VATICAN - Cardinal Filoni: "The collaboration of the laity with their Priests helps to make the Church alive in Angola"

Friday, 16 November 2018 filoni   missionary animation   local churches   laity  

Lubango (Agenzia Fides) - After the courtesy visit to the Governor, on the morning of Thursday 15 November, Cardinal Fernando Filoni met the members of lay movements and associations in the parish of Lage in Lubango, during his pastoral visit to Angola for the 50th anniversary of the Episcopal Conference (see Fides, 9/11/2018).
Inspired by the conclusions of the II Congress of the Angolan Laity, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples observed the awareness reached by the Angolan laity to also be their missionaries: "By virtue of baptism, every Christian has the duty to answer the call that Jesus addresses to all his disciples ... It is up to the laity, for their specific vocation, to seek the Kingdom of God by dealing with temporal things and putting them in order according to God. It is true that the Bishop is the first person responsible for evangelization, in collaboration with the priests and consecrated persons, but in the one body of Christ, the Church, every baptized person, has received from God a personal vocation to bear witness to the Gospel in all circumstances".
Therefore the Cardinal, after having recalled the announcement of the extraordinary Missionary Month of October 2019 and its objectives, focused on the local reality with these words: "It is noted with satisfaction that the collaboration of the laity and their Priests helps to make the Church alive in Angola. This vitality is manifested through the active participation of the faithful in liturgical celebrations and ecclesial and social activities. There is also a remarkable flowering of movements and lay associations. I especially admire the role of catechists in evangelization and parish pastoral care. Furthermore, the Church enjoys a good reputation in this country and is highly respected. All of this is also the result of your daily efforts".
After paying homage to the witness of faith, fidelity to the Gospel of Christ and to the apostolic commitment of the Angolan laity of yesterday and today, Cardinal Filoni encouraged all those involved in political, economic and cultural life, urging to respond to the appeal of the Bishops: "In reality, all of you have the right and the duty to participate in public life" as all the recent Popes have pointed out.
In the last part of his speech, Cardinal Filoni recalled some significant challenges the Church in Angola has to face, in the social and ecclesial field, which need the contribution of all in order to be resolved.
"First of all the evangelization of culture, to eradicate the ethnic and tribal divisions that undermine community life - he stressed -. Fetishism, sorcery, abandonment of the Church for the benefit of sects or other independent churches are also the sad manifestation of the lack of depth of faith in some Christians. Therefore, it is urgent to reject such behavior contrary to the spirit of the Gospel. Hence the need for a complete and adequate religious formation".
Another urgent challenge is that of the family: "I urge you to actively participate in the defense of the family and the promotion of movements and associations of family spirituality to protect the institution and the values of the family - invited Cardinal Filoni -. At the same time, to defend the dignity of man and woman, created in the image and likeness of God to make their families 'true domestic churches', built according to the model of the Holy Family of Nazareth". (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 16/11/2018)


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