or does not MST’s purpose of ad gentes mission
force us to venture into take up ministries in favour
of new evangelization?
COMPATIBILITY OF MISSION AD GENTES AND
NEW EVANGELIZATION
were baptized but who have grown indifferent to
religion.
One may attribute many more elements and
methods of evangelization to the notion of reevangelization, but the reason for its historical
emergence should guide the prime thrust of
the activity, not to miss its intended purpose.
The Lineamenta for the 2012 Synod of Bishops
in Rome very emphatically positioned the new
evangelization as the following:
Considering that evangelization is characteristic
of the Church’s ordinary activity and taking
into consideration that the proclamation of the
Gospel ad gentes requires the formation of the
local community and the particular Churches in
missionary countries of the first evangelization, the
new evangelization is primarily addressed to those
who have drifted from the Church in traditionally
Christian countries (Preface to the Lineamenta
for 2012 Roman Synod of Bishops on New
Evangelization).
At the conclusion of the special assembly for the
Synod of Bishops of Middle East in October 2010,
Pope Benedict XVI clearly placed the topic of the
new evangelization at the top of the Church’s
7
agenda which he had already mentioned
a month ahead in September 2010 through
Verbum Domini that new evangelization has to
be urgently promoted for “many of our brothers
and sisters who were baptized, but insufficiently
evangelized… nations once rich in faith and in
vocations but now losing their identity under the
influence of a secularized culture” (VD 96). Thus the
historical need and the focus of new evangelization
are sufficiently clear. Towards this new focus, does
7
Benedict XVI, “Homily at the Conclusion of the Special
Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops” in
L’Osservatore Romano: Weekly Edition in English, 27 October
2010, 4.
10
SANTHOME MISSION
While ad gentes mission is directed toward
those who are ‘not yet evangelized’ in their
traditional culture or new cultural situation, new
evangelization is directed towards those who are
‘no longer Christians,’ whom ‘re-evangelization’
is necessary. The latter form the entire groups
of baptized people in the countries of ancient
Christendom for whom Jesus Christ is not that
important, who maintain their distance from
the Church and have lost the living sense of the
Christian faith. Does this ‘new evangelization’ of the
de-Christianized qualify as ad gentes mission in its
specific sense? I agree that it certainly does not fit
into the ordinary pastoral attention to the faithful
who belong to mature ecclesial communities and
who are already committed to universal mission.
However, since ad gentes missionary activity in
the specific sense is an evangelization of groups
that do not believe in Christ and do not belong to
the visible Church, whether these groups are ‘not
yet Christians’ or ‘no longer Christians’ in practice,
ministry among the non-practicing Catholic faithful
is ad gentes mission itself. Because of this, we MSTs
can be convinced that the ‘new evangelization’ of
Pope John Paul II is a form of ad gentes missionary
activity in the specific sense.
It would further refer to the fact that ‘formal’
pastoral work in an established parish of a diocese
which is part of the visible Church is not directly
new evangelization. However, if there are deliberate
attempts to enliven the faith of non-practicing
Christians in the territory, can it be qualified as new
evangelization? Excellent parish administration,
preaching and exemplary life of the parish priests
can bring back some of those drifted away from
the Church. Similarly, a parish priest may be able
to bring a different religionist to faith in Christ and
make him/her the member of the Church, just
as an ad gentes missionary priest may also cater
the pastoral needs of an isolated Catholic family
in the vicinity of his centre. These are indications
that various evangelizing ministries are mutually