There is a great need for a “basic formation” in the Christian life among lay people, in order to respond to “the alarming increase in the number of people who do not know Jesus Christ at all.” Specifically, he called for a “formation of the heart,” which involves the whole life: at the origin of Christian life there is an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ, who first changes the heart, then our mindset, and eventually transforms daily conduct and all of life.
Cardinal Farrell stressed that the solution to the challenges facing the Church is not to change structures or the principles of Catholic doctrine or morality. Such changes, he said, will not “bring people back to Mass,” increase vocations, or draw young people back to the Church.
Rather, the Cardinal stressed, every local Church, diocese, and parish must offer, on a permanent basis, “paths of evangelization, catechesis, initial proclamation of the faith, Christian initiation, formation in the faith, and accompaniment in spiritual growth.”
He recalled that Pope Leo, in his Apostolic Letter Drawing New Maps of Hope, affirmed that Christian formation must embrace “the entire person: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical,” and he encouraged lively, kerygmatic catechesis, introduction to sacramental life, liturgical celebrations, prayer life, examination of life in the light of Scripture, dialogue, experiences of fraternity, service, charity, and missionary activity.
– Vatican News
- H.E. Cardinal Kevin Farrell
Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life
