THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING THE NEW EVANGELIZATION by Rev. Adrian SHARP Study Visit to the Roman Curia – DCA 6961 Monsignor John A. RENKEN Faculty of Canon Law Saint Paul University Ottawa 2012 1 Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/) ABBREVIATIONS FLANNERY1 FLANNERY, A. (gen. ed.), Vatican Council II, vol. 1 FLANNERY2 FLANNERY, A. (gen. ed.), Vatican Council II, vol. 2 2 Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/) 1 - HISTORY At First Vespers on 28 June 2010, Pope Benedict XVI signaled his intention to establish a new dicastery in the Roman Curia, “whose principal task will be to promote a renewed evangelization in the countries where the first proclamation of the faith has already resonated and where Churches with an ancient foundation exist but are experiencing the progressive secularization of society and a sort of ‘eclipse of the sense of God.’”1 The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization was established by Benedict XVI with the promulgation of the apostolic letter Ubicumque et semper.2 The need to announce the Gospel in an appropriate way to the people of our times has been highlighted in both conciliar teaching, and also papal magisterium since Vatican II.3 The genesis of the specific designation “new evangelization” is traced to a homily of Blessed John Paul II given in Polish at the sanctuary of the Holy Cross at 1 BENEDICT XVI, homily at First Vespers for the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, 28 June 2010, http:// www.vatican.va/ holy_father/ benedict_xvi/ homilies/ 2010/ documents /hf_benxvi_hom_20100628_vespri-pietro-paolo_en.html (22 February 2012). 2 BENEDICT XVI, apostolic letter motu proprio establishing the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization Ubicumque et semper, 21 September 2010, in AAS, 102 (2010), pp. 788-792, English translation at http:// www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_letters/documents/hf_ben-xvi_apl_20100921_ubicumque-etsemper_en.html (21 February 2012) (= BENEDICT XVI, Ubicumque et semper). 3 See especially: SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, 7 December 1965, in AAS, 58 (1966), pp. 1025-1115, English translation in FLANNERY1, pp. 9031001; SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity Ad gentes, 7 December 1965, in AAS, 58 (1966), pp. 947-990, English translation in FLANNERY1, pp. 813-856; PAUL VI, apostolic exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, 8 December 1975, in AAS, 68 (1976), pp. 5-76, English translation in FLANNERY2, pp. 711761; JOHN PAUL II, post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the vocation and the mission of the lay faithful in the Church and in the world Christifideles laici, 30 December 1988, in AAS, 81 (1989), pp. 393-521, English translation in The Pope Speaks, 34 (1989), pp. 103-168; JOHN PAUL II, encyclical letter on the permanent validity of the Church’s missionary mandate Redemptoris missio, 7 December 1990, in AAS, 83 (1991), pp. 249-340, English translation at http:// www.vatican.va/ holy_father/ john_paul_ii/ encyclicals/ documents/ hf_jpii_enc_07121990_redemptoris-missio_en.html (26 February 2012). JOHN PAUL II, apostolic letter at the close of the great jubilee of the year 2000 Novo millennio ineunte, 6 January 2001, in AAS, 93 (2001), pp. 266-309, English translation in The Pope Speaks, 46 (2001), pp. 152-183. 3 Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/) 4 Mogila. 4 In Ubicumque et semper, Benedict XVI speaks of various factors that have worked to challenge the Church’s evangelizing mission. He recognizes that different parts of the world need different responses. In some places a “renewed first proclamation of the Gospel”5 is needed. In others, re-evanglization is required. Benedict XVI has desired “to offer appropriate responses so that the entire Chruch, allowing herself to be regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit, may present herself to the contemporary world with a missionary impulse in order to promote the new evangelization.”6 The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization is charged with assisting in this work. 2 - CURRENT FUNCTIONING According to Ubicumque et semper, art. 4, § 1, the “Council is directed by an Archbishop President, assisted by a Secretary, by an Under-Secretary and by an appropriate number of Officials.” The current president of the Council is Archbishop Rino Fisichella. The secretary is Archbishop José Octavio Ruiz Arenas, and the