2008-07-23 15:58:53

Top Vatican official addresses Lambeth Conference




( 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.








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