III
CONCRETE PROPOSALS
Primary pastoral objectives
25. The new challenges which must be taken up by an inculturated evangelization
based on cultures shaped by two millenniums of Christianity and reference
points identified at the heart of the new Areopagus-situations to be found in
our times, call for a renewed presentation of the Christian message, rooted in
the living tradition of the Church and sustained by the witness of genuine
Christian living of Christian communities. Conceiving everything anew, based on
the newness of the Gospel proposed in a fresh and persuasive way becomes a
major requirement. In a perspective of Gospel preparation, the primary
objective of the pastoral approach to culture, is to inject the life-blood of
the Gospel into cultures to renew from within and transform in the light of the
Revelation the visions of men and society that shape cultures, the concepts of
men and women, of the family and of education, of school and of university, of
freedom and of truth, of labour and of leisure, of the economy and of society,
of the sciences and of the arts.
But the fact that something is said is not enough to guarantee that it will
be understood. When those listening were basically in tune with the message
because of their traditional culture imbued with Christianity, and generally
well disposed towards it through their overall social and cultural background,
what was offered could be received and understood. With the cultural pluralism
of the present, there must be coherence between the message itself and the
conditions of its reception.
The success of this great undertaking implies the need for continual
discernment, with the light of the Holy Spirit invoked through prayer. It also
calls for adequate preparation and appropriate formation through simple
pastoral means C homilies, catechesis, popular missions, schools of
evangelization C together with modern means of communication so as to reach men
and women of all cultures. The Synods of Bishops since Vatican II have recalled
this ever more insistently, for lay people as much as for priests and
religious. Bishops' Conferences find that cultural commissions (or
committees) - which it is important to create where they are as yet lacking
- are an excellent tool for collaboration in this field. They can promote the
presence of the Church in the various areas of cultural development, and foster
the many types of creativity which are born of faith and express and sustain
it. «To this end, each particular Church should have a cultural project, as is
already the case in a number of countries».(21) These are the stakes
involved in a pastoral approach to culture, which is perhaps more complex in
its demands than the first evangelization of non-Christian cultures.
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