Background[edit]
In the very first sentence of its Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium, the Second Vatican Council affirmed that Christ had sent the church to preach the gospel to every creature (LG 1; cf. Mk 16:15). Evangelism is a theme in multiple Vatican II documents. These documents mentioned "gospel" 157 times, "evangelize" 18 times, and "evangelization" 31 times.[7]
For several decades, the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church has been promoting a theme of new evangelization.[8] This includes re-evangelism of Christian people as well as mission Ad gentes to reach new regions and cultures.
Birthplace of the new evangelization[edit]
The birthplace of the new evangelization was Nowa Huta near Kraków in Poland where strenuous efforts for many years were made during communist rule to establish church land and a cross and church building in a new town where there was none.[9] Speaking at Mogila Abbey near Nowa Huta in 1979, Pope John Paul II said: "From the Cross of Nowa Huta began the new evangelization".[10]
Responses to papal appeals[edit]
Since Pope John Paul II, the cultural sector was seen as one of the many priorities of the new evangelization. In recent years, therefore, the Catholic Church promoted her artistic heritage in several countries as a pastoral opportunity for the new evangelization, particularly in Europe.[20]
In 2005, the Augustine Institute in Denver was established to train lay Catholics for the new evangelization.[21][22]
In 2011, Saint John's Seminary in Boston established a Theological Institute for the New Evangelization, which offers a Master's of Theological Studies for the New Evangelization. Despite being located at a seminary, the program is designed for laity, deacons, and professed religious.[3]
In 2012, Franciscan University of Steubenville established the Father Michael Scanlan Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization.[23]
In 2012, The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines issued a pastoral letter on the new evangelization with a nine year plan to help prepare Catholics for 2021, the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Gospel in the Philippines.[24][25]
On 12 December 2020, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Archdiocese of Sydney announced its archdiocese-wide plan for evangelism called "Go Make Disciples". Go Make Disciples[26] is the most far-reaching attempt to harness the resources of the Catholic Church within Australia in the service of the new evangelisation called for by all the modern popes since Pope Paul VI. It represents the personal vision of Archbishop Anthony Fisher for the future of the Archdiocese of Sydney.[27]
New media and new evangelization[edit]
New media tools such as the internet, social media and smartphones are being used as vehicles for expressing the new evangelization.[28] Media organizations like EWTN, National Catholic Register, Word on Fire, Catholic Answers, Relevant Radio, Shalom World, Shalom TV see using the new media to promote the work of evangelization. Individuals do the same with their social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter.[29]