The style of the Church

Ways for the new evangelization, testimony of faith until martyrdom, sanctity of the priests, young and humble Church are some of the themes tackled by the Synod fathers during the Synod ongoing in the Vatican until October 28. Sense of life, dialogue, communion. For cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow, (Poland), "the merciful heart of God speaks to the heart of the human person". This is why "Divine Mercy devotion" can be "a way" leading to the new evangelization. Referring to the Instrumentum laboris, on October 10 the prelate remarked that the Church "speaks more effectively when speaking the message of Divine Mercy" that touches "man’s heart, closed in himself, apparently bridled by sin and self-sufficiency, but in reality seeking the meaning of life and reasons for hope". On October 10 Msgr. Louis Pelatre, titular bishop of Sasima, apostolic vicar of Istanbul, apostolic administrator of the apostolic Exarchate of Istanbul (Turkey), highlighted the importance of dialogue. "The Church of Turkey is in continuity with the first evangelization of Asia Minor by the apostles" and now the recipients of the new evangelization are "the small flock of practising faithful, the mass of non-practising Catholics, the other Christian confessions and the almost totality of the Country’s inhabitants, who are Muslims, in their faith or cultural background". Quoting from Redemptoris missio, he said: "dialogue is a way leading to the kingdom", and "the carrying out of religious activities". Msgr. Pelatre highlighted "the need for skilled and qualified shepherds" as "we cannot respond to this specific apostolate with good will and improvisation". On October 15 Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan (Italy), delved into the value of "perseverance" and "communion", as well as on the "constitutive dimensions" of evangelization. "Church mission – he pointed out – is the greatful witness that conveys the joy of the encounter with Jesus, that becomes torment so that all the brothers may be saved".Prophets, testimonies and martyr. Before the "new challenges that often find us unprepared", the new evangelization "needs saints, prophets, men and women full of the Holy Spirit". Msgr. Virgil Bercea, bishop of Oradea Mare, of the Eparchy of Gran Varadino (Romania), on October 15. Recalling that are over five million Romanian immigrants in the world, a "massive transmigration" towards the West that "brings together the suffering of detachment" and the "mutual exchange of gifts" Msgr. Bercea called for the indentification of a "new language", and proposed the stigmates of "witness until the effusion of the blood of 12 bishops, priests and laity, died in the prisons" and during the Communist regime for the fact of "being Catholic". His words were echoed, on October 15, by Cardinal Josip Bozanic, archbishop of Zagreb (Croatia), who highlighted "the new forms of bloodless yet suffered martyrdom" "present in the globalised world". His Eminence equally underlined that the Church ought to be "near the forms of Christian witness that intercept contemporary world challenges". "When is it that our non-credibility becomes a counter-witness for others?" the Cardinal said. Finally, His Eminence highlighted the urgent need to "value the extraordinary culture rooted in Christianity". Saintly priests and a poor Church. Having recalled the "heroic faith witness" of many of his compatriots, Msgr. Ján Babiak, metropolitan archbishop of Prešov of the Catholics of Byzantine rite, president of the Council of the Slovakian Church (Slovacchia), in his panel speech delivered October 11 underlined "the abundance of priestly vocations" in the Country (450 priests for 250.000 faithful, and some 90 seminarians), along with the need for "saintly" and "zealous" priests. For the new evangelization, he added, "Byzantine spirituality, icons, and the involvement of the faithful in liturgical life" are equally important as they reminds us " that also culture and art can open the heart of contemporary man that listens to the Gospel". Hence the hope for greater "courage" in Gospel proclamation. On October 13 Msgr. António José Da Rocha Couto, bishop of Lamego (Portugal) , called for a "young, agile and beautiful" Church that is "not seduced by latest trends, but which is instead consolidated in faithfulness to her Lord", so that "people may year to enter the Church". A "simple" lifestyle is therefore necessary. "Why – was the final question – did saints struggle – with so much joy – to be poor and humble, while we strive to be rich and important?".