VATICAN CITY, MARCH 15, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization will mark only its six-month anniversary this month, but the newborn dicastery is busy setting its goals and work plan.
The first task at hand is defining terms. «Who is the subject of the new evangelization,» the council president is asking. What methodologies does it use? Who are the recipients of the new evangelization? And how should it relate to the various cultures and ecclesial traditions in which the new evangelization is carried out?
Past and future
The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization was established by Benedict XVI in «Ubicumque et semper,» dated Sept. 21, 2010.
Pope John Paul II first asked for a new evangelization on June 13, 1979, in Nowa Huta, Poland.
In October 2012, a synod will be held on the topic of the new evangelization. Archbishop Fisichella reflected that the discussions and propositions from that event, as well as the postsynodal apostolic exhortation, will set the road map for the dicastery’s efforts.