Sharing the Gospel requires literally “going out” witnessing to the joy of faith in person and not just sitting at home, being “keyboard warriors” who argue with others online, Pope Francis said. Source: CNS.
“One does not proclaim the Gospel standing still, locked in an office, at one’s desk or at one’s computer, arguing like ‘keyboard warriors’ and replacing the creativity of proclamation with copy-and-paste ideas taken from here and there,” the Pope said yesterday during his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square.
The Pope continued his series of audience talks about “evangelical zeal,” looking at how that differs from pretending to share the Gospel while really just seeking attention or pushing one’s own ideas.
At the end of the audience, before leading prayers for peace in Ukraine, Pope Francis noted that April 11 was the 60th anniversary of St John XXIII’s encyclical, Pacem in Terris (“Peace on Earth”).
The encyclical, he said, offered humanity “a glimpse of serenity in the midst of dark clouds” of high tension between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
The document, published in 1963, is as relevant as ever, Pope Francis said, reading one line as an example: “Relations between states, as between individuals, must be regulated not by armed force, but in accordance with the principles of right reason: the principles, that is, of truth, justice and vigorous and sincere co-operation”.
In his main talk, the Pope focused on the need for missionary disciples to be ready to set out and to be open to exploring new paths as they seek to share the Gospel through word and deed.
“I exhort you to be evangelisers who move, without fear, who go forward to share the beauty of Jesus, the newness of Jesus, who changes everything.”
FULL STORY
‘Keyboard warriors’ don’t evangelize, pope says, they just argue (By Cindy Wooden, CNS)
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