US bishops issue document on New Evangelization

(Catholic Culture) As the Church throughout the world prepares for the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, led by Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, has issued a 31-page statement entitled “Disciples Called to Witness: The New Evangelization.”


“The New Evangelization seeks to invite modern man and culture into a relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church,” the document states. “The New Evangelization strives to engage our culture and to help us draw our inspiration from the Gospel. The New Evangelization calls all Catholics first to be evangelized and then in turn to evangelize. While it is directed to all people, the New Evangelization focuses specifically on those Christian communities that have Catholic roots but have lost a living sense of the faith, or even no longer consider themselves members of the Church.”


The document’s five parts are devoted to the current cultural context, the historical context of the New Evangelization, the focus of the New Evangelization, a culture of witness, and key components of outreach programs.


“The New Evangelization invites people to experience God’s love and mercy through the sacraments, especially through the Eucharist and Penance and Reconciliation,” the document states.