for a Synod on the New Evangelization:

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Pope Benedict XVI Speaks at the Angelus of Sunday, October 24, 2010, World Mission Sunday 

Dear brothers and sisters!

With the solemn celebration this morning in the Vatican Basilica the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops came to its conclusion. The theme of the meeting was "The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness." This Sunday is also World Mission Sunday, whose theme this year is "The Building of Ecclesial Communion is the Key to Mission." The similarity between these themes is evident.

Both invite us to look upon the Church as a mystery of communion that, by its nature, is destined for the whole person, and to all people. The Servant of God Paul VI thus stated: "The Church exists to evangelize, that is to say, to preach and to teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, to perpetuate the sacrifice of Christ in the Holy Mass, which is the memorial of his death and of his glorious resurrection" (Apostolic Exhortation "Evangelii nuntiandi," Dec. 8, 1975, 14: AAS 68, [1976], p. 13).

For this reason, the next Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, in 2012, will be dedicated to the theme "The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith." In every time and in every place -- even today in the Middle East -- the Church is present and works to gather together all men and offer them to Christ, the fullness of life.

As the Italian-German theologian Romano Guardini wrote: "The reality of the 'Church' implies the fullness of being Christian, which develops through history, insofar as the Church embraces the fullness of human reality which is in relation with God" ("Formazione liturgica," Brescia 2008, pp. 106-107).

Dear friends, in today's liturgy we read about the testimony of St. Paul in regard to the final reward that the Lord will give "to all those who awaited his manifestation with love" (2 Timothy 4:8). This is not an inactive or solitary waiting, on the contrary! The Apostle lived in communion with the risen Christ to "bring the proclamation of the Gospel to completion" so that "all nations shall hear it" (2 Timothy 4:17).

The missionary task is not to bring about revolution in the world but to transfigure it, drawing power from Jesus Christ who "convokes us at the table of his Word and Eucharist, to taste the gift of his Presence, to form ourselves in his school and live more and more consciously united to him, Master and Lord" ("Message for the 84th World Missionary Day").

Even the Christians of today -- as it is written in the "Letter to Diognetus" -- "show how marvelous and . extraordinary their life together is. They live on earth but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the established laws but go beyond the laws in their way of life. ... They are condemned to death and from it draw life. Although they do good, they are . persecuted and grow in number every day" (V, 4.9.12.16; VI, 9 [SC 33], Paris 1951, 62-66).

To the Virgin Mary, who from Jesus crucified received the new mission of being the Mother of all those who want to believe in him and follow him, we entrust the Christian communities in the Middle East and all the missionaries of the Gospel".

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic, Zenit News Service]

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