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Pope's message to 'Propaganda Fide'
on their current plenary assembly
Translated from
the 11/16-11/7/09 issue of
To my Venerated Brother
Cardinal Ivan Dias
Prefect of the Congregation
for the Evangelization of Peoples
On the occasion of the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, I wish to address to you, dear Cardinal, my heartfelt greeting which I gladly extend to the Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops and all those who are taking part in it. I also greet the Secretary, the Associate Secretary, the Undersecretary and all the workers of this dicastery.
In doing so, I also express my appreciation and gratitude for the service that you render to the Church in its missione ad gentes.
The theme of your assembly, "St. Paul and the new Areopagi", in the light of the recently concluded Pauline Year, helps us relive the experiences of the Apostle to the Gentiles when in Athens, he proclaimed the Gospel using a language that was 'inculturated', as we would say today (cfr Acts 17,22-31).
That Areopagus, which at the time represented the cultural center for the educated Athenians, can today - as my venerated predecessor John Paul II said - "be taken as a symbol of the new places in which the Gospel should be proclaimed" (Redemptoris missio, 37).
Indeed, reference to that Pauline event constitutes a pressing invitation to learn to appreciate today's areopagi where one must confront the great challenges of evangelization.
You will be analyzing this topic with realism, taking into account many social changes that have taken place. This realism will be sustained by the spirit of faith, which sees history in the light of the Gospel, and by the certainty that St. Paul had in the presence of the Risen Christ.
The words that Jesus addressed to him in [a vision in] Corinth still resound today: "Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you" (Acts 18,9-10).
The Servant of God Paul VI used to say that it does not only mean preaching the Gospel but "to reach and almost to turn around by the power of the Gospel the criteria for justice, the determining values, the points of interest, the lines of thought, the inspirational sources and life models of mankind which go against the Word of God and the plan for salvation" (Insegnamenti xiii, 1975, p. 1448).
We must look at the new areopagi in that spirit: some of them, in the present globalization, have become common and universal, while others remain particular to a continent, as we saw in the recent Special Assembly for Africa of the Bishops' Synod.
The missionary activity of the Church must be oriented towards these nerve centers of society in the third millennium. It must not under-estimate the influence of a widespread relativistic culture, most of the time deficient in values, which has entered the shrine of the family, infiltrated into the field of education, contaminating other sectors of society, manipulating consciousness, especially that of the young.
At the same time, however, despite these snares, the Church knows that the Holy Spirit is always active. Indeed, new doors are opening to the Gospel, and a yearning for authentic spiritual and apostolic renewal is spreading in the world.
As in other times of change, the pastoral priority is to show the true Face of Christ, Lord of history and man's only Redeemer. This demands that each Christian community and the Church as a whole offer a testimony of fidelity to Christ, patiently constructing the unity he desired and invoked for all his disciples.
In fact, the unity of Christians will make evangelization easier, as well as the task of facing the cultural, social and religious challenges of our time.
In our missionary undertaking, we can look to the apostle Paul, and imitate his 'lifestyle' and his apostolic spirit that was totally centered on Christ.
With such complete adherence to the Lord, Christians can more easily transmit to future generations the legacy of faith, capable of transforming even the difficulties possible in evangelization.
In the recent encyclical Caritas in veritate, I underscored that the economic and social development of contemporary society requires recovering attention to the spiritual life - "a serious consideration of the experiences of trust in God, spiritual fellowship in Christ, reliance upon God's providence and mercy, love and forgiveness, self-denial, acceptance of others, justice and peace... Christians long for the entire human family to call upon God as “Our Father!”(No. 79).
Your Eminence, as I give thanks for the service which this dicastery renders to the cause of the Gospel, I invoke on you and all those who are taking part in this Plenary Assembly the help of God and the protection of the Virgin Mary, Star of Evangelization, and from the heart, I impart to all my blessing.
From the Vatican
November 13, 2009
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 17/11/2009 15:31] |