Posted on 11/13/2012 1:56:57 PM PST by NYer
.- The Church in the United States and its bishops should play a major role in the New Evangelization by presenting the gospel values they maintain amidst a secular culture, the Pope’s representative to the U.S. said.
"The leadership of the bishops is of pre-eminent importance if the Year of Faith is to have a long-term effect and if the New Evangelization is to be not merely a temporary enthusiasm, but rather a permanent dynamic in the life of the local Church," said Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, papal nuncio to the U.S.
The nuncio addressed the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at its fall general assembly in Baltimore on Nov. 12.
During the American bishops' recent series of "ad limina" visits to Rome, Pope Benedict XVI recognized the "grave challenges" presented by an "increasingly secularized society," Archbishop Viganò recalled.
In response to these challenges, the Pope has emphasized the need for a New Evangelization and has called for a Year of Faith, which is currently underway, he said.
Archbishop Viganò observed that the Church in the U.S. has "reaped untold benefits" from saints, such as the North American martyrs, Junipero Serra, Mother Cabrini and others who came from Europe and distant lands "to plant seeds and act upon the Gospel message" in an initial evangelization.
Now, he said, Europe has fallen away from gospel values, turning towards consumerism and materialism.
"Yet, these Gospel values, by the grace of God, although strongly confronted by secular society, are still very much alive in the Church in America," the archbishop declared.
For this reason, America "should take major responsibility in this New Evangelization, not only for the members of our local Church but for the Church worldwide."
"Therefore, missionary zeal must be reborn," he said, emphasizing that bishops must lead the way in witnessing to a life in Christ, showing this path to others.
"The vibrant spirit, still so much alive in the Catholic Church, should inspire those who have lost their way, those who have become absorbed in materialism, imprisoned by secularism and those disillusioned young people looking for meaning for their existence," he said.
To accomplish this mission, Archbishop Viganò said that every bishop must devote his attention to "the spiritual renewal of his presbyterate, as well as the life of the seminary."
"We must continually undergo conversion ourselves, so that our people, especially through this Year of Faith, will have a renewed trust and confidence in us who are the messengers of the Gospel," he said.
In the same vein, Archbishop Viganò urged "careful selection of those aspiring to priesthood," exercising "a discerning eye to see and to take leadership of what is the best course to follow for those who are preparing for the ordained ministry."
"Vocation directors must be priests who, working together with their bishop, have a keen and prayerful sense of those who will faithfully communicate to others the mind of the Church," he explained.
"We must choose for our seminaries the finest priests possible, not necessarily the most renowned, or the most highly recognized, or even the most intelligent, as true teachers, models and examples for our seminarians," he added. "We need priests first and foremost who draw others to the message of Christ crucified through holiness of life."
He encouraged the bishops not to distance themselves from their priests and seminarians, but to make them "feel that they can freely come to you."
"There are many optimistic signs that this renewal of the presbyterate is already taking place," Archbishop Viganò observed, pointing to bishops' participation with their priests in liturgical events, retreats and group meetings.
He also related that his "limited personal experience" seems to indicate a promising "revitalization of seminary life" in the U.S.
The nuncio encouraged the bishops to continue these positive endeavors, always remembering to ask for forgiveness in times of failing, in order to more effectively meet the call of the New Evangelization.
"With good, solid, dedicated priests and seminarians, the Church will have the future leadership it needs to face the challenges of the twenty-first century and to make the Gospel message come alive," he said.
What is it with human nature that we wait for catastrophe to strike before we formulate a plan for prevention. C’mon! They saw this coming! Sorry, I am feeling a tad cynical today.
Here’s what they need to do....
- Get rid of the pedophile priests.
- Forcefully admit the mistakes and atone for those mistakes.
- Implement a vigorous and stringent and serious sex-abuse policy.
- Stop closing and consolidating parishes with no rhyme or reason.
- Win back the trust and loyalty of parishioners.
Then, only then, can you ‘re-start’ your ‘evangelism’ to be a success.
Yes! We need to market the church better to a new generation that has different outlook on life. So video games with Jesus as the super karate good guy and mormons as the super villians and discontinue Wednesday night BINGO.
i agree with your post, but how can a church that commits the sins that were committed by its priest even discuss evangilizing. The priests do not believe in God, Jesus, the Bible, Heaven or Hell, or it’s own teaching. How could a priest who truly believes in an omipresent all knowing all seeing God Commits these acts? How could the rest of the priets overlook these acts? Or is it just a good job with a lot of perks.
All organizations have bad apples but my problem is that the bad apples were known and overlooked by all of the priest. Aiding and abettng
They couldn’t even bring themselves to tell their flock “don’t vote for Obama” in any clear or coherent way, out of fear of offending Hispanics, union members, or local Democrat politicians who show up at all the Knights of Columbus dinners.
Sorry, hard to see how they take the Gospel out bravely to an increasingly hostile world. They were too timid to even confront a loser doofus President.
And the entire time the bishops were inside calling for evangelization, there was a demonstration outside the hotel calling for the abandonment of social issues like homosexual marriage and abortion positions with an increased emphasis on social programs. There is no other organization in the United States that contributes more, either fiscally or proportioniatelly to size, than American Catholics. Guess which group the local media interviwed and emphasized? Hmmmmm, the outside group, ya think? Sorry, I am a lttle put off today myself.
- Get rid of the pedophile priests. DONE
- Forcefully admit the mistakes and atone for those mistakes. DONE
- Implement a vigorous and stringent and serious sex-abuse policy. DONE
- Stop closing and consolidating parishes with no rhyme or reason. IN PROCESS
- Win back the trust and loyalty of parishioners. WORKING ON THIS
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That's the problem. I am catholic, and that is the toughest part to reconcile. The Catholic church hierarchy is very 'top-down' control, much like the military, police, and similar authoritarian organizations. The 'human' tendency is to protect the 'organization' above all, which can lead to blindness and willful ignorance of evil around you in a selfish and foolish attempt to 'protect' the organization, where in reality you actually wind up letting a potential 'cancer' infect the host, which then begins to spread to greater levels.
Thank you for your post and for your honesty.
I have been very critical of the catholic church over this (sex abuse) issue for some time. All I have ever recieved from this site has been extreme abuse for attacking the church.
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