The "New Evangelization" where the Church is still young

One of the more interesting conversations happening at the Thirteenth General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is what does The New Evangelization mean in parts of the world where the Church is still young?

As bishops from Europe and the Americas discuss the secularization of once strong Christian cultures, those from Asia and Africa are articulating how the New Evangelization affects areas where the Church is both new, and often a minority.

“It is a very interesting experience”, said Bishop Benjamin Phiri, the auxiliary the Diocese of Chipata in Zambia. “I am coming to learn so much also from other parts of the world where the Church is also perhaps in the mission or developed, but problems are also more or less the same.”

One problem facing the Church in all parts of the world is the way communications technology is constantly changing, and the difficulties the Church has in keeping up.

Mass media is “very important for this New Evangelization,” said Bishop Thomas Luke Msusa, of the Zomba diocese in Malawi.

“What we should do is use the same means as it is used in the secular world…we have really to plan and to go with the new way of globalization,” Bishop Msusa told Vatican Radio. “What is new? The way we transmit, the way we bring Jesus to the people. That is very new, but the content is Jesus Himself.”

“Those who are in mission Churches where the Church is still young, and those where the Church has been for a long time, we have all accepted there is a need for a New Evangelization,” said Bishop Phiri.

“For those Churches which are maybe old and bit a tired, a renewal in their approach,” he told Vatican Radio. “For the younger Churches, perhaps a change in some approaches to the Faith in order not to fall into the same trap as our friends who have had the Faith for a long time.”


Listen to the full interview by Fr. Moses Hamungole with Bishop Msusa:

Listen to the full interview by Fr. Moses Hamungole with Bishop Phiri: