Oct. 30, 2007

Bishop's Letter Offers Vision for New Evangelization

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio has issued his third pastoral letter to the people of the Diocese of Brooklyn, entitled “ ‘Do Not Be Afraid,’ a Pastoral Vision for the New Evangelization.”

Dated Oct. 18, 2007, the feast of St. Luke, evangelist and apostle, the 11,750-word document reasserts the Bishop’s firm commitment to the New Evangelization, a theme chosen by Pope John Paul II for the beginning of the new millennium.

The New Evangelization “is not a series of new programs or initiatives, but rather a revitalization of our personal relationship with Christ,” he writes in the introduction. “There can be no effective evangelization without a personal relationship with Christ.”

Bishop DiMarzio said he wrote the letter “with the hope that each of us can reach a deeper understanding of how we can live the vision of the New Evangelization, seek the revitalization of our personal lives, renew the institutions that serve our community of faith and work towards the realization of a common vision together.”

Divided into three sections, the letter focuses on “the true challenge” of revitalization, on diocesan priorities toward implementing the New Evangelization in Brooklyn and Queens and on the reconfiguring of diocesan institutions and parish structures.

Bishop DiMarzio advances five priorities in his letter: ongoing support and formation of priests, ongoing support and revitalization of parishes, schools and faith formation programs, providing future generations with competent, educated and faithful Church leadership, ongoing and effective support of Catholic families and outreach, ministry and service to youth.

In a listing of characteristics that mark the life of a parish, the Bishop calls for a “renewed spirit of evangelization” there. Noting that on average 238,000 parishioners attend weekend Masses in the Diocese, he said that constitutes about 15 percent of the Catholic population. Sixty-seven percent are over age 45. “Unfortunately, fewer Catholics come to Mass than in previous years,” he said.

The letter also addresses the outreach to school-age children in parochial schools and parish-based religious education programs. Research studies indicate that there are at least 140,000 Catholic children between five and 14---and maybe as many as 230,000---living in Brooklyn and Queens. Slightly fewer than 77,000 are enrolled in parochial schools or parish religious education classes.

While acknowledging that “the challenges before us are many,” Bishop DiMarzio

urged the faithful to work together to advance the New Evangelization. “The Lord will never fail us, if we are willing instruments in His hands,” he said.

Accompanying the letter is an appendix containing a timeline for 12 initiatives proposed by the Bishop, beginning this month with the introduction of a revised cluster planning process and a revised strategic planning process for schools. The last is a December, 2008 deadline for the start of cluster planning in each of the 32 clusters of parishes in the Diocese.

The letter’s title is drawn from St. Luke’s Gospel, where Jesus tells Peter after the miraculous catch of fish, “Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.” Jesus earlier had told Peter to “put out into the deep,” a passage Bishop DiMarzio calls one of his favorites “because it illustrates the qualities that must touch our individual hearts before true revitalization can begin.”

Bishop DiMarzio’s first pastoral letter was issued on his first anniversary as the seventh bishop of Brooklyn Oct. 3, 2004. The title was “The New Evangelization in Brooklyn and Queens.” In October of the following year he wrote his second letter, “The Family: The Hope of the New Evangelization.”

The full text of the pastoral letter is published in the Nov. 3 issue of The Tablet. A Spanish translation will be published in the Nov. 10 issue of the diocesan newspaper. Summaries will also be produced in English, Spanish, Creole, Polish, French, Italian, Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese for distribution in parishes.

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10/30/07