<\/p>\n
As you are aware, the Pope is assisted by various departments
\nas pastor of the Church. Without naming all of them, the significant ones are
\nFaith, Worship, Saints, Clergy and Evangelization. The latter department is
\nheaded by the Indian cardinal, Ivan Dias. As “Prefect of the Congregation for
\nthe Evangelization of Peoples” he works with the world’s bishops and other
\ncompetent folk in sharing the Good News. Each year all the departments meet
\nwith the full body of members and experts to deal with the significant issues
\nidentified by the Pope and the Cardinal. In the case of this address, one can’t help thinking of the work of the of new lay movements in the Church and some of the new religious orders doing the hard work of being in the marketplace. I for one, can’t help remember the Pope’s address to the Benedictine Oblates of St Frances of Rome where he praised them for keeping a religious life with a particular focus of being in the center of the city as a witness to Christ while helping the poor. <\/i><\/p>\n
What follows is the Pope’s address to
\nthe plenary session of Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Note the
\npoints emphasized<\/i>.<\/p>\n
On the occasion of the plenary assembly of the Congregation The topic you are addressing in this meeting, “St. Paul That Areopagus, which at the time represented the center of You wish to analyze this topic with realism, taking into In an effective way, the Servant of God Paul VI said that it It is necessary to look at the “new Areopagi” with Not to be underestimated is the influence of a widespread This demands that every Christian community<\/b> and the Church In this missionary enterprise we can look to the Apostle In the recent encyclical Caritas in Veritate<\/i>, I Lord Cardinal, while thanking you for the service that this From the Vatican, November 13, 2009<\/p>\n BENEDICTUS XVI PP <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As you are aware, the Pope is assisted by various departments as pastor of the Church. Without naming all of them, the significant ones are Faith, Worship, Saints, Clergy and Evangelization. The latter department is headed by the Indian cardinal, Ivan Dias. As “Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples” he works with … Continue reading Saint Paul and the market place: giving testimony to Christ building unity<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,7],"tags":[1968,32081],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25093"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25093\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nfor the Evangelization of Peoples, I wish to express to you, Lord Cardinal, my
\ncordial greeting, which I happily extend to the archbishops, bishops and all
\nthose taking part in this assembly. I also greet the secretary, the assistant
\nsecretary, the under-secretary and all the collaborators of this dicastery. I
\nadd the expression of my sentiments of appreciation and gratitude for the service
\nyou render the Church in the area of the mission ad gentes<\/i> [to the peoples].
\nand the New Areopagi” — also in light of the Pauline Year concluded a
\nshort while ago — assists in reliving an experience of the Apostle to the
\nGentiles while in Athens. After having preached in many places, he addressed
\nthe Areopagus and there proclaimed the Gospel using a language that today we
\ncould describe as “inculturated”<\/span> (cf. Acts 17:22-31).<\/p>\n
\nculture for the refined Athenian people, today — as my venerated predecessor
\nJohn Paul II would say — “can be taken as a symbol of the new sectors in
\nwhich the Gospel must be proclaimed” (Redemptoris Missio<\/i>, 37). In fact,
\nthe reference to that event is an urgent invitation to know how to value the
\n“Areopagi” of today, where the great challenges of evangelization are
\naddressed<\/span>.<\/p>\n
\naccount the many social changes that have occurred: a realism supported by the
\nspirit of faith, which sees history in the light of the Gospel, and with the
\ncertainty that Paul had of the presence of the Risen Christ<\/b>. Resonating and
\ncomforting for us also are the words that Jesus addressed to him in Corinth:
\n“Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent<\/b><\/i>, for I am with
\nyou. No one will attack and harm you,” (Acts 18:9-10).<\/p>\n
\nis not just a question of preaching the Gospel, but of “affecting and as
\nit were upsetting, through the power of the Gospel, mankind’s criteria of
\njudgment, determining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of
\ninspiration and models of life, which are in contrast with the Word of God and
\nthe plan of salvation”<\/b> (Insegnamenti XIII<\/i>, [1975], 1448).
\nthis spirit; some of these [areas], with present globalization, have become
\ncommon, whereas others continue to be specific to certain continents, as was seen
\nrecently in the special assembly for Africa of the synod of bishops. Therefore,
\nthe missionary activity of the Church must be directed to the vital centers of
\nthe society of the third millennium<\/span>.<\/p>\n
\nrelativistic culture, more often than not lacking in values, which enters the
\nsanctuary of the family, infiltrates the realm of education and other realms of
\nsociety and contaminates them, manipulating consciences, especially those of
\nthe young. At the same time, however, despite these snares, the Church knows
\nthat the Holy Spirit is always acting. New doors, in fact, are opened to the
\nGospel, and spreading in the world is the longing for authentic spiritual and
\napostolic renewal. As in other periods of change, the pastoral priority is to
\nshow the true face of Christ, lord of history and sole redeemer of man.<\/p>\n
\nas a whole offer a testimony of fidelity to Christ<\/b>, patiently building that
\nunity<\/b> desired by him and invoked by all his disciples<\/i>. The unity of Christians
\nwill, in fact, facilitate evangelization and confrontation with the cultural,
\nsocial and religious challenges of our time<\/span>.<\/p>\n
\nPaul, imitate his “style” of life and his apostolic
\n“spirit” itself, centered totally on Christ<\/span><\/i><\/b>. With this complete
\nadherence to the Lord, Christians will more easily be able to transmit to
\nfuture generations the heritage of faith, capable of transforming difficulties
\ninto possibilities of evangelization<\/span>.<\/p>\n
\nwished to emphasize that the economic and social development of contemporary
\nsociety needs to renew attention to the spiritual life and “a serious
\nconsideration of the experiences of trust in God, spiritual fellowship in
\nChrist, reliance upon God’s providence and mercy, love and forgiveness,
\nself-denial, acceptance of others, justice and peace. Christians long for the
\nentire human family to call upon God as ‘Our Father!'”<\/span> (No. 79).
\ndicastery renders to the cause of the Gospel, I invoke upon you and upon all
\nthose taking part in the present plenary assembly the help of God and the
\nprotection of the Virgin Mary, star of evangelization, while I send my
\nheartfelt apostolic blessing to all.<\/p>\n