Encouraging words

Focusing on the pride of being Catholic and on the seeds of hope present at national level and in contemporary culture; enhancing the parish, the laity and the family; promoting ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. These are the invitations of European synod fathers, while the XII Assembly of the Bishops’ Synod on the new evangelization is drawing to a close (October 7-28).Pride and signs of hope. "Global economy has changed the way in which we preach the Gospel, but it doesn’t share nor does it recognize many of our evangelical values", observed Msgr. Kieran Thomas Conry, bishop of Arundel and Brighton (Great Britain). According to the prelate the Church "is facing a crisis which probably stems from our inability to recognize what has happened and deal with it in the right moment. Maybe we have been more indifferent before and now it has become an urgent issue". Hence the invitation "to encourage our people in their efforts to remain faithful to their vocation recovering the faith and the pride of being Catholic". "We have also been called – said Msgr. Conry – to recognize all the good things that are done in our families, parishes and schools, as sources of evangelization and hope. We ought to find a more simple and accessible way to express our faith, so that our people may, in turn, articulate and transmit what they believe in", but "we must also remain closer to them and understand their needs". "It isn’t a new situation – he underlined -. We’re living the vision of Prophet Ezekiel in the Valley of Dry Bones. This Synod and the Year of Faith are precious moments to grasp with courage and spirit of initiative, the opportunity to give new flesh to those bones".Parish and the family. The Synod understood as "an impressive experience of the Universal Church", according to Msgr. Franz-Josef Bode, President of the Bishops’ Commission for Pastoral Care of the German Bishops’ Conference. The prelate highlighted "a balanced picture of the general situation of the Catholic Church in this moment", although "it is clear that we need to answer people’s questions in a differentiated way" and highlight "encouraging positive aspects of contemporary culture". For Msgr. Bode, it is necessary to enhance the role of the laity, "indispensable for evangelization". In the great pastoral units that in Germany replaced traditional parishes, and "where priests or other Church representatives are present at local level – he said -, it should be possible to transfer the responsibility for catechesis, liturgy and diakonia to the laity". "In those parishes" where "small Christian communities coexist, the parish Church and mass attendance aren’t the only faith experiences", he added. As regards the family, Msgr. Bode remarked, "indeed, the family today no longer consists of parents with children. For this reason we must consider as the places of transmission of faith also broken relationships, extended families or single parents. Obviously, our most important task in this area, is to support and promote marriage and the family as reliable existential areas".Laity and ecumenism. According to Msgr. Ägidius Zsikfovics, Austrian leader of the Synod’s German-speaking delegation, "there isn’t a ‘strategy’, a ‘program’ or a ‘masterplan’ for the new evangelization.’" Instead, "it is a question of proclaiming in the present times the simplicity of faith and rooting it in the encounter with Jesus Christ". The Austrian bishops exhorted to laity and priests’ collaboration. Hence, conveying the voice of other bishops, he called upon the priests to "look into their existence" to recover "the spirituality and credibility of priestly life", the affirmation of "dignity" and of the fundamental responsibility of the laity in the Church" for "Christian witness and the transmission of the faith". "With her action – continued Msgr. Zsikfovics – the Church is called to ‘embrace’ all the themes and spheres of mankind, including science, to attract the faithful". The present times, he concluded, "provide the opportunity to involve the inestimable potential of people who seek, struggle and hope within Christian faith. For this purpose it is necessary to fully develop also the interreligious and ecumenical dimension".