Pope Benedict, opening the Synod of Bishops, observed that “in every time and place, evangelization always has as its starting and finishing points Jesus Christ, the Son of God (cf. Mk 1:1); and the Crucifix is the supremely distinctive sign of him who announces the Gospel: a sign of love and peace, a call to conversion and reconciliation”.
He also stated, “The Church exists to evangelize. Faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ’s command, his disciples went out to the whole world to announce the Good News, spreading Christian communities everywhere.”
To say the Church exists to evangelize is to say that evangelization is not an extra or a optional item. It’s integral to who and what the Church is. How are we doing?
The whole text of the Holy Father’s remarks is here.
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