Pope
receives New Evangelization conference participants
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the
participants in a conference on his post-Synodal Exhortation, Evangelii
gaudium on Friday. Some 2,000 people gathered in the Paul VI audience
hall to meet the Holy Father, on the afternoon of the second day of a three-day
conference organized by the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelisation in
order to explore strategies and avenues for the pastoral renewal of the Church
in the missionary key of theJoy of the Gospel.
In his words to the group, the Pope reflected on
the words of St Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus felt compassion for the crowds who
were “tired and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd”. So many people today,
he said, are on the margins of our society, feeling tired and dejected,
awaiting an answer from the Church.
How can we share our experience of faith, the Pope
asked? He said he is not offering any detailed analysis of the complex
realities of today’s world, but rather urging the Church to read the signs of
the times which can offer us hope and courage. Bishops, priests, deacons,
catechists and all those working to pass on the faith have a particular
responsibility to read these signs of the times, the Pope said, and to respond
with wisdom and generosity.
Instead of being afraid and defensive, like the
scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, the Pope said those involved in pastoral
work must go out constantly in search of those on the margins who are
looking for the comfort that Christ can bring. Rather than merely increasing
pastoral initiatives, the Pope said it’s important to focus on the needs
of these people, with patience and perseverance. We don’t have a magic wand to
solve all the problems, the Pope concluded, but we do have faith in the Lord
who accompanies all our efforts and who will never abandon us.
Those taking part in the conference have come from
all around the world, and represent every state of life in the Church: lay
people with families and in the single life; bishops; priests; deacons; men and
women religious – all involved in missionary work, and especially in service to
the poor and marginalized.
The President of the Pontifical Council for the
New Evangelization, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, told Vatican Radio that the
participants bring a wealth of diversity in experience, all of which is focused
on a single purpose: spreading the Good News of salvation as effectively as
possible. “[In the conference] we have the possibility to share a common
understanding,” he said, “and then to translate [that understanding] into the
different cultural and ecclesial traditions of our Churches.”
The conference promoted by the Pontifical Council
for the New Evangelisation on The Pastoral Project of Evangelii gaudium opened
Thursday, September 18th, and concludes on Saturday, September 20th.
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