Archbishop Leo Cushley was in Rome recently for the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

Members heard from Pope Francis on the need for a new approach to evangelization in our secularized and individualistic world, writes Vatican News.

He remarked that over the past decades secularism has caused “enormous difficulties” which span “from the loss of the sense of belonging to the Christian community, to indifference regarding faith and its contents”.

These negative effects, the Pope noted, have been further accentuated by the new digital culture, which "also brings with it a vision of mankind that appears problematic when referring to the need for truth that resides in every person, joined with the need for freedom in interpersonal and social relationships."

The crucial role of catechists

Emphasizing the crucial role of catechists, he expressed his hope “that bishops will be able to nurture and accompany vocations to this ministry”, especially among the young, “so that the gap between generations may be narrowed and the transmission of the faith may not appear as a task entrusted only to older people.”

“I encourage you to find ways for the Catechism of the Catholic Church to continue to be known, studied, and valued, so that it may respond to the new needs that manifest themselves with the passing decades.”

Need for prayer to prepare for the Jubilee of Hope

The Holy Father reflected on the preparation of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, which he will officially proclaim in an Apostolic Letter to be released in the weeks to come.

“I hope that those pages will be able to help many people reflect and, above all, experience hope in a real way," he said, remarking that “the holy people of God needs it so much!”

Thanking the Dicastery for its efforts to welcome the millions of Jubilee pilgrims flowing to Rome next year, Pope Francis concluded by recalling the importance of prayer to prepare for the event, for which 2024 has been designated as a Year of Prayer.

“We need to rediscover prayer as the experience of being in the Lord’s presence, of feeling we are understood, welcomed, and loved by Him,” he said. "Let us start, brothers and sisters, to pray more, to pray better, in the school of Mary and of the saints.”