The Catholic Bishops Essay Example for Free

The Catholic Bishops EssayEvangelisation in England and Wales is a report scripted by Philip Knights and Andrea Murray for the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales published in 2002. Knights is a member of the Catholic directionary Society. Murray teaches at Ushaw College, Durham. The bishops commissivirtuosod the report to assist the Churchs evangelisation efforts in the new century, aware that congregations were declining in size and that members were growing older. The report consists of eight chapters and 172 pages of text.There is besides a foreword by Crispian Hollis, bishop of Portsmouth and Chairman of the accusation and Unity department of the Bishops Conference. The Introduction (7-10) describes how the research was conducted. A section follows this on Theological Background (11-55). Section three continues theological reflection with an exploration of the excogitation of Missio Dei (56-67). Section four discusses the contexts in which evangelisation ta kes place (68-79) then section five describes the Framework of Analysis (80-84), leading into the presentation of data in section sise (85-132).Section seven, on locations of evangelisation (133-156) begins to suggest some possibilities for evangelisation while the final section offers some recomm stopping pointations (157-169). The research behind the report included reviewing theological material on evangelisation including Church documents and statements, participant observation, interview and use of a questionnaire (7). The questionnaire was sent to several constituencies. These were Catholic parishes, priests, seminarians, bishops and diocesan officials.The largest constituency was the first, since more than four million people belong to Catholic parishes. The authors describe Participation and Sample Size in an Appendix, commenting that in order to ensure at least 1,000 responses from parishes, 5,000 questionnaires were distributed in 1250 randomly chosen Catholic parishes (1 71). 23% of these were returned. 1250 priests were sent questionnaires, of who 36% responded. 55% of bishops and officials responded of the 120 who received questionnaires. A 44% response rate came from seminarians.Pilot surveys tested drafts of the data-collecting instrument before the final meter reading was distributed. All sections draw on the results of the amicable science type research and quotes from respondents are used throughout, placed in text-boxes. Section begins by defining the kernel of the term evangelisation, commenting that Catholics p impact this to the word evangelism which is widely used by Protestants. The Catholic Church has preferent the term evanglisation since the 1970s (29). The term mission has receded in usage, in the main due to colonial con nonations (30).Evangelism tends to be associated mainly with personal or individual transformation evangelisation has a greater sense of the cosmic (30). On the one hand, the terms evangelism and evangelisation can be used interchangeably (20). On the other, evangelism is more commonly associated with presenting the Gospel to those who are not Christians (12) often verbally, while evangelisation has a broader scope. Indicating that as many as 79 definitions of evangelisation are available, the authors offer their own definition, emphasizing that evangelisation includes living the mature News as well as proclaiming it.Evangelisation does not end when people become Christian but continues in formation and renewal of existing Christians and of converts and in transforming the whole of humanity and the world so that Gods kingdom of love, peace and justice become a reality (14). This broad definition of evangelisation challenges the tendency, noted by the authors, to limit its scope to trying to persuade non-believers to believe. The authors idiom that evangelisation is Gods work, not an human work.Gods presence may be found in unexpected places (16) and the Church mustiness not be regarded as having an exclusive claim on Gods presence or on Gods actions. As well as bringing new members into the Church, evangelisation also seeks to make less active members more active, to win back those who have left the church and to develop the life of parishes (18). Evangelisation, too, has a special concern for people on the margins, whether due to poverty, social circumstances or other reasons (16). Pages 23-29 trace the derivation of the word evangelisation from the Biblical word for Good News, or Gospel.Taking the Good News into all the world, the authors say, which Jesus en bank to the apostles and they entrusted to the Church, involves more than winning converts. It has to do with manifesting Gods love in the world (28), establishing winsome communities by deeds as well as by word. Throughout, the authors are eager to stress that evangelisation is the task of all Christians, not of a chosen fewer or of priests and ghostlike only. Those who have been evangelized must become evangelizers (48). Peoples gifts vary but all have a part to play.Building on their biblical research, the