Catholics must bring Gospel to world debased by poverty- Pope Benedict XVI says in
message for World Mission Day
(Wed.30May,2007):- Catholics must bring Gospel to world debased by poverty- Pope Benedict
XVI says in message for World Mission Day The primary task of every Catholic is
to bring the Gospel message to a world debased by poverty, violence and human rights
abuses, Pope Benedict XVI said in his message for World Mission Sunday 2007. Through
its missionary action, the Pope said, the church can guide and evangelize cultural,
social and ethical transformations, and offer Christ's salvation to modern humankind,
debased and oppressed in so many parts of the world because of poverty, violence
and the systematic denial of human rights. He said while renewed efforts for evangelization
have proved fruitful, there is still more to be done to answer the missionary call
the Lord tirelessly makes to every baptized person. Addressing this year's theme,
"All the Churches for All the World," the Pope focused on the need for every local
church to breathe new life into its missionary mandate. Bringing Christ's saving power
to all people truly involves everyone, said Pope Benedict. Individual Catholics must
see themselves - not as simple collaborators in the church's evangelizing mission,
but as being protagonists, and jointly responsible for carrying it out, the Pope
said. Every local diocese on every continent needs to be aware of the urgent need
to re-launch missionary activity to meet the many serious challenges of our time.
The Papal message said increased secularization has had an impact on the established
churches in the West. Low birth rates, declining numbers of vocations, and an increasingly
older clergy, put the established churches at risk of closing in on themselves, of
looking to the future with less hope and of lessening their missionary efforts. The
Pope stressed that God never abandons his people, who must recognize that this is
the moment to open with confidence to God's providence, and trust that through the
Holy Spirit, God will guide them toward the fulfilment of his eternal plan - the
salvation of humanity. The Vatican released this year's message May 29, ahead of
World Mission Sunday, to be celebrated Oct.21 in most dioceses.