{"id":1317,"date":"2012-10-12T08:16:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-12T08:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/archbishop-gomezs-first-pastoral-letter-details-evangelization-plans\/"},"modified":"2012-10-12T08:16:00","modified_gmt":"2012-10-12T08:16:00","slug":"archbishop-gomezs-first-pastoral-letter-details-evangelization-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/10\/archbishop-gomezs-first-pastoral-letter-details-evangelization-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"Archbishop Gomez’s first pastoral letter details evangelization plans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Los Angeles, Calif., Oct 12, 2012 \/ 02:16 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles has written his first pastoral letter to his archdiocese, invoking the Catholic history of California and calling on Catholics to witness to the \u201cNew World of faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cLos Angeles \u2014 like all of California and the Americas \u2014is built on a Christian foundation. And today we are called to build on that missionary foundation to make a new evangelization of the Americas,\u201d the archbishop said in his Oct. 2 letter, which was released Oct. 10, the eve of the Catholic Church\u2019s Year of Faith.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe world needs a new evangelization! The people of our city, our nation and our continent are waiting for the encounter with Jesus Christ who makes all things new,\u201d he proclaimed.<\/p>\n

\tArchbishop Gomez encouraged Catholics to embrace the Year of Faith as \u201ca time of interior renewal and spiritual preparation for a new Christian witness to our city and our continent.\u201d This renewal is for each individual and for the archdiocese in its parishes, schools, catechesis, religious education, and social ministries.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe need to ask ourselves: Is our work leading men and women to Jesus Christ and his Church? Is the Christian faith spreading and is knowledge of the faith deepening through our programs and ministries?\u201d Archbishop Gomez said.<\/p>\n

\tThe archbishop, who took office in March 2011, named five pastoral priorities: improving faith education, encouraging vocations to the priesthood and religious life, fostering Catholic identity and diversity, promoting a \u201cculture of life\u201d and strengthening marriage and the family.<\/p>\n

\tHe stressed the need for every Catholic to grow in his or her knowledge of the faith.<\/p>\n

\tEvery Catholic should learn how to pray better and how to read the Gospels with \u201cