Vatican issuing recommendations for celebrating Year of Faith

(January 06, 2012) In an effort to help Catholics have a better and correct understanding of their faith and become authentic witnesses to Christ, the Vatican is releasing a list of pastoral recommendations for celebrating the Year of Faith, beginning in October. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will release a note on Saturday outlining the aims of the special year and ways bishops, dioceses, parishes and communities can promote "the truth of the faith," the congregation said in a written statement on Thursday. It also announced that within the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, a secretariat would be set up to suggest and coordinate different initiatives. The new department will be responsible for launching a special website for sharing useful information on the Year of Faith. Pope Benedict XVI has designated the Year of Faith from Oct. 11, 2012, to Nov. 24, 2013, to help the church focus its attention on "Jesus Christ and the beauty of having faith in him," it said. "The church is well aware of the problems facing the faith" and recognizes that without a revitalization of faith rooted in a personal encounter with Jesus, "all other reforms will remain ineffective," the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said citing the Pope Benedict. It also also recommended that the catechism be "more widely and deeply known." Among the initiatives will be various ecumenical events at the Vatican aimed at restoring unity among all Christians, including "a solemn ecumenical celebration in which all the baptized will reaffirm their faith in Christ," it said. The congregation said it wanted to promote the recommendations because the office's "specific functions include not only safeguarding sound doctrine and correcting errors but also, and foremost, promoting the truth of the faith."