The CCEE about the new evangelisation

As I mentioned in my previous post, the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (the CCEE in its official abbreviation), has held  a plenary assembly in Tirana, Albania, from 29 September to 2 October. The reason for their assembly was to discuss the new evangelisation so desired by the Holy Father.

A full account of their resolutions is available here, but I want to highlight the section that directly speaks about the new evangelisation (emphasis mine):

The 41st CCEE Plenary Assembly was held in Tirana on the theme of the New Evangelisation. Preparation for this meeting included a major survey: each Bishops’ Conference had responded to a questionnaire, a summary of which was presented to the participants.

From this it emerged that the New Evangelisation is a major concern for European bishops, and that consequently all kinds of work has already taken place: diocesan synods and reflection at the level of Bishops’ Conferences, the publication of documents (in almost every country), and many practical projects.

Evangelisation is the manifestation of the Church’s life and vitality. It should not be understood simply as a pastoral activity, but as the manifestation of its very nature and mission. The New Evangelisation is not only aimed at Christians who have strayed from the faith, but at all. It seeks to proclaim Christ, true God and true man, crucified to bear every human grief, raised from the dead that we might have life. Through their baptism, all believers are called to take part in the New Evangelisation: families; young people who are generally the most open to being missionaries; but also parishes, the movements, and new communities. Places of catechesis and Catholic schools must also be and become ever more places of evangelisation. Finally, the sacraments are the privileged place of establishing this New Evangelisation. There is also question of seeking new ways to evangelise, such as, for example, new technology, the internet, and social networking sites. But all this is only possible if, following the example of the Christians of the Acts of the Apostles, we open ourselves up in a new way to the Holy Spirit: “There will be no new evangelisation without a new Pentecost!”.

The choice of Albania, land of martyrs, was particularly significant for the discussion of the theme of the new evangelisation. It was an opportunity for all bishops present to recall the missionary witness borne by the Albanian Church, and also by all the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches under communist regimes.

Mgr Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation, addressed the meeting. He pointed out that many Europeans today no longer know anything about Christianity, and that while the word “crisis” was currently being much used, this should also be seen as an opportunity for growth. According to him, “the New Evangelisation is an opportunity given to us to read and interpret the current historical moment in order that the Church’s work might become extraordinary. In other words, we are called to live, in an extraordinary way, the ordinary event in the life of the Church, which is evangelisation.” He concluded by recalling the initiatives of the “Missions Metropoli”, which will take place in 12 major European cities during next Lent.

Well, it’s good that virtually all bishops’ conferences are taking the topic seriously. But, discussion is one thing. The new evangelisation still needs to be transformed into reality to a large extent. The 12 Missions Metropoli that Archbishop Fisichella mentioned can play an important role in the first step towards that realisation, but it’s not the end of it. Not even the end of the beginning, I think. There is still much work to do, both on the level of the CCEE, as on the level of individual conferences. But “all believers are called to take part in the New Evangelisation”, which means that this can’t be left to the bishops in their conferences. Now, we must all do it; we must all evangelise, reclaim the continent for Christ, Who is its foundation.

The chairmen: Cardinal Bagnasco, Cardinal Erdö and Archbishop Michalik

The next major meeting about the new evangelisation will be the Plenary Assembly of the worldwide Synod of Bishops in 2012.

While meeting, the members of the Council also elected a new presidency. Péter Cardinal Erdö, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, was re-elected as chairman, while Angelo Cardinal Bagnasco, archbishop of Genoa, and Archbishop Józef Michalik of Przemyśl were chosen as vice-chairmen. All three men also chair their respective bishops’ conferences of Hungary, Italy and Poland.