Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

Pope Benedict XVI has formally opened the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization with a “universal call to holiness” aimed at all Christians worldwide.

“Holiness is not confined by cultural, social, political or religious barriers. Its language, that of love and truth, is understandable to all people of good will and it draws them to Jesus Christ, the inexhaustible source of new life.”

Over the next three weeks the Synod of Bishops will aim to map out a new evangelization of the contemporary world. The Pope explained that the particular focus of “new” evangelization are those people “who, though baptized, have drifted away from the Church and live without reference to the Christian life.”

“In every time and place, evangelization always has as its starting and finishing points Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” he told them. He identified the crucifix as “the supremely distinctive sign of him who announces the Gospel: a sign of love and peace, a call to conversion and reconciliation.”

In conclusion, Pope Benedict placed the Synod of Bishops under the protection of the saints, particularly Bl. John Paul II “whose long pontificate was an example of the new evangelization” and “the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelization.”

“With her let us invoke a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that from on high he may illumine the synodal assembly and make it fruitful for the Church’s way ahead.”