A 'new springtime' needed in evangelization and
catechesisOn Friday, 20 February, in his Private Library
at the Vatican, the Holy Father spoke to an eighth group of French Bishops
making their ad limina visit to Rome. They came from the eight
Dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Paris and the Military
Ordinariate of France and were led by Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger,
Archbishop of Paris. The Holy Father focused in his Discourse on
evangelization and catechesis and the need to inspire into them a "new
springtime". The following is a translation of the Holy Father's Address,
which was given in French.
Your Eminence,
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
1. I am pleased to greet you, Pastors of the Province of Paris and the
Military Ordinary, on the occasion of your ad limina visit. I thank
Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger for the kind words he has just addressed to
me. I earnestly hope that your visit, which enables you to meet the
Successor of Peter, will strengthen you in your mission at the service of
evangelization. Proclaiming the Gospel is the special mission of the
Bishop and an "outstanding manifestation of his spiritual fatherhood" as
Pastor. He "must be aware of the challenges of the present hour and have
the courage to face them" (Pastores Gregis, n. 26). We cannot
forget the words of the Apostle to the Gentiles: "Woe to me if I do not
preach the Gospel!" (I Cor 9:16). The Council recalled the urgent need of
evangelization to "bring to all men that light of Christ which shines out
visibly from the Church" (Lumen Gentium, n. 1).
Inspire a new springtime in evangelization and catechesis
2. The quinquennial reports describe the secularization of French
society, often understood as a rejection in the social life of those
anthropological, religious and moral values that left a deep mark on it.
Hence, even for those who are already baptized, the need for a renewed
proclamation of the Gospel is making itself felt, to the point of noticing
that almost everywhere a first proclamation of the Gospel is necessary
(cf. Ecclesia in Europa, nn. 46-47). You also mention that fewer
and fewer children attend catechetical instruction, while at the same time
you are pleased with the growing number of catechumens among young people
and adults, as well as the rediscovery of the sacrament of Confirmation.
These signs show that the transmission of the faith can spread, despite
difficult conditions. May the cries of people who want "to see Jesus" (Jn
12:21) and knock at the door of the Church help you inspire a new
springtime in evangelization and catechesis! I am following with interest
your Conference's reflections with a view to proposing the faith in
contemporary society and inviting the diocesan communities to regain new
boldness in this area, a daring that stems from love for Christ and for
his Church and which can be found in sacramental life and prayer.
Offer the young a high-quality religious and moral education
3. With regard to catechesis for children and young people, it
is important to offer them a high-quality religious and moral education
based on the clear and solid elements of faith which lead to an intense
spiritual life. As the Fathers of the Church used to say a child is also
capax Dei, open to the sacramental dimension that leads to a
dignified and beautiful human life. To constitute the solid core of
existence, catechetical formation must be accompanied by regular religious
practice. How can the proposal made to children truly take root in them
and how can Christ transform their being and their action from within if
they do not meet him regularly (cf. Dies Domini, n. 36; Ecclesia
de Eucharistia, n. 31)? It is also important that with respect to the
laws in force, the Authorities concerned make room for catechesis and for
the religious practice of the faithful, privately and in the community,
recalling that this dimension of life has a positive effect on social
relations and on people's lives. I would like to express cordial thanks to
the diocesan catechetical service and to all the catechists who are
dedicated to the religious education of youth. I encourage them to
persevere in their beautiful and noble mission, so important in the
contemporary world, and always to take care to transmit faithfully the
treasure the Church has received from the Apostles (cf. Acts 16:5), so
that the Christian people may grow and truly achieve ecclesial communion.
Perhaps they will not always see the immediate results of their activity,
but may they know that what they sow in hearts God will be able to
develop, for it is he who gives the growth (cf. I Cor 3:7). May they
remember that it is the future of the transmission of faith and the
practice of it that are at stake! The visibility of the Church of the
future will also largely depend on them.
Therefore, attention should be paid to the formation of parents and
catechists, so that they may go to the heart of the faith they must
communicate. Christian life is not built on a mere sociological attitude,
nor on the knowledge of a few rudiments of the Christian message that
would not lead to participation in the life of the Church. It would be a
sign that faith had remained totally outside people. Pastors and
catechists will also remember that children and young people are
particularly sensitive to the consistency between people's words and
their actual life. Indeed, how can young people become aware of the
need to take part in the Sunday Eucharist or the practice of the sacrament
of Penance if their parents or teachers do not themselves lead this type
of religious life in church? The more in tune the witness of faith and
morals is with the profession of faith, the better young people will
understand how Christian life brightens the whole of life and gives it its
strength and depth. Daily witness is the seal of authentic teaching.
I invite you to continue to be concerned with the formation of young
people by seeking appropriate forms of teaching. In response to their
desire for a warm human experience, suggest to them that they become
acquainted with Christ and meet him in a strong and structured process of
personal and community prayer. In this regard, I know that you are
committed to the continual renewal of all catechetical and educational
tools used for catechesis, in conformity with the Catechism of the
Catholic Church and the General Directory for Catechesis, which
provide the theological bases and key points of catechetical teaching for
people in all categories.
Understanding and promoting the gift revealed is today's challenge
4. In this perspective, the vocation and mission of the baptized in the
Ecclesial Community and in the world can only be understood in the light
of the mystery of the Church, "a sign and instrument... of communion with
God and of unity among all men" (Lumen Gentium, n. 1). In this
spirit it is important that a way of acquiring knowledge of the faith be
suggested to the faithful that will enable them to harmonize their
religious and human knowledge better, so that they can achieve an ever
stronger synthesis between their scientific and technical knowledge and
their religious experience. I am delighted with the suggestion to promote
schools of faith in the heart of university institutions, or
outside them but with their support, for they are particularly well-suited
to providing high-quality teaching, faithful to the Magisterium, in a
perspective that is not only intellectual but also concerned to develop
the spiritual and liturgical life of the Christian people and help them
discover the moral requirements associated with living in accordance with
the Gospel. I would like to recognize the activity of the Cathedral School
of Paris that forms many people in your Province and invites each one to
deepen untiringly the mystery of faith so that having understood and
assimilated it better, he or she may pass it on in a suitable language but
without changing its substance. It seems to me that this harmonization
between a rational understanding of the gift revealed and an inculturated
transmission of it is one of the world's challenges today. I would also
like to hail and to encourage the initiative some Pastors have taker' in a
certain number of European capitals, by joining forces in order to give a
new impetus to evangelization in the great cities on the Continent, thus
contributing to reviving the Christian soul of Europe and reminding
Europeans of the tenets of the faith of their ancestors who helped build
the peoples and international relations.
Wherever the Bishop is, there is the Catholic Church
5. I would also like to draw your attention to the catechetical and
evangelizing role of the liturgy, which must be understood as a path
to holiness, the inner strength of apostolic dynamism and the missionary
character of the Church (cf. Apostolic Letter Spiritus et Sponsa
for the 40th anniversary of the Conciliar Constitution on the Liturgy
Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 6). The purpose of catechesis is, in fact,
to proclaim in the Church faith in the one God: Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, and to reject "all service of any human absolute". It thus forms
the life and actions of men and women (cf. General Directory for
Catechesis, nn. 82-83). Hence, it is important that Pastors take ever
greater care in the preparation of the Sunday liturgy with the
collaboration of lay people, paying special attention to the rite and to
the beauty of the celebration. Indeed, the entire liturgy speaks of the
divine mystery. Along the lines of the World Youth Day in Paris,
your Conference is working happily on the renewal of catechesis in order
to keep the proclamation of the faith constantly focused on the experience
of the Easter Vigil, the heart of the Christian mystery, which proclaims
the death and Resurrection of the Saviour until he comes again in glory.
In their homilies, priests will take care to teach the faithful the
doctrinal and scriptural foundations of the faith. I once again strongly
appeal to all the faithful to root their spiritual experience and mission
in the Eucharist around the Bishop, who is minister and endorser of
communion in the diocesan Church, for "wherever the Bishop is... there is
the Catholic Church" (St Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Church of
Smyrna, 8, 2).
May Our Lady, `Star of the Sea', guide Christians to meeting Christ
6. At the end of our meeting, I ask you to convey my affectionate
greetings to your communities. Thank the priests and religious
communities of your Dioceses, who are generously dedicated to proclaiming
the Kingdom of God! My thoughts today go to all those who are unstinting
in their efforts for young people, in parish catechesis, in the
institutions and movements where catechetical activities take place; the
Church is grateful to them for their commitment to making Christ better
known and better loved. Please pass the Pope's gratitude on to those who
devote themselves to charitable activities in the name of the Gospel. Are
not they in a certain way "catecheses in action" that help people to
discover Christ's love? France has produced many saints who knew how to
combine catechetical teaching and works of charity, such as St Vincent de
Paul or, again, St Marcellin Champagnat, an eminent teacher whom I had the
joy of canonizing.
I entrust your Dioceses to the protection of the Most Holy Virgin Mary,
whom I would like to invoke with you under the title "Star of the Sea";
may she guide Christian people in fidelity to their Baptism, whatever the
stumbling blocks of the time may be, so that they may walk joyfully
towards the encounter with Christ the Saviour. To you yourselves, to the
priests, the deacons, the consecrated persons and all the faithful, I
impart an affectionate Apostolic Blessing.
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