"The 4th national church meeting will also be a favourable opportunity to qualify the service we intend to offer to the country just as witnesses of hope". This is the content of the message (for the full text, see old.agensir.it) sent by the presidency of the Italian Bishops Conference on the occasion of the church meeting, due in Verona from 16th to 20th October. The meeting, after those of Rome, Loreto and Palermo, will bring together the delegates to discuss "Witnesses of Jesus Resurrected, hope of the world". "The challenge explains CEI’s presidency is to accomplish a communication of the Gospel that will be effective, that will tap into man’s real, daily course. We are halfway through the decade, and it is helpful to take stock of what we have done so far, and revive our commitment for the next few years". The Italian Bishops, as they recalled the testimony of the "Church of the origins" and the description of "hope" made by Peter in his first letter, a text that "we have meditated on, in these months of preparation", state: "This hope is just what we must testify, and not just with words; a hope that goes along and supports evangelisation. Our communities must really be transformed by the encounter with the Resurrected, bear witness to an alternative lifestyle. This is just what we are going to discuss at the meeting in Verona".
