The increasing number of people who do not see the Gospel as a fundamental resource for their life should inspire – not discourage – Catholics in rediscovering the joy of evangelisation, Pope Leo XIV said. Source: NCR Online.
The transmission of the faith is “a topic of great urgency,” the Pope said in remarks to members and officials of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and others participating in its plenary session at the Vatican this week.
Meeting with the group at the Vatican yesterday, Leo praised the dicastery for its “valuable service” of helping the Pope and the world’s bishops proclaim the Gospel by promoting and safeguarding the integrity of Catholic teaching on faith and morals.
“It does this by drawing upon the deposit of faith and seeking an ever deeper understanding of it in the face of new questions,” he said, citing Pope Francis’ apostolic constitution on the reform of the Roman Curia, Praedicate Evangelium (Preach the Gospel).
Of great importance today, he said, is the “transmission of the faith”, a topic discussed during the dicastery’s plenary.
“We cannot ignore the fact that, in recent decades, there has been a breakdown in the way Catholics pass down the Christian faith” from generation to generation, he said, and that “there is an increasing number of people who no longer perceive the Gospel as a fundamental resource for their life, especially among the younger generations.”
In fact, he added, many young men and women “live without any reference to God and the Church, and while this causes us believers pain, it must also lead us to rediscover the ‘delightful and comforting joy of evangelising,’ which is at the very heart of the life and mission” of the Church.
Reiterating his appeal during his extraordinary consistory with the College of Cardinals in early January, Leo said, the Catholic Church wants to be a missionary Church “that looks beyond itself, at others” and that proclaims the Gospel, “above all through the power of attraction,” reminding them that “it is not the Church that attracts, but Christ.”
Leo highlighted the importance of the dicastery’s work, which includes offering clarification on Church doctrine “through pastoral and theological guidance on often very sensitive issues,” as well as handling delicta graviora (more grave crimes) against Church law, including the abuse of minors.
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Lack of faith, especially among youth, should spur evangelisation, Pope says (By Carol Glatz, CNS via NCR Online)
