Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández has revealed new details about the upcoming Vatican document dedicated to the crisis in the transmission of the Catholic faith and has confirmed that one of the text’s key focuses will be the role of the liturgy in conversion and in the loss of faith across generations.
The statements made by the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to the Spanish outlet Religión Confidencial add a new element to the information already known about the document: Rome is beginning to explicitly recognize that the crisis in the transmission of the faith cannot be separated from the liturgical and catechetical crisis the Church has been experiencing for decades.
The liturgy enters the diagnosis of the crisis
Fernández explained that the future document will reflect on “the role of the liturgy,” recalling “cases such as the conversion of Saint Augustine and so many others.”
The reference is significant in an ecclesial context marked for years by the debate over the loss of the sense of the sacred, the trivialization of many celebrations, and the difficulties in transmitting to new generations the depth of the Christian mystery.
Although the prefect did not elaborate further on this issue, his words show that the Vatican is beginning to consider more explicitly the relationship between the Church’s liturgical life and its capacity to transmit the faith.
Rome acknowledges the rupture in the transmission of the faith
The document, whose preparation had already been announced days earlier, aims to study the causes of the rupture in the intergenerational transmission of the faith that is affecting numerous Western countries in particular.
According to Fernández, in some places the phenomenon “begins to manifest itself suddenly,” while entire generations of baptized people grow up practically disconnected from sacramental life and from basic knowledge of Catholicism.
The text will include contributions from episcopal conferences, experts, and researchers from various parts of the world and will avoid offering uniform responses for the entire Church.
Kerygma, catechesis and mystagogy
Another new element revealed by Fernández is that the document will emphasize the need to proclaim the Gospel in an “attractive” way, capable of fostering a true encounter with Christ.
The prefect also noted that the text will address the mystagogical dimension of catechesis—that is, a teaching of the faith oriented toward truly introducing people into the Christian mystery rather than merely transmitting theoretical content.
Fernández added that the document will include new reflections on the praeambula fidei, the rational truths that prepare a person to open themselves to faith, as well as on the question of inculturation, which is very present in the magisterium of Saint John Paul II.
The community and the welcome as key elements
The Argentine cardinal also explained that the text will address “the importance of the quality of the community” for transmitting the faith and welcoming those who approach or return to the Church.
With this, the Vatican appears to want to further explore the role played by parishes, communities, and concrete ecclesial structures in an increasingly secularized context.
Although he did not give a specific date, Fernández assured that the document will be published “soon.”