AMERICA/BRAZIL - Catholics in Brazil start traditional national Advent evangelisation campaign: the time has come for the Church in Brazil to move from receiving to giving and to shoulder responsibility for evangelisation in Brazil with its own resources and energies

Friday, 25 November 2005

Brasilia (Fides Service) - “Annuncia Me!” is the slogan of this year’s annual national Advent evangelisation campaign organised by the Church in Brazil. Cardinal Geraldo Majella Agnelo, archbishop of Sao Salvador da Bahia and president of the Brazilian Bishops’ Conference said with regard to the campaign “we must not think that everyone in our country has been evangelised because every new generation needs to be evangelised and the challenges in evangelisation change continually and call for new attitudes on the part of the Church. If we do not evangelise there will be a break in the handing on of the faith and its influence on culture and life of society will be ever more diluted and in the end will disappear”.
The objectives of the Campaign are essentially two: spread awareness of the urgency of evangelisation and collect funds to support evangelisation in Brazil. Evangelisation besides being a grace from and God and the working of the Holy Spirit needs the support of people, material resources and structures, formation and support for those who dedicate their lives to evangelisation and pastoral care. It is necessary to help Catholics realise that every baptised person has the duty to evangelise and to help support the pastoral activity of the Church.
The Cardinal said the Church in Brazil owes much to foreign missionaries who for over 500 years were the evangelising and pastoral force. Many activities of the Church in Brazil have depended and still depend on help from other countries but the time has come to move from receiving to giving and to shoulder responsibility for evangelisation in Brazil with the country’s own resources and energies; “in our poverty we must share our goods with others!”. In view of the Advent evangelisation campaign which will conclude with collections on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, the Bishops’ Conference distributed various print material. (RZ) (Agenzia Fides 25/11/2005, righe 26, parole 354)


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