AMERICA/PERU - Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani encourages participation in World Mission Sunday: "Although our own local Church has many needs, we cannot be indifferent to the many spiritual and material needs of many less fortunate brothers and sisters”

Lima (Fides Service) - In view of Mission Sunday October 24t Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, Archbishop of Lima and Primate of Peru, recently encouraged Peruvian Catholics to make a special effort to celebrate the day in a worthy manner with efforts to increase missionary awareness and solidarity and he said: “although our own local Church has many needs, we cannot be indifferent to the many spiritual and material needs of many less fortunate brothers and sisters”. Recalling that Pope John Paul II often says that “the Church’s missionary task is urgent even in this new millennium” the Cardinal said he hope everyone would make Mission Sunday DOMUND a “day of universal solidarity in support of those working to carry the faith to the most remote and impervious corners of the earth” , so the day will be truly a day of authentic and real communion throughout universal Church.
All baptised Christians should cooperate with the Church’s missionary work because the command Jesus gave to carry the Gospel to all peoples applies to each and every person not only to missionaries. World Mission Sunday is a call to Catholics to be more missionary: God calls some to make the total gift of self to work in the missions, other he asks to cooperate with prayer, material help and sacrifices. “He asks each and all to make the life of faith an ongoing witness to Christ Redeemer of every human person” (John Paul II message for Mission Sunday 2004). Lastly the Primate of Peru encouraged everyone to make a special effort, “each according to his or her condition”. (R.Z.) (Agenzia Fides 22/10/2004; Righe 18; Parole 248)