US Bishops appreciates Pope’s emphasis on New Evangelisation

May 05, 2012: Addressing Pope Benedict on Behalf of the Bishops of Region XIII from the US, Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan, Archbishop of Santa Fe, said that they are grateful to his leadership of the Universal Church, his emphasis on the New Evangelization which confronts the secularism and relativism of the present day.
He thanked the Pope for calling for the Year of Faith to challenge all to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord. The bishops hoped that the forthcoming Synod of Bishops this year will give new energy to the Church for evangelization.
He also said that they are looking for ways to reach out to inactive Catholics and to strengthen the faith lives of the Catholics.
Despite the challenges in the Dioceses, he said that they see great strength and energy in the local churches. We are building new churches and parishes, and we are seeing a good number of new seminarians, although we still suffer the need for more priests. We see in our Priests, Deacons and Church leaders a growing commitment to Catholic identity and fidelity to Church teachings and the Liturgical norms’ added the archbishiop.
He also expressed their gratitude for the canonisation of Blessed Kateri Tekak which is scheduled for Sunday, October 21. We thank God for your recent pastoral visit to Mexico and Cuba.