Work together in evangelizing, Pope tells priests, lay movements
September 22, 2014
At Vespers celebrated in Tirana’s cathedral with priests, religious, seminarians, and members of lay movements, Pope Francis preached a homily in which he emphasized the importance of collaboration in evangelization.
After paying tribute to those who suffered for their faith under Communist rule, the Pope said that “I know and appreciate the effort you make to oppose those new forms of ‘dictatorship’ that threaten to enslave individuals and communities. If the atheist regime sought to suffocate the faith, these new forms of dictatorship, in a more insidious way, are able to suffocate charity. I am referring to individualism, rivalry and heated conflicts: these are worldly mentalities that can contaminate even the Christian community.”
“Evangelization is more effective when it is carried out with oneness of spirit and with sincere teamwork among the various ecclesial communities as well as among missionaries and local clergy: this requires courage to seek out ways of working together and offering mutual help in the areas of catechesis and catholic education, as well as integral human development and charity,” he added. “In these settings, the contribution of the ecclesial movements that know how to work in communion with pastors is highly valuable.”
The Pontiff also emphasized the importance of prayer.
“The contemplative dimension of our lives becomes indispensable even in the midst of the most urgent and difficult tasks we encounter,” he said. “The more our mission calls us to go out into the peripheries of life, the more our hearts feel the intimate need to be united to the heart of Christ, which is full of mercy and love.”
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