Evangelization
On Ecclesial Movements and New Communities
Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko's Address in Bogota
A translation of the address Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, gave in Colombia on March 9, 2006. He was opening Latin America's first congress of ecclesial movements and new communities.
The Rite Switch: Why Roman Rite Catholics Become Eastern Rite
Changing rites (as the process is sometimes called) from Roman to Eastern used to be near-impossible. Under the new code of Canon Law it is somewhat easier, but still an involved process. Most Roman Catholics who switch rites attend an Eastern church for years before considering making the change...
The Commonitory of Vincent of Lerins
For the antiquity and universality of the Catholic Faith against the profane novelties of all heresies.
The Two Important Things
When people are attracted to an ecclesial community and they are proud to call it their own, there are two fundamental components which are absolutely necessary: a sense of divine presence and the experience of an authentic, welcoming, loving Christian community... Written by Fr. Bob Anderson.
Evangelization Quick Notes I
An initial primer for evangelization developed by Fr. Bob Anderson.
Decree on the Catholic Churches of the Eastern Rite (Orientalium Ecclesiarum)
Vatican II Document
The Catholic Church holds in high esteem the institutions, liturgical rites, ecclesiastical traditions and the established standards of the Christian life of the Eastern Churches, for in them, distinguished as they are for their venerable antiquity, there remains conspicuous the tradition that has been handed down from the Apostles through the Fathers1 and that forms part of the divinely revealed and undivided heritage of the universal Church. This Sacred Ecumenical Council, therefore, in its care for the Eastern Churches which bear living witness to this tradition, in order that they may flourish and with new apostolic vigor execute the task entrusted to them, has determined to lay down a number of principles, in addition to those which refer to the universal Church; all else is remitted to the care of the Eastern synods and of the Holy See.
On Evangelization in the Modern World (Evangelii Nuntiandi)
Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Paul VI
There is no doubt that the effort to proclaim the Gospel to the people of today, who are buoyed up by hope but at the same time often oppressed by fear and distress, is a service rendered to the Christian community and also to the whole of humanity. For this reason the duty of confirming the brethren--a duty which with the office of being the Successor of Peter1 we have received from the Lord, and which is for us a "daily preoccupation,"2 a program of life and action, and a fundamental commitment of our Pontificate--seems to us all the more noble and necessary when it is a matter of encouraging our brethren in their mission as evangelizers, in order that, in this time of uncertainty and confusion, they may accomplish this task with ever increasing love, zeal and joy.
The Apostles of the Slavs (Slavorum Apostoli)
Encyclical of Pope John Paul II
The Apostles of the Salvs, Saints Cyril and Methodius, are remembered by the Church together with the great work of evangelization which they carried out. Indeed it can be said that their memory is particularly vivid and relevant to our day. Considering the grateful veneration enjoyed for centuries by the holy Brothers from Salonika (the ancient Thessalonica), especially among the Slav nations, and mindful of their incalculable contribution to the work of proclaiming the Gospel among those peoples; mindful too of the cause of reconciliation, friendly coexistence, human development and respect for the intrinsic dignity of every nation, by my Apostolic Letter Egregiae Virtutis1 of 31 December 1980 I proclaimed Saints Cyril and Methodius Co-Patrons of Europe. In this way I followed the path already traced out by my Predecessors, and notably by Leo XIII, who over a hundred years ago, on 30 September 1880, extended the cult of the two Saints to the whole Church, with the Encyclical Epistle Grande Munus,2 and by Paul VI, who, with the Apostolic Letter Pacis Nuntius3 of 24 October 1964, proclaimed Saint Benedict Patron of Europe.
Internet: A New Forum For Proclaiming The Gospel
Message of Pope John Paul II for the 36th World Communications Day (2002)
The Church in every age continues the work begun on the day of Pentecost, when the Apostles, in the power of the Holy Spirit, went forth into the streets of Jerusalem to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in many tongues (cf. Acts 2:5-11). Through the succeeding centuries, this evangelizing mission spread to the far corners of the earth, as Christianity took root in many places and learned to speak the diverse languages of the world, always in obedience to Christ's command to preach the Gospel to every nation (cf. Mt 28:19-20). But the history of evangelization is not just a matter of geographic expansion, for the Church has also had to cross many cultural thresholds, each of which called for fresh energy and imagination in proclaiming the one Gospel of Jesus Christ. The age of the great discoveries, the Renaissance and the invention of printing, the Industrial Revolution and the birth of the modern world: these too were threshold moments which demanded new forms of evangelization. Now, with the communications and information revolution in full swing, the Church stands unmistakably at another decisive gateway. It is fitting therefore that on this World Communications Day 2002 we should reflect on the subject: "Internet: A New Forum for Proclaiming the Gospel".