Bishop urges schools to further mobilise for evangelisation

Bishop Adams was one of the speakers on a webinar last week hosted by Te Kupenga – Catholic Theological College and the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference to mark the 50th anniversary of St Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi.

Bishop Adams asked how God chose to bring Christ to the people, explaining that God sent a little baby.

“I can’t help but think one of the jewels in the crown of the Church in New Zealand is our Catholic schools,” Bishop Adams said.

“I really think that somehow, and I have been a schoolteacher myself, the faith of little children is a very, very beautiful and transformative thing. And I have seen studies, and I have done one myself, how that faith becomes more and more cynical as you get older and older, and less evangelising,” he said.

“It seems to be that we could do something great here if we could mobilise our schools.”

The bishop asked for prayers for the New Zealand Catholic Education Office in carrying out its part in that effort.

“I think there are great possibilities in this country for the simple, beautiful, clear evangelisation of young people. After all, that was the remedy God the Father came up with,” Bishop Adams said.

The bishop was joined on the webinar by Catholic Enquiry Centre director Carly Mulqueen and Catholic Theological College director and pastoral theology lecturer John Evangelista in reflecting on Paul VI’s encyclical.

Dr Evangelista set the scene for participants, helping them to understand the context within which the document was written and received.

Among the points emphasised during the webinar were that evangelisation is the mission of the entire Church and that authentic witness gives credibility to proclamation of the Christian message.

Mrs Mulqueen referred to Evangelii Nuntiandi’s guidance about authentic witness – which involves living a life shaped by Jesus, characterised by integrity and joy, being open to the Holy Spirit and having concern for the vulnerable.

People need to meet Christians whose lives are credible, Mrs Mulqueen said.

“Evangelisers are not loud or forceful; they are not Bible-bashing. They are joyful, merciful and deeply human, just being themselves,” she said.

Joy, accompaniment and Church renewal were among the topics discussed, as was the need for proclamation of the Good News.

Bishop Adams stressed the centrality of Christ, saying Jesus did not bring a message; he is the message. The bishop suggested that all evangelisation begins with Christ, proceeds in union with him and leads to communion with him in the Church.

To be an effective evangeliser is to firstly configure oneself as closely as possible to Christ himself, Bishop Adams said.

FULL STORY

What is Evangelisation Today? | 50 Years of Evangelii Nuntiandi (Catholic Discovery/YouTube)

RELATED STORY

Evangelii Nuntiandi (December 8, 1975) (Holy See)