authors use three terms to indicate what might be understood as stages of the evangelisation process, kerygma (proclamation), koinonia (fellowship) and diakonia (service) which cooperate in the task of arousing and fostering a living faith (33). The authors also link evangelisation and Trinity, arguing that it is not so much the Church that does evangelisation but that evaneglisation happens to the Church (36) which is rooted in the Divine Communion of the Trinity (46).There is a need to avoid the temptation to limit the scope and meaning of evangelisation to any single activity (36). The social circumstances of the twenty-first century, that is, a society of mainly unchurched people with Britain as one of the least religious countries in the world (70) demands new methods of evangelisation, new agency of communication. The section on Mission Dei builds on the theological ref lection by locating everything that the Church does within the activity of the Triune God (56). Mission is Gods work.Mission aims to gather all things to God through Christ and the Holy Spirit is the main agent of mission. The Spirit is not hold in to the Church but is present in the world and active in all people including those of other faiths (61 71). The term mission dei is popular with Evangelical as well as with Catholic thinkers. Again, personal responsibility for mission is stressed because we have been transformed, we must transform the world (58). The aim of mission is not to keep open the Church but to establish the conditions required for Gods kingdom to dawn (62). Gods kingdom is intended for all humanity (63).The Church, however, is also central to the work of mission, the primary participant in the mission dei (64) because it anticipates the Kingdom (66). The Church is, the authors say, a sacrament of the communion with God and unity among all peoples that we eff a s the kingdom of God (66). Discussing the context of evangelisation, the authors argue that the Church needs to consider the context in which the people she seeks to address are located. The Church must have an intimate knowledge of society and be aware of social changes, both those that can be affirmed and those that should be challenged and resisted (69).Evangelisation reaches out to people in specific social, political and economic contexts. Membership of and participation in religious communities has seriously declined and younger people especially tend to have no religious adherence (70). Others are committed members of other faiths and of other Christian churches. Such people are to be respected. Cooperation rather than competition with ecumenical partners is to be preferred (71). Historically British Catholics have seen themselves as outside the mainstream of religious life and have adopted a fortress mentality (72).This has declined and Catholics are now emend placed to eng age in constructive Dialogue with thir neighbours in Civil Society. Decline in priestly vocations, too, impacts evangelisation, resulting in a need to regroup parishes and to spread fewer resources more widely (73). Discussing contemporary culture, the authors argue that the trend towards fragmentation and individualism presents challenges. The post-modern idea that great stories and meta-narratives are not to be trusted challenges the Gospel, which is regarded as the definitive all comprehensive narrative.Institutions, organized religion, authority figures such as priests and bishops are distrusted as people pick and mix more freely. The Catholic Church is perceived to be out of step with some social trends, such as lifestyle choices but also on the role of women. more and more empowered in the wider society, the place of women in the Church appears to lag behind (76). Again, the authors highlight that the poor and marginalized have a special claim on the Gospel. Here, they refer to the ecumenical programme Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation as having particular resonance with the concerns of the age.Lobbying on issues of economic justice, environmental health are all aspects of evangelisation perceived as kingdom-building. British Catholics can help globally as well as more locally to deal with such issues as relieving the debt-burden of developing nations and with issues link to asylum seekers and refugees. Section five, on the framework of analysis is a brief explanation of how the social science research data was analyzed, as presented in the succeeding(prenominal) section. In analyzing the data, the authors found two frameworks helpful.These are derived from the literary research summarized in preceding chapters. The frameworks are described as the triangle of kerygma, koinonia and diakonia and as parish vital force. The authors suggest that Catholics are weak at initial proclamation, that is, at attracting converts and traditionally stron ger at fostering faith and serving society. Vital Parishes would function as places of dish of welcome, of catechesis and of growth whereas at present the former tends to be carried out elsewhere, such as through small-groups or special initiatives.