The Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization unveiled a
new project Tuesday to re-evangelize some of Europe’s major cities.
“The
goal is simple: to give a sign of unity among the diverse dioceses
present in the largest European cities that have been particularly
affected by secularization,” wrote Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the
council’s president, in the July 12 edition of the Vatican newspaper
L’Osservatore Romano.
Archbishop Fisichella chaired a summit of bishops from a range of European cities who met at the Vatican July 11 to discuss the proposed project.
Archbishop Fisichella chaired a summit of bishops from a range of European cities who met at the Vatican July 11 to discuss the proposed project.
The bishops came from Barcelona,
Budapest, Brussels, Cologne, Dublin, Lisbon, Liverpool, Paris, Turin,
Warsaw and Vienna. The scheme is being described as a “metropolitan
project.”
“At the moment, the initiative is limited to some of
the larger European dioceses in order to more concretely test its
effectiveness,” said Archbishop Fisichella, suggesting that it could be
rolled out in other cities around the globe if it is found to be
successful.
The initiative will take place in Lent 2012 and will be based at each city’s cathedral, which will host a range of activities.
Events
planned thus far are: a continual reading of the Gospel, the local
bishop teaching young people, families and those converting to
Catholicism, the promotion of confession, and a charitable initiative of
some form.
Archbishop Fisichella also mentioned an event that will be
both spiritual and cultural in character, such as reading from the
Confessions of St. Augustine.
“These initiatives will begin in
the cathedral because of its important symbolic significance, but the
intention is to extend them to the parishes of the dioceses for a more
direct impact in the territory,” he said.
According to Archbishop
Fisichella, the metropolitan missions will be aimed at those who live
the faith but often do so in a way that “lacks an awareness of how this
can infuse their lifestyle.”
The missions also hope to engage those who
are far from the faith, but are “nonetheless attracted by the person of
Jesus Christ.”
The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization was established in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization was established in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.
He said he
wanted it to “promote a renewed evangelization” in traditionally
Christian countries which are living through a “progressive
secularization of society and a sort of ‘eclipse of the sense of God.’”