Pope: Pauline Year Should Herald Missionary Age

"Christ's mandate to evangelize all people remains a priority," the Pope affirmed. "Let us cast out our nets without fear, trusting in his constant help."

VATICAN CITY (Zenit) - The situation of the world gives rise to "deep concerns" about the very future of mankind, Benedict XVI says.

The Pope expressed this concern in his message for the 82nd World Mission Sunday, scheduled for Oct. 19. The May 11 message was made public today. It is dedicated to the theme "Servants and Apostles of Jesus Christ."

The Holy Father's message invites people "to reflect on the urgent need to announce the Gospel, also in our own times." He called the Pauline Year "an opportunity to propagate the announcement of the Gospel unto the ends of the earth."

"Humanity is suffering, it awaits true liberty, it awaits a new and better world, it awaits 'redemption,'" the Pontiff wrote.

He said that the current international situation gives rise to "deep concerns regarding the very future of mankind." He cited violence, poverty "that oppresses millions of people, discrimination and sometimes even persecution for racial, cultural and religious reasons, [...] a constant threat in the relationship between man and the environment, [...] and attacks on human life, that take on various forms and methods."

"Is there," the Pope asks, "hope for the future? Or rather, is there a future for humanity? [...] For we believers, the answer to these questions comes from the Gospel. Christ is our future. [...] St. Paul understood that only in Christ can humanity find redemption and hope."

St. Paul

Benedict XVI emphasized that "for love of Christ" the Apostle of the Gentiles "tramped the roads of the Roman empire as herald, apostle, announcer and master of the Gospel, of which he proclaimed himself to be 'an ambassador in chains.'"

"Only from this source can we draw the concentration, the tenderness, the compassion, the openness, the readiness, the concern for the problems of people, and those other virtues that messengers of the Gospel need in order to leave everything and devote themselves completely and unconditionally to spreading the perfume of Christ's charity in the world," he said.

Despite such difficulties as a shortage of priests and a lack of vocations, "Christ's mandate to evangelize all people remains a priority," the Pope affirmed. "Let us cast out our nets without fear, trusting in his constant help."

Bishops, "like the Apostle Paul, are called to reach out to those who are far off and who do not yet know Christ," he said, noting that prelates have the duty of "willingly contributing, each according to his capacities, in sending priests and lay people to other Churches for the service of evangelization."

The Holy Father encouraged priests "to be generous pastors and enthusiastic evangelizers," expressing the hope that "this missionary commitment in local Churches does not diminish despite the lack of priests."

He called on religious to carry "the announcement of the Gospel to everyone, especially to those farthest away, by a coherent witness in Christ and a radical adherence to the Gospel."

"You too, dear laypeople," he added, "are called to play an ever more important role in spreading the Gospel."

Benedict XVI concluded his message with an expression of appreciation for "the contribution of the Pontifical Missionary Works to the evangelizing activities of the Church. [...] May the collection gathered in all parishes on World Mission Day be a sign of reciprocal communion and solicitude between Churches.

"Finally, may Christians intensify their prayers, the indispensable spiritual means for spreading the light of Christ among all peoples, 'the true light' that illuminates 'all the shadows of history.'"