Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

Pope Benedict XVI unveiled a new Vatican agency to promote “new evangelization” and assigned it the task of combating the “de-Christianization” of countries that were first evangelized centuries ago. The new council, named the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, will encourage a clearer understanding of the faith and help “remake the Christian fabric of human society.” In an apostolic letter dated Oct. 12, the pope identified a variety of factors in the weakening of religious faith in the West: advances in science and technology; the widening of individual freedom and lifestyle choices; profound economic changes; the mixing of cultures and ethnic groups brought about by migration; and the growing interdependence among peoples. Such changes have brought many benefits but often are accompanied by “a worrisome loss of the sense of the sacred,” he said.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

As I sit sore and tired, I cannot also help but think that the N.Y.C. Marathon for me is a thin space, a space where I can easily see God’s presence in the world.
Robert McCarthyNovember 04, 2024
Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples has been named as one of the prelates Pope Francis will make a cardinal on December 7th.
“I will not vote for president this year,” Monica Brent writes. “I cannot in good conscience vote for Donald Trump, for many reasons. However, Kamala Harris’s stance on abortion makes her a no-go for me, as well. ”
Our readersNovember 04, 2024
Pope Francis, your encyclical on the Sacred Heart, “Dilexit Nos,” is beautiful and heartwarming. And for Catholics in the United States, the timing was perfect.
Joe Laramie, S.J.November 04, 2024