Read your Catechism

from Catholic News Service:

According to the Pope, the Church faces a new challenge today in its mission of evangelization. That is the “phenomenon of the detachment from the faith, that has progressively manifested itself in societies and cultures that for centuries appeared to be impregnated by the Gospel.”

In his letter, the Pope described a religious landscape in the once-Christian West that is now characterized by a kind of practical atheism, where "economic well-being and consumerism ... inspire and sustain a life lived 'as if God did not exist.'"

In addition to widespread attitudes of indifference to religion, he also noted that in some places deliberate efforts are being made at "uprooting" the historic Christian faith.

In countries where ancient Christian traditions are threatened with eclipse, the Pope said, “only a new evangelization can ensure the growth of a clear and profound faith, capable of making of these traditions a force of true freedom."

To aid this new evangelization, the new pontifical office, known as a dicastery, will work with local bishops to promote missionary initiatives. The Pope stressed the need to find creative new ways to use communications media and to promote the Catechism of the Catholic Church as the "essential and complete formulation of the content of the faith for the men of our time."