( 23 July,2008) A top Vatican official, addressing the current Lambeth Conference
underway in England has urged Anglicans and Catholics to greater unity and cooperation
for a more convincing mission and evangelization. Indian Cardinal Ivan Dias –Prefect
of Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, was an invited guest
at this Conference that has brought together 650 Anglican Bishops from all over the
world. Addressing the gathering on Wednesday on the theme “Mission, Social Justice
and Evangelization”, Cardinal Dias spoke of the spiritual combat raging in the world
today, aided by sects, satanic groups and New Age Movements. He lamented the spiritual
indifference and secularism, which seeks to build a Godless society and to supplant
it with mundane values and behaviour patterns, which purposely ignore the transcendental
and divine and foster a culture of death. Cardinal Dias said the Western world is
increasingly becoming distanced from its Christian roots and traditions and a context
of moral confusion has ensued, thus sound Christian ethical and moral principles are
under threat from various quarters. Faced with this challenge, we Christians and Bishops
in the first place, he said, must read the signs of the times and be productive, projecting
our missionary thrust convinced that Jesus is with his disciples till the end of time. Finally,
touching on the ecumenical dimension in the thrust for evangelization, which animates
the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Dias, said the more
Anglicans and Catholics are able to study issues together and to discern an appropriate
Gospel response, the stronger will be the impact of their mission endeavours. He said
they could start with the points which unite the two churches, and slowly strive to
clarify their approaches and to perfect their attempts to harmonise their mission
efforts. When diversity degenerates into division, it becomes a counter witness, which
seriously comprises their image and endeavours to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ,
he said.