IEC: Evangelization must understand secular culture

(Vatican Radio) One of the highlights of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu, Philippines, is the number of theological talks and catechesis offered to the participants.

Father John Coughlan of the Diocese of Elphin in Ireland took part in the Congress’s Theological Symposium, speaking in "Mission in a Western Culture."

“Faith happens in a context,” he told Vatican Radio after the talk.

Listen to the Vatican Viewpoint featuring the interview by Seàn-Patrick Lovett with Father John Coughlan:

“I think context [in the West] is down … to how we understand the human being, the human person,” Father Coughlan explained.

 “If you think of all the big issues we have in the West, they are all operating out of a somewhat reduced understanding of the human person,” he said.

“I was making the argument that really our evangelization has to begin with our understanding of the self,” Father Coughlan continued. “What is the Christian understanding of the self?  To put it in easier language: Who are we in the light of Christ?”