Synod of Bishops on “New Evangelization” nearing end
(Oct. 24, 2012) The Synod of Bishops on the “New Evangelization” continues in the
Vatican. It is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, Oct. 28. A few Synod Fathers and participants
unable to pronounce their interventions handed them in writing to the participants
on Tuesday evening. Among them was Bishop Daniel Koroma of Kenema, President of the
Episcopal Conference of Sierra Leone. He noted that in relatively younger churches
such as in his own country and Gambia there is also a loss of faith just as in the
West. He blamed this on little knowledge of the social teachings of the Church to
look up solely to Jesus Christ and His Gospel for guidance in their social life
of politics and business. He also mentioned the mixing of African religious practices
and superstitution . He suggested that ample recognition should be given to the
role of the Holy Spirit in all our efforts towards new evangelization for the transmission
of the Christian faith. Cardinal Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal
of the Apostolic Signatura said among the many grave wounds society suffers of today
is a loss of morals and he mentioned euthanasia, procured abortion and men and
women living together outside matrimony. Mons. Gevorg Saroyan of the Armenian Apostolic
Church also handed in a written script of his intervention. In it, he mentioned
the crisis the church is passing through, especially in Europe but said people are
in search of spirituality and it is essential that the Church find new ways to carry
out its mission.