Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization – Page 2

Dolan appointed consultor new Vatican Office

Pope Benedict XVI is building his new team of consultors for the papal agency, the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, charged to proclaim the Gospel always and everywhere in a secularized world. This new team really becomes the minds that will build the architecture for the work of the Council. This new Vatican office is slated to be one the most important Vatican offices dealing with building the Kingdom of Heaven. The head of the new council is Archbishop Rino Fisichella.

Today, list has, among others, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York. He joins the likes of:

The Eminent Lord Cardinals: Christoph Schönborn, OP, Archbishop of Vienna (Austria); Angelo Scola, Patriarch of Venice (Italia); George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney (Australia); Josip Bozanić, Archbishop of Zagreb (Croatia); Marc Ouellet, PSS, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Francisco Robles Ortega, Archbishop of Monterrey (Mexico); Odilo Pedro Scherer, Archbishop of São Paulo (Brasil); William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Stanisław Ryłko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity; and their Excellencies: Claudio Maria Celli, titular Archbishop of Civitanova, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communication; Nikola Eterović, titular Archbishop of Cibale, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops; Pierre-Marie Carré, Coadjutor Archbishop of Montpellier (France); Timothy Michael Dolan, Archbishop of New York (USA); Robert Zollitsch, Archbishop of Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany); Bruno Forte, Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto (Italy); Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham (Great Britain); André-Joseph Léonard, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel, Malines-Bruxelles (Belgium); Adolfo González Montes, Bishop of Almería (Spain); Vincenzo Paglia, Bishop of Terni-Narni-Amelia (Italy).

All of the members of the consultors have some experience of and leadership in the ongoing work of evangelization in their respective milieu. Noteworthy, several of the cardinals and bishops have connections with Communion and Liberation and Sant’Egidio, Schonstatt movements, the Emmanuel Community and the Christian Life Community.

This Council is not only orienting its work to Europe but to the entire world, giving God a voice.

New Papal document: Ubicumque et Semper (Everywhere and always) making a Vatican Office for the New Evangelization

The Holy Father published a long-awaited Motu Proprio, Ubicumque et semper, by which he established a new office (dicastery) at the Roman Curia: “Pontifical Council for Promotion of the New Evangelization.” The new head of the Council is, as you know, Archbishop Rino Fisichella.

The objectives of the new Pontifical Council:

To deepen the theological and pastoral meaning of the new evangelization.
To promote and to foster in close collaboration with bishops’ conferences, teaching of the Magisterium relative to the new evangelization.
To make known initiatives already under way in local churches and to promote new initiatives, involving also resources of religious institutes and groups of the faithful and new lay communities;
To study and to foster the use of modern means of communications as instruments for the new evangelization.
To promote the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

A summary of Ubicumque et semper can be read here.

I am happy that a papal document finally appeared since it was expected since four months ago. Now a more concerted effort at the needs of evangelization will be worked on by the Roman Curia and that good works already in play with groups like Communion and Liberation, Opus Dei, Focolare, Sant’Egidio will be more coordinated and collaborated with. I hope the big religious orders like the Benedictines, Franciscans and Dominicans will respond positively to the hopes and desires of the Pope. The expectation of the new Council are looking to re-energize the work of evangelization of culture and to give renewed interest and thrust of the Church as missionary. Please note, secularism, not secularity needs to be addressed by the entire Church, not just the bishops and certainly not just the Roman Curia.

The Pope said, “At the root of all evangelization there is no human project of expansion, but the desire to share the priceless gift that God wished to give us, sharing His life with us.”

There are, however, a number of missed opportunities already since the announcement of the Council: there was a too long of wait for the motu proprio, the motu proprio is only available in Latin and Italian at this point, the staff has not been announced, and there is no web presence for the new Council as of yet. Another example of not doing the homework on the part of those who work for the Pope.