Rome (Fides Service) – Mission in parishes in view of new evangelisation will be the main theme for the work of the next General Assembly of the Italian Bishops Conference in May. The topic emerged from the Winter session of the Conference’s Standing Council 19-21 January in Rome. As the meeting’s final statement issued yesterday affirms, the background for this precise indication was the ample reflection which the Italian Bishops devoted to the mission of the Church. At the root of the faith, in fact, as Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Conference President said in the prolusion, is commitment “to proclaim the Gospel of Christ for the salvation of the world”. The mission of the believer in today’s cultural and social context, marked increasingly by inter-dependence and multi-cultural presence, must follow mainly the privileged path of witness and proclaiming the Gospel through personal encounter with the Christian community called to live the faith which saves and the demands of following Christ.
The Standing Council also examined the text “Communication and mission. Directory on social communications in the mission of the Church in Italy”. The document, which deals with the matter from both the cultural and pastoral aspect, is intended as a compass to orient action of pastoral renewal in a profoundly changed cultural context mainly due mainly to the influence of the media and it could provide a valid opportunity to re-think the pastoral profile of the missionary commitment of parishes.
During the meeting the Standing Council was informed of the activity of the “Justice and Solidarity” foundation, formerly Ecclesial Committee for the reduction of international debts of poor countries formed in 1999 by the CEI to coordinate a campaign in this field during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. Following inter-government agreements for the cancellation of Guinea Conakry’s debt with Italy and the institution of a Counter-party Fund, development projects supported by funds collected during the 2000 campaign were started. Intense efforts are now being made to reach a similar agreement with Zambia in view of necessary development projects. To keep the question of international debt which burdens developing countries alive in the mind of the public and the Church later in the year the Foundation will present its “Annual Debt Report”, a work of research on the conditions of debt in various parts of the world and the state of implementation of commitments assumed. (S.L.) (Fides Service 28/1/2004 – lines 28; words 422)