New evangelization will succeed despite current Church weakness, Pope tells ecumenical gathering

August 29, 2016

In a message to an ecumenical gathering taking place in Thessalonika, Greece, this week, Pope Francis said that "there is clearly the need for a new work of evangelization" in Europe, where "so many people...do not fully participate in the life of the Christian community."

In his message-- conveyed through Cardinal Kurt Koch, the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, who is participating in the Orthodox-Catholic conference-- the Pope voiced his regret that many people in Europe, although baptized in the faith, "are not aware of the gift of faith they have received." 

The Pope went on to say that the work of evangelization should be carried out with the conviction that the Lord "is always able to renew our lives and our communities, and even if the Christian message has known periods of darkness and ecclesial weakness, it will never grow old."

 

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Further information:

• Pope sends message to Catholic-Orthodox Symposium (Vatican Radio)