Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Melbourne (Agenzia Fides) - 'All the faithful for all the world' is the title of a message for World Mission Sunday in which the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart, calls for more mission awareness and active cooperation with the Church's missionary activity, recalling Pope Benedict XVI's Mission Sunday Message 2007 “All the Churches for all the World” and the Fidei Donum encyclical by Pope Pius XII , and applying the guidelines given in Papal documents to the situation in Australia.
The Archbishop writes "Pope Benedict XVI warns Churches “in Western societies” like Australia of the “risk” of “withdrawing into themselves to view the future with ever less hope and weakening their missionary effort,” especially “considering…the crisis of the family, the dwindling number of vocations, and the progressive ageing of the clergy", but the Archbishop strikes a happy note: "Just as God always ensures that we have our daily bread, so He also ensures that the Church has the necessary gifts to sustain her life throughout the world."
"We in the Church have a responsibility to ensure that every gift God gives is used to the best advantage - he continues -. By sharing in an exchange of gifts with one another, the local Churches throughout the world provide the necessary spiritual gifts that are needed in each place.”. Not only bishops and clergy and religious, but all the faithful are called to be missionaries in their different walks of life, with a sense of shared responsibility which involves the entire people of God and supports the missionaries in 'front line' ”. Since missionary cooperation consists in prayer and action, each and every Catholic in Australia- priests, religious, lay people, families, young people, children- is called to keep alive the passion for mission. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 19/10/2007 righe 25 parole 259)
