Update Pope Francis - We Need Credible Witnesses Who Show the Beauty of God's Love Through Their Words and Lives

The importance of credible Christian witness to overcome indifference and religious illiteracy: that was the theme at the heart of Pope Francis’ message on Monday to members of the Pontifical Council for New Evangelisation.

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Key points below

Noting that so many people are indifferent or have grown away from the Church, the Pope said what we need most is credible witnesses, who show the beauty of God’s love through their words and their lives. 

While there are individuals and ideologies within the history of the Church that may be partly responsible for the current crisis, he said, we must continue on the path indicated by the Second Vatican Council to strip away those things which damage the face of the Church.
Instead, the Pope said, all Christians must make God’s mercy and tenderness visible through their joyful witness and charity to others.

Secondly, he said, new evangelization means going out to meet others and to dialogue with those who do not share our ideas and beliefs. 



The Church, he stressed is a house with its doors always open, not only for others to be welcomed inside, but also for us to go out and bring God’s love and hope to others.

Finally Pope Francis focused on the practical, pastoral work of dioceses and parishes, saying this must always be centred on Jesus Christ as the very essence of our faith. He praised the work of catechists, saying parents must also be the first to bear witness and educate their families in the faith.


Text from page http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/10/14/pope:_credible_christian_witnessses_wanted/en1-737235
of the Vatican Radio website 


Related post updated 14/10/2013

I've added Fr. Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation below, received in my inbox today that  is a useful addition to  Pope Francis Homily on the sign of Jonah.


 Seven Themes of An Alternative Orthodoxy

"Sixth Theme: The path of descent is the path of transformation. Darkness, failure, relapse, death, and woundedness are our primary teachers, rather than ideas or doctrines (Process).
No sign will be given you except the sign of Jonah.   — Luke 11:29
"This clear one-liner of Jesus feels rather amazing and largely unheard. Especially since our logo became the sign of the cross. Maybe they are the same sign? Indeed it is not a sign at all, but more an anti-sign. It seems to demand that we must release ourselves into a belly of darkness before we can know what is essential. It insists that the spiritual journey is more like giving up control than taking control. It might even be saying that others will often throw us overboard, as was the case with Jonah, and that will get us to the right shore—and even by God’s grace more than any right action on our part.

Jonah knew what God was doing, and how God does it, and how right God is—only after emerging from the belly of the whale. He has no message whatsoever to give until he has first endured the journey, the darkness, the spitting up on the right shore—all in spite of his best efforts to avoid these very things. Jonah indeed is our Judeo-Christian symbol of transformation. Jesus had found the Jonah story inspiring, no doubt, because it described almost perfectly what was happening to him!"
Adapted from Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent, pp. 31-32
(También disponible en Español)The Daily Meditations for 2013 are now available in Fr. Richard’s new book Yes, And . . .

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