'Base communities' offer instrument for evangelization, Pope writes
January 08, 2014
In a message to the 13th Inter-ecclesial Meeting of the Basic Ecclesial Communities, Pope Francis said that the small groups should show “a new evangelical impulse and the capacity to relate to the world for the renewal of the Church.”
Evangelization is a responsibility for all Christians, the Pope wrote in his message. He recalled the Latin American bishops’ statement, issued at a meeting in Aparecida, Brazil, that indicated base communities could be an instrument for promoting ““greater knowledge of the Word of God, social commitment in the name of the Gospel, the appearance of new lay services and education in faith for adults.”
The Pope’s message to the meeting, which is being held this week in Brazil, cautioned that the basic ecclesial communities should work within the context of local parishes, under the direction of the hierarchy.
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Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Jan. 08, 2014 6:15 PM ET USA
Did anyone not see this coming? Base communities are responsible for chasing literally millions of Central and South American Catholics out of the Church and into the sects (err... ecclesial communities). The Pope is wise to caution that these re-emergent "commmunities should work within the context of local parishes, under the direction of the hierarchy." At least he learned the lesson of the 1980s: base communities operating without direction from the hierarchy can incur papal finger waggings.
