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Chapter I

What Is the New Evangelization?

Rooted in Vatican II

Blessed Pope John Paul II spoke about the need for a “new evangelization” multiple times during his pontificate. When he died, many wondered what would become of this emphasis. It soon became apparent that Pope Benedict XVI would not only continue the call for a “new evangelization,” but also make it an ongoing focus of the entire Church. Pope Benedict has “institutionalized” the major emphasis that Blessed John Paul II put on the need for a “new evangelization” by establishing the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization and choosing new evangelization as the theme of the October 2012 World Synod of Bishops. The roots, though, of the current papal emphasis on a “new evangelization” are located in the rationale and documents of the Second Vatican Council, the fiftieth anniversary of which we also are commemorating. The council was called out of a sense that an authentic renewal of the Church’s life was necessary in order to more effectively communicate to the modern world the saving message of Christ.

As Cardinal Avery Dulles has pointed out, there was a significant shift in emphasis from Vatican I to Vatican II:

A simple word count indicates the profound shift in focus. Vatican I, which met from 1869-1870, used the term gospel (evangelium) only once and never used the terms evangelize and evangelization. Less than a century later, Vatican II mentioned the [word] gospel 157 times and used the verb evangelize eighteen times and the noun evangelization thirty-one times. When it spoke of evangelization, Vatican II generally meant the proclamation of the basic Christian message of salvation through Jesus Christ.¹

Initial Confusion

For the first decade after Vatican II, though, the main focus of many leaders seemed to be on issues such as the sharing of power within the Church, the setting up of consultative bodies such as parish and diocesan councils, the implementation of a vernacular liturgy, the turn toward Christian unity, dialogue with non-Christian religions, and dialogue with the modern world. Accompanying this were multiple theological challenges to the teaching of the Church in the areas of sexual morality, the priesthood, and the very uniqueness and identity of Christ, which spread widespread confusion about what the Church still believed and taught. Some famous theologians gave lectures all over the world talking about Vatican II as “just the beginning” and pushing for more and more radical change, which led to a disregard for the amazingly beautiful and relevant documents themselves.

It wasn’t until 1975 and the publication of Pope Paul VI’s Evangelii Nuntiandi (apostolic exhortation on evangelization in the modern world, henceforth abbreviated as EN) that some of the most foundational themes of Vatican II resurfaced. Both Popes Paul VI and John Paul II often summarized the deepest purpose of the council as renewal for the sake of evangelization. As Pope Paul stated it, the purposes of the council “are definitively summed up in this single one: to make the Church of the twentieth century ever better fitted for proclaiming the Gospel to the people of the twentieth century” (EN, 2). The popes have identified renewal in holiness as the primary renewal that the council called for, and the primary outward fruit of such holiness, a “new evangelization.”

As Blessed John Paul II stated in his 1990 encyclical on evangelization, Redemptoris Missio (“Mission of the Redeemer,” henceforth abbreviated as RM):

The call to mission derives, of its nature, from the call to holiness. … The universal call to holiness is closely linked to the universal call to mission. Every member of the faithful is called to holiness and to mission. (RM, 90)²

What Is the New Evangelization?

Starting in 1983, Pope John Paul II began to frequently call for a “new evangelization.” He made it clear that he wasn’t calling for a new gospel, but a new effort, characterized by new “ardor, methods, and expression,”³ and directed in a new way, not only to those who have never heard the Gospel before — the traditional “mission territories” — but now also to the lukewarm and de-Christianized traditionally Christian Western nations.

The new evangelization does not consist of a “new gospel.” … Neither does it involve removing from the Gospel whatever seems difficult for the modern mentality to accept. … The new evangelization has as its point of departure the certitude that in Christ there are “inexhaustible riches” (Eph 3:8) which no culture nor era can exhaust. … These riches are, first of all, Christ himself, his person, because he himself is our salvation.⁴