under-secretary is Monsignor Graham Bell. The 2011 Annuario Pontificio lists ten cardinal members of the Council, and another ten episcopal members. The Council has an office on the Via della Conciliazione in Rome. 4 JOHN PAUL II, “La Croce di Nowa Huta, Nuova seme di Evangelizzazione,” in Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II: II, 1979 (Gennaio-Giugno), Rome, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1979, p. 1505. John Allen Jr states that “[t]he idea for such a council [the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization] was first floated in the early 1980s by Fr. Luigi Giussani, founder of the Communion and Liberation movement, but was not taken up by John Paul II” [ALLEN, John L. Jr, “Triumph of Theologians over Diplomats in Vatican,” National Catholic Reporter, 9 July 2010, p. 13]. 5 BENEDICT XVI, Ubicumque et semper. 6 Ibid. Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/) 5 The new Pontifical Council held its first plenary assembly in May 2011. The Holy Father addressed this assembly. 7 In five sections in article 3 of Ubicumque et semper, Benedict XVI states the specific tasks of the Council. Firstly, it is “to examine in depth the theological and pastoral meaning of the new evangelization” (art. 3, 1⁰). This task will link in very well with the theme of the next Synod of Bishops to be held in 2012. The theme of the 2012 Synod of Bishops is “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.” 8 Benedict XVI made reference to the forthcoming Synod in his address to the first plenary assembly of the Council: “I extend my cordial greetings to all of you, with my encouragement for the contribution that you will make to the work of the new dicastery, especially in view of the 13th ordinary general assembly of the Synod of Bishops […].”9 The Holy Father recalled that “it is important to realize that being a Christian is not a type of clothing to wear in private or on special occasions but is something living and all-encompassing, able to contain all that is good in modern life.”10 He stated that I hope that in your work during this assembly you will be able to draw up a plan capable of helping the whole church and the different particular churches in the commitment to the new evangelization, a project where the urgency of a renewed proclamation involves formation, especially for the new generations, 7 BENEDICT XVI, address to the first plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization,” 30 May 2011, English translation in Origins, 41 (2011-2012), p. 90 (= BENEDICT XVI, address, 30 May 2011). 8 This theme was announced by Benedict XVI during the address at the Sunday Angelus on 24 October 2010. See http:// www.vatican.va/ holy_father/ benedict_xvi/ angelus/ 2010/ documents/hf_benxvi_ang_20101024_en.html (22 February 2012). The Lineamenta for the XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith,” to meet in 2012 can be found at http:// www.vatican.va/ roman_curia/ synod/ documents/ rc_synod_doc_20110202_lineamenta-xiiiassembly_en.html (22 February 2012). 9 BENEDICT XVI, address, 30 May 2011, p. 90. 10 Ibid., p. 91. Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/) 6 and is combined with a proposal of concrete signs able to make evident the response that the church intends to offer in this particular moment.11 Secondly, the Council is “to promote and to foster, in close collaboration with the Bishops’ Conferences concerned – which may establish ad hoc organisms – the study, dissemination, and implementation of the Papal Magisterium related to topics connected with the new evangelization (art. 3, 2⁰). Thirdly, the Council is “to make known and to support initiatives linked to the new evangelization that are already being put into practice in various particular Churches, and to promote the realization of new projects by actively involving the resources present in Institutes of Consecrated Life and in Societies of Apostolic Life, as well as in groups of the faithful and in new communities” (art. 3, 3⁰). One such initiative that may gain the support of the new Pontifical Council may be the Courtyard of the Gentiles which aims to be a meeting point of dialogue between believers and non believers.12 Fourthly, the Council is “to study and to encourage the use of modern forms of communication as instruments for the new evangelization” (art. 3, 4⁰). Benedict XVI has reflected on numerous occasions about the modern forms of communication and their place in evangelization. In his message for the 45th World Communications Day he said, “I would like then to invite Christians, confidently and with an informed and responsible creativity, to join the 11 Ibid., p. 91. 