Local Catechisms should inculturate the Gospel in modern life

His Beatitude Sviatoslav during discussions on the main theme of the Plenary Assembly of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (Consilium Conferentiarum Episcoporum Europae, CCEE) – New Evangelization – said that local Catechisms should inculturate the Gospel in modern life. The church primate recalled the thought of John Paul II expressed in the proclamation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that the Catechism becomes an incentive for local churches to develop their own Catechisms, and thus make available the truth of the Catholic faith for people of different cultural and social contexts. His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that if previously there was talk about inculturation of the Gospel, then in our time we are witnessing the ex-culturation of the Gospel. The point is that modern culture often does not reflect the principles of the Christian faith on which the European civilization was built over two millennia. In this regard, according to Patriarch Sviatoslav, the task of returning the Gospel to the contemporary culture now stands before the churches in Europe. The church head supported the view of the main speaker, Archbishop Fisichella, that catechesis is an integral part of evangelization. He also presented the UGCC Catechism, which will form the basis for a wide evangelistic strategy, approved by the Synod of Bishops in 2011. “For the UGCC participation in this year’s Plenary Assembly provides an opportunity to share experiences and plans in the area of ​​evangelization,” Bishop Bohdan (Dziurakh), Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, told the Information Department. Bishop Bohdan together with Patriarch Sviatoslav took part in the CCEE. “In addition, we learned during the assembly of a number of interesting initiatives that will be undertaken by the Pontifical Council for the new evangelization and in which the UGCC is interested in participating, such as the Metropolis Mission – extensive evangelistic projects that will be implemented in large cities in western and central Europe. We hope to apply this idea to our development strategy in the coming years.”  

UGCC Information Department