New Evangelization helps people encounter Christ in catechesis

The XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the "New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith” comes to a conclusion on Sunday. Once the bishops return home, the work of the Synod will continue in their dioceses, with the aid of their Episcopal Conferences.

However, there is a strong realization within the Synod Hall that this work will not be about new workshops and diocesan programmes.

Peter J. Murphy is the executive director of the Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and is serving as an Auditor at the Synod. He told Vatican Radio the New Evangelization stresses relationships.

“The New Evangelization first and foremost begins with a personal encounter with Christ, and the Synod Fathers have been stressing this over and over,” he said. “There’s no cookie-cutter way to ever do that. The challenge of the New Evangelization is really how as the Catholic Church do we present opportunities and create environments that really are conducive to helping our young; our young adults; our adults, really encounter Christ in a personal way.”

He said this encounter with Christ is essential for effective catechesis.

Murphy said the challenge is “that we don’t just teach the faith, but we also provide opportunities to evangelize and to help our youth [and adults] encounter Christ amidst the teaching.”

He said having a personal relationship with Christ makes people look at the teachings and worship of the Church in a new way.

“They become more personal, they become more real, and not just something foreign and abstract,” he said.

Listen to the interview by Charles Collins with Peter Murphy: