Synod Fathers hear about faith in contemporary society

(October 08, 2012) The Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization began its first working session on Monday in the Vatican, with the participants getting a broad picture of the situation of faith life in the Catholic Church today. After Pope Benedict’s inaugural talk on the urgency of the revival of faith life of Catholics, the President Delegate of the first general congregation, Cardinal John Tong Hon, Bishop of Hong Kong recalled the fear that many families of his diocese suffered before the Communist regime of China annexed Hong Kong in 1997. But this crisis turned into an opportunity, he said, as many non-practicing Catholics came closer to the Church for spiritual comfort. A proof of this growing interest in God, he said, was the baptism of 3000 adults last Easter. Cardinal Tong Hon then talked about communion with God and man, particularly the poor, which leads to service e and charity. “We must be zealous witnesses of our faith,” he insisted, saying a personal encounter with Christ leads the Christian to be His witness.
The General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Nikola Eterović presented a report on the preparatory phases of the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme, “New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith,” which is 5^th synod called by Pope Benedict XVI since his election in 2005. Archbishop Eterović particularly expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation from particular churches with 90% promptly responding to the questionnaire for drafting the working document. The Relator General of the Synod, American Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, then took the floor, analyzing the issue of the new evangelization in today’s society, where, he said, there exists an intellectual and ideological separation of Christ and His Church, where there is the barrier of individualism that disregards the neighbor, where rationalism reduces religion to a private matter and where there is drastic fall in the practice of faith. He said the situation of today’s society has its roots in the dramatic changes of the 70s and 80s when catechesis became scant and deviations came in liturgical practice. He likened this to a ‘tsunami’ which swept away much of the social norms such as marriage, the family, the concept of the common good and the difference between good and evil. Besides, “the sins of a few” has discredited the Church, the prelate said, referring to pedophilia. Cardinal Wuerl however noted that in this culture of secularism, materialism and individualism, the family, that is much denigrated today, holds out great promises. The New Evangelization is not a programme, he said. It is a new way of thinking, seeing and acting. The Christian must overcome the embarrassment of proclaiming with their life the simple, genuine and tangible treasures of their friendship with Christ, Cardinal Wuerl added.