Church marks Mission Sunday

(October 22.2011) Meanwhile, the Catholic Church in most countries around the world is marking Mission Sunday today, its 85^th year. Pope Benedict XVI had released a message for this day well in advance on Jan. 25, saying it is "unacceptable" to evangelize without addressing the urgent problems of poverty, injustice and oppression. Not to be concerned with life's temporal problems would be to forget the Gospel teaching to love one's neighbour who is suffering and in need and "it would not be in harmony with Jesus' life," which combined proclaiming the Good News and curing people of disease and illness, the Pope said. “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” from John’s Gospel is the theme the Pope chose for today’s Mission Sunday. He focused on the responsibility of every baptized Christian to announce the Gospel message to all men and women in every corner of the world. The Pope noted that globalization and relativism have fuelled the spread of a mentality and a lifestyle that "exalts the search for well-being and easy money and having one's career and success be the goals of life, even at the expense of moral values." Bringing the Gospel to everyone is "the most precious service the church can give to humanity and to every individual on a quest for profound reasons to live life to the full," the Pope said.