Part I Continued

Pope John Paul II - The New Evangelization

In January of 1999, when Pope John Paul II visited America, he issued his Apostolic Exhortation: The Church in America (Ecclesia in America). This was his special response to the Special Assembly for America of the Synod of Bishops held from November 16 through December 12, 1997. Pope John Paul II teaches that evangelization means connecting the Gospel with the materialistic culture of this secular, permissive, post-Christian era. This new era of the third Christian millennium faces new problems, challenges, and transformations. The effort to proclaim anew to this culture who Jesus Christ is requires: “A commitment not to a re-evangelization but to a ‘new’ evangelization: new in ardor, methods, and expression.” (#6)

This New Evangelization, therefore, has a different mission. It can no longer be adequately divided between pastoral activity among Christians and missionary activity among non-Christians. The mission is threefold:

To Christians
To those who are no longer Christians
To those who have never been Christians.

At the beginning of this new millennium, Pope John Paul II reminds us that the great legacy of the Jubilee Year 2000 is the contemplation of the face of Christ. “We must set about drawing up an effective post-Jubilee plan, rooted in contemplation and prayer”.