2012 Synod on New Evangelization about "personal encounter" with Jesus Christ
The bishops of the world are preparing for next year’s 13th General Ordinary
Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme “The New Evangelization for the Transmission
of the Christian Faith”. Last month, the Lineamenta, or working document, for the
Synod was released. The document goes over various issues surrounding the New Evangelization,
and is supposed to serve to generate discussion on the theme.
“Whoever wrote
this really grasps our lived situation…in the early 21st century,” said
Sherry Anne Weddell, co-director of the Catherina of Siena Institute, a US-based organization
affiliated with the Dominican order. The New Evangelization is an integral part of
the mission of the institute, which tries to help parishes and other church organizations
form Christian disciples.
“This is where we really are in terms of transmitting
a living, personal Catholic faith that can respond to the needs of the times,” she
told Vatican Radio. “I was…excited when I saw the Lineamenta came out. I love the
title…I think it’s that emphasis on transmission that is so critical.”
She
went on to say this is not just a transmission of ideas.
“This is a very
organic, whole-person, whole-life concept, she said. “It’s not just about taking
on a Catholic identity…transmitting the faith according to the Church goes so far
beyond just taking on a Catholic identity. The Lineamenta says the goal of the transmission
of the faith is a realization of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ in the Spirit,
thereby leading to an experience of His Father, and our Father. It’s that language
of personal encounter and experience.”
Listen to the full interview by Charles
Collins with Sherry Anne Weddell: