Every Christian must evangelize, Pope emphasizes

CWN - May 16, 2011

In a world with “new problems and new forms of slavery”--“both in the so-called First World, wealthy and rich but uncertain about its future, and in emerging countries,” where the “masses of the poor are increased” because of “a globalization often characterized by profit”--the entire Church has the duty of evangelize, Pope Benedict said in May 14 address.

“The mission of proclaiming the Word of God is the duty of all disciples of Christ as a result of their baptism,” Pope Benedict emphasized in his address to the superiors of the Pontifical Mission Societies on May 14. All Christians, he said, must be involved in some way in the mission ad gentes--the proclamation of the Gospel to the world’s nearly five billion non-Christians.

The Word and the sacraments, the Pontiff added, are the “lifeblood” of the ministry of a missionary. Being rooted “profoundly” in Christ and His Word prevents the missionary from caving in to the “temptation to reduce evangelization to a purely human, social project, hiding or concealing the transcendent dimension of salvation offered by God in Christ. It is a Word that should be witnessed and proclaimed explicitly.”

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($34,555 to go):
$80,000.00 $45,444.82
43% 57%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

There are no comments yet for this item.

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Learning from the sick, and from the death of a child 18 hours ago
The case for change in Irish abortion law: based on a framework of falsehood 22 hours ago
The Smell of the Sheep May 16
Too many missing funds: Catholic institutions need tighter financial controls May 16
What capitalists should learn from the Pope's critique May 16

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8