EUROPE/ITALY - Catholic Bishops issue message in view of the 4th National Catholic Church Meeting: being witnesses of hope not only in word “hope which accompanies and sustains evangelisation”

Monday, 9 October 2006

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Roma (Agenzia Fides) - In view of the 4th National Catholic Church Meeting in Verona, 16-20 October which will reflect on the theme “Witnesses to the Risen Jesus, hope of the world” the Italian Bishops have issued a Message in which they underline the importance for the life of the Church of this event held every ten years, planned in line with the pastoral guidelines of this decade with the title “Communicating the Gospel in a Changing World”.
The Bishops write “A permanent value the Gospel which transmits to mankind the faithful love of God in a context which changes profoundly and swiftly, that of the world in which we live and to which God always shows His love. The challenge is to communicate the Gospel effectively, entering the real daily paths of men and women”…
“If only it could be said of us, of the Church in Italy today, what Saint Luke said about the first community in Jerusalem: «With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favour was accorded them all. » (Acts 4,33). The power of this witness depends on the lifestyle of the community … this was true of the early Church and it must be true of our communities today”.
Preparation for the Meeting focused on mediation on the 1st letter of Peter: we heard that by raising Jesus from the dead, God regenerated us to «a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading »
(1Pt 1,3-4). “It is precisely to this hope that we must be witnesses and not only in word; hope which accompanies and sustains evangelisation. Our communities must be transformed by the encounter with the Risen Lord, and as a consequence, bear witness to this encounter with an alternative style of life … In Verona we will examine the lives of our communities to verify attitudes and choices which should derive from the hope which comes from faith in the Risen Lord to re-launch commitment and passion for a mature Christian life, able to give all men and women reason for hope ”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 9/10/2006; righe 25, parole 346)