12 The Courtyard of the Gentiles is promoted by the Pontifical Council for Culture which is headed by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, who is also a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization. See: “Courtyard of the Gentiles Seen as Turning Point for Dialogue,” http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-32144 (22 February 2012). Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/) 7 network of relationships which the digital era has made possible. This is not simply to satisfy the desire to be present, but because this network is an integral part of human life.” 13 In his message for the previous World Communications Day, the Holy Father had specifically called on priests to use the new means of communications in their priestly ministry. He said, “To my dear brother priests, then, I renew the invitation to make astute use of the unique possibilities offered by modern communications. May the Lord make all of you enthusiastic heralds of the Gospel in the new ‘agorà’ which the current media are opening up.”14 On interest in this regard, on 2 May 2011 the Vatican hosted a meeting of bloggers “both to better understand what bloggers need, and to present media initiatives under way in the Church.” 15 The meeting was hosted by the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Social Communications. This would be another area that would be within the competence of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization. Fifthly, the Council is “to promote the use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church as an essential and complete formulation of the content of the faith for the people of our time” (art. 3, 5⁰). 13 BENEDICT XVI, message for the 45th World Communications Day, 24 January 2011, http:// www.vatican.va/ holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/communications/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20110124_45thworld-communications-day_en.html (22 February 2011). 14 BENEDICT XVI, message for the 44th World Communications Day, 24 January 2010, http:// www.vatican.va/ holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/communications/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20100124_44thworld-communications-day_en.html (22 February 2012). 15 “Vatican Hosting a Meeting for Bloggers,” http://www.zenit.org/article-32267?l=english (22 February 2012). Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/) 8 Benedict XVI has stated that “the entire community is called to reinvigorate its missionary spirit to proclaim the good news that the people of our time are waiting for” and that therefore, “the lifestyle of believers needs to be genuinely credible and all the more convincing for the dramatic conditions in which those who need to hear it live.” 16 Benedict recalled the words of Pope Paul VI: “It is therefore by her own conduct, by her own manner of life, that the church can most effectively evangelize the world, that is by the witness given by her own life which clearly proclaims her fidelity to God, her poverty and asceticism, her independence in face of all the powers of this world, in a word, her sanctity.”17 The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization is charged with being “at the service of the particular Churches, especially in those territories of Christian tradition where the phenomenon of secularization is more obviously apparenent” (Ubicumque et semper, art. 2). Through this service, the new Council will help the whole Church to respond to this pressing need of our times. 16 BENEDICT XVI, address, 30 May 2011, p. 91. 17 PAUL VI, apostolic exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, 8 December 1975, no. 41, in AAS, 68 (1976), pp. 5-76, English translation in FLANNERY2, p. 728. Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/) BIBLIOGRAPHY Sources Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Rome, 1909 BENEDICT XVI, address at the Sunday Angelus, 24 October 2010, http:// www.vatican.va/ holy_father/ benedict_xvi/ angelus/ 2010/ documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20101024_en.html (22 February 2012). ________, address to the first plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization,” 30 May 2011, English translation in Origins, 41 (2011-2012), pp. 90-91. ________, apostolic letter motu proprio establishing the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization Ubicumque et semper, 21 September 2010, in AAS, 102 (2010), pp. 788-792, English translation at http:// www.vatican.va/ holy_father/ benedict_xvi/ apost_letters/ documents/ hf_ben-xvi_apl_20100921_ubicumque-et-semper_en.html (21 February 2012). ________, homily at First Vespers for the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, 28 June 2010, http:// www.vatican.va/ holy_father/ benedict_xvi/ homilies/ 2010/ documents /hf_ben-xvi_hom_20100628_vespri-pietro-paolo_en.html (22 February 2012). ________, message for the 44th World Communications Day, 24 January 2010, http:// www.vatican.va/ holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/communications/documents/hf_benxvi_mes_20100124_44th-world-communications-day_en.html (22 February 2012). ________, message for the 45th World Communications Day, 24 January 2011, http:// www.vatican.va/ holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/communications/documents/hf_benxvi_mes_20110124_45th-world-communications-day_en.html (22 February 2011). JOHN PAUL II, apostolic letter at the close of the great jubilee of the year 2000 Novo millennio ineunte, 6 January 2001, in AAS, 93 (2001), pp. 266-309, English translation in The Pope Speaks, 46 (2001), pp. 152-183. ________, encyclical letter on the permanent validity of the Church’s missionary mandate Redemptoris missio, 7 December 1990, in AAS, 83 (1991), pp. 249-340, English translation at http:// www.vatican.va/ holy_father/ john_paul_ii/ encyclicals/ documents/ hf_jpii_enc_07121990_redemptoris-missio_en.html (26 February 2012). ________, “La Croce di Nowa Huta, Nuova seme di Evangelizzazione,” in Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II: II, 1979 (Gennaio-Giugno), Rome, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1979, pp. 1504-1509. 9 Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/) 10 ________, post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the vocation and the mission of the lay faithful in the Church and in the world Christifideles laici, 30 December 1988, in AAS, 81 (1989), pp. 393-521, English translation in The Pope Speaks, 34 (1989), pp. 103-168. PAUL VI, apostolic exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, 8 December 1975, in AAS, 68 (1976), pp. 576, English translation in FLANNERY2, pp. 711-761. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity Ad gentes, 7 December 1965, in AAS, 58 (1966), pp. 947-990, English translation in FLANNERY1, pp. 813-856. ________, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes, 7 December 1965, in AAS, 58 (1966), pp. 1025-1115, English translation in FLANNERY1, pp. 903-1001. SYNOD OF BISHOPS, Lineamenta for the XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith,” http:// www.vatican.va/ roman_curia/ synod/ documents/ rc_synod_doc_20110202_lineamentaxiii-assembly_en.html (22 February 2012). Books and Commentaries FLANNERY, Austin, (gen. ed.), Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents, vol. 1, new rev. ed., Northport, NY, Costello Pub. Co., 1996. ________, Vatican Council II: More Post-Conciliar Documents, vol. 2, new rev. ed., Northport, NY, Costello Pub. Co., 1998. MARTIN, Ralph, and Peter WILLIAMSON (eds.), Pope John Paul II and the New Evangelization: How You Can Bring Good News to Others, San Francisco, CA, Ignatius Press, 1995. Articles ALLEN, John L. Jr, “Triumph of Theologians over Diplomats in Vatican,” National Catholic Reporter, 9 July 2010, p. 13. MCCALLION, Michael J. and David R. MAINES, “Representations of Faith and the Catholic New Evangelization,” in New Theology Review, 22 (2009), pp. 58-69. RYMARZ, Richard, “Conversion and the New Evangelization: A Perspective from Lonergan,” in The Heythrop Journal, 51 (2010), pp. 753-767. WUERL, Donald, “Bishops, Theologians and the New Evangelization: A New Relationship,” in America, 26 September 2011, pp. 11- 13. Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/) 11 Unattributed Articles “Courtyard of the Gentiles Seen as Turning Point for Dialogue,” http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish32144 (22 February 2012). “New Vatican Agency to Combat ‘de-Christianization,’” National Catholic Reporter, 29 October 2010, p. 4. “Vatican Hosting a Meeting for Bloggers,” http://www.zenit.org/article-32267?l=english (22 February 2012). “Waiting Game: New Vatican Agency Yet to Materialize,” National Catholic Reporter, 15 October 2010, p. 4. Print to PDF without this message by purchasing novaPDF (http://www.novapdf.com/)