He distinguished “primary evangelization” directed toward those who have never heard the Gospel before, “pastoral care” directed toward those who were living as believers, and “new evangelization or re-evangelization” directed toward those from traditionally Christian cultures or backgrounds “where entire groups of the baptized have lost a living sense of the faith, or even no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live a life far removed from Christ and his Gospel” (RM, 33). To state it in a simple way, what’s primarily new about the “new evangelization” is whom it is directed toward, the baptized who are not living in an active relationship of discipleship with Jesus. It is also “new” in the passion and enthusiasm that Blessed John Paul II has stated is essential for its success, along with an openness to the Holy Spirit to show us new methods and expressions of the faith that can communicate with people today. “Finally, what’s ‘new’ about the ‘new evangelization’ is that it is not only the responsibility of priests, nuns, or full time Church employees but of every single Catholic, by virtue of being baptized into the life and mission of Jesus.”⁵

The Urgency of a New Evangelization

As Blessed John Paul published his “vision,” or “mission statement,” for the Catholic Church as it entered the new millennium, Novo Millennio Ineunte (“At the Beginning of a New Millennium,” henceforth abbreviated as NMI), he cited the collapse of Christian society as a primary reason for the need for a new evangelization and highlighted the role of the Holy Spirit in making the new evangelization effective:⁶

To nourish ourselves with the word in order to be “servants of the Word” in the work of evangelization: this is surely a priority for the Church at the dawn of the new millennium. Even in countries evangelized many centuries ago, the reality of a “Christian society” which, amid all the frailties which have always marked human life, measured itself explicitly on Gospel values, is now gone. Today we must courageously face a situation which is becoming increasingly diversified and demanding, in the context of “globalization” and of the consequent new and uncertain mingling of peoples and cultures. Over the years, I have often repeated the summons to the new evangelization. I do so again now, especially in order to insist that we must rekindle in ourselves the impetus of the beginnings and allow ourselves to be filled with the ardor of the apostolic preaching which followed Pentecost. We must revive in ourselves the burning conviction of Paul, who cried out: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16).

This passion will not fail to stir in the Church a new sense of mission, which cannot be left to a group of “specialists” but must involve the responsibility of all the members of the People of God. Those who have come into genuine contact with Christ cannot keep him for themselves, they must proclaim him. A new apostolic outreach is needed, which will be lived as the everyday commitment of Christian communities and groups.” (40)

The collapse of Christian society is being experienced in the Catholic Church as a “wake-up call” to the need for a renewal of fervor, both for holiness and for evangelization, rooted in the continuing reality of Pentecost. “Whole countries and nations where religion and the Christian life were formerly flourishing … are now put to a hard test,” says Christifideles Laicis (“The Lay Members of Christ’s Faithful People,” henceforth abbreviated as CL).

Certainly the command of Jesus: “Go and preach the Gospel” always maintains its vital value and its ever-pressing obligation. Nevertheless, the present situation not only of the world but also of many parts of the Church, absolutely demands that the word of Christ receive a more ready and generous obedience. Every disciple is personally called by name: no disciple can withhold making a response: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor 9:16). (CL, 33)

It is sobering to see the radical decline in the practice of the faith in traditionally strong Catholic areas of North America, not to mention what’s happening in Europe and Oceania. The statistics from just one Midwestern diocese are typical of what is happening in dozens and dozens of dioceses in New England, the Middle Atlantic States, the Midwest, and Upper Midwest, and in many other dioceses throughout the United States and Canada.

The statistics reported below track this drop in a large Midwestern diocese, but statistics that I’ve seen from other dioceses are very similar and are typical of the Catholic heartland.⁷

Last Ten Years

The collapse of Christian culture, as weak and ambiguous as it was in some ways, has profoundly affected the beliefs and actions of baptized Catholics. Whether it be the decline in Mass attendance, the radical drop in vocations, the widespread breakup of Catholic marriages, the increasing frequency of cohabitation by Catholics before — or instead of — marriage, and the shrinking of family size, the statistics are widely known but nevertheless quite shocking.⁸

What these statistics indicate, among other things, is that there is something like an institutional collapse going on, evidenced by the vast numbers of schools closing; parishes merging, clustering, and closing; and the multiple assignments that many young priests now are asked to manage. Besides this institutional collapse, there is evidence of a widespread repudiation of the teaching of Christ and the Church by vast numbers of Catholics. Even those who attend Mass regularly often embody a set of beliefs that are closer to the secular elites than the teaching of Christ.