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The First Proclamation and The New Evangelization in The United States
The First Proclamation and The New Evangelization in The United States
THE FIRST PROCLAMATION AND THE NEW EVANGELIZATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Fr. Carl Chudy, SX
The Changing Religious Lan s!a"e A survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life details American religious affiliation and explores the diverse and extremely fluid shifts taking place in its religious landscape. More than one-quarter of American adults (2 !" have left the faith in #hich they #ere raised in favor of another religion -- or no religion at all. 1 $oman %atholics& #ho are fe#er than 'rotestants& have experienced the greatest loss. (hile nearly one-inthree Americans ()1!" #ere raised as %atholics& today fe#er than one-in-four (2*!" describe themselves as %atholic. +he young adult generation& #ho are departing in the greatest numbers& see themselves as ,spiritual- (not affiliated #ith organi.ed religion"& rather than ,religious- (affiliated #ith the %hurch". +he attack on the (orld +rade %enter in /e# 0ork %ity on 12112 2331 propelled 4am 5arris& a young philosopher and student of neuroscience& to devise a solution to the #orld#ide problem of terrorism. +olerance and compassion do not #ork for him as he sees tolerance of faith as the ma6or cause of the problem. 7n his bestselling books8 The End of Faith and Letter to a Chri tian !ation&2 he says #e can rid the #orld of faith by reason and the spread of science. 9ther influential atheist #riters are $ichard :a#kins and %hristopher 5itchens. +hose #ho consider themselves atheist are numerically small in the ;4A but their s#ay is felt on many levels as the ,ne# atheism- takes root in many hearts. +heir potent political agenda is finding support in groups like the Freedom from Religion Foundation" #hich upholds that social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion< and #hich pays for advertising encouraging people to leave their churches& mosques and synagogues. +he departures from the %hurch and the ,ne# atheism- demonstrate& in a poignant #ay& the shifting religious landscape #hich has been felt deeply in %atholic churches. +he sexual abuse cases of priests& brothers and the perceived cover-up by bishops also helped to diminish the credibility of the %hurch as an institution. 5o#ever& there are signs of hope. 7n the last t#elve years six million people #ere added to %atholics ranks in the ;4A. %atholics #ho attend mass regularly are about 22!& * nearly rivaling the number of members regularly attending evangelical 'rotestant churches and far exceeding mainline 'rotestant churches=.> 5o#ever& the shifting religious climate and its impact on the mission of the church is a po#erful motivation to #elcome the challenge of developing a ,ne# evangeli.ation- that seeks to revitali.e the %hurch and its mission today both in and from the ;nited 4tates. The Mission o# $he A%e&i!as
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+he 'e# $esearch %enter runs the 'e# ?orum on $eligion and 'ublic @ife. 9n ?ebruary 2>& 233 & the ;4 $eligious @andscape 4urvey #as done in intervie#s #ith )>&333 Americans& 1 years old and older. +he results may be found at8 http822pe#research.org2pubs2A*)2united-states-religion 7nternet maps and graphics of the study can be found at8 http822religions.pe#forum.org2 2 5aught& Bohn ?. Cod and the /e# Atheism8 A %ritical $esponse to :a#kins& 5arris& and 5itchens. (estminster Bohn Dnox 'ress& @ouisville E @ondon& 233 . p. 2. ) +he #ebsite may be found at8 http822ffrf.org2 * %hurch statistics from the %enter for Applied $esearch in the Apostolate8 http822cara.georgeto#n.edu2%A$A4ervices2requestedchurchstats.html > +he 'e# $esearch %enter& http822pe#research.org2pubs2A*)2united-states-religion
2 +he concern of the ne# evangeli.ation in both /orth and 4outh America #as expressed in the Apostolic Fxhortation& Eccle ia in #merica& #hich follo#ed a special assembly for America by the 4ynod of Gishops in $ome in 111A. 4pecial emphasis #as placed on ne# paths of rene#al in continuity #ith the Bubilee 0ear of 2333 and the >33th anniversary of evangeli.ation in the Americas. 7n Eccle ia in #merica Glessed Bohn 'aul 77 holds the principle that a common spiritual origin and spiritual destiny unite the people of /orth and 4outh America< this unity is signified by the cross of %olumbus and the apparition at Cuadalupe. +he Fxhortation probes the meaning of this origin and destiny to better explain the ne# evangeli.ation of the ne# millennium. All of this begins #ith the ,encounter #ith the @iving %hrist in America today.-H +he profundity of this meeting #ith the @ord Besus #ells up a deep and ardent desire to share %hrist #ith others& something also called ImissionJ or Ievangeli.ation.J 5e affirms8 ,An encounter #ith the @ord brings about a profound transformation in all #ho do not close themselves off from him. +he first impulse coming from this transformation is to communicate to others the richness discovered in the experience of the encounter. +his does not mean simply teaching #hat #e have come to kno# but also& like the 4amaritan #oman& enabling others to encounter Besus personally8 ,%ome and see=- (Bn *821".-A +he final chapter offers the crucial consequences of this meeting #ith Besus in the consideration of the mission to the Americas today. 7t is here #here the concern of evangeli.ation is brought to bear on the many cultures that comprise this continent #here ,a split bet#een the Cospel and culture is the drama of our times.- Dey areas in this American mission involve centers of education& the use of mass media& and the challenge of sects. 5o#ever& he leaves the most urgent concerns for this mission to #hat Katican 77 called the ,missio ad gentes- of the %hurch. 5e states8-=the name of Besus is unkno#n to a vast part of humanity and in many sectors of American society. 7t is enough to think of the indigenous peoples not yet %hristiani.ed or of the presence of non-%hristian religions such as 7slam& Guddhism or 5induism& especially among immigrants from Asia.-1 Wea'ening $he Ne( E)angeli*a$ion 7t is not the humanity #ho does not kno# %hrist in far-a#ay lands from the borders of the Americas that prompts this mission& but it is #ithin the Americas themselves #here the urgent #ork of the first proclamation begins. +he challenges of the ne# evangeli.ation are not restricted only to rene# the faith of those already %hristian& but must also be directed to outreach to our non-%hristian neighbors. 0et& in the ;nited 4tates %atholic GishopsJ document& $i ci%le Called to &itne ' The !ew E(angeli)ation*+, the mi io ad gente is strikingly absent& as #ell as the role of religious and missionaries. +he inconsistency in #hat is universally understood as the main challenges of the ne# evangeli.ation and #hat is actually playing out in many dioceses of the ;nited 4tates continues to undervalue the essential challenge of the first proclamation of %hrist
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%hapter 77 offers a meditation the Fncounter of %hrist in America through some key experiences and realities8 AmericaJs %hristian identity& the fruits of holiness& popular piety& the Fastern %atholic presence& the %hurchJs outreach in education and social services& gro#ing respect for human rights& and the gro#ing phenomenon of globali.ation and urbani.ation& the burden of external debt& drug trade and ecological concerns. A Fcclesia in America& H Apostolic Fxhortation E(angelii !untiandi (:ecember & 11A>"& 238 AA4 H (11AH"& 11. 1 Fcclesia in America& A* 13 http822###.usccb.org2beliefs-and-teachings2ho#-#e-teach2ne#-evangeli.ation2upload2:isciples%alled-+o-(itness-+he-/e#-Fvangeli.ation.pdf
) to those #ho do not kno# him& and thus #eaken the ne# evangeli.ation at the outset. +he failure to integrate mi io ad gente in the ne# evangeli.ation #ill only undermine the efforts of the ne# evangeli.ation. +he role of missionary institutes is clear. (e need to collaborate #ith one another and provide the needed resources to bishops& priests and lay leadership as each diocese clarifies its strategies to include all aspects of mission8 the first proclamation& pastoral care of the faithful& and the ne# evangeli.ation. 7n doing so& #e assist the %hurch in the ;nited 4tates to o#n and value the first proclamation as essential to its mission and to embrace an organic and holistic understanding of the ne# evangeli.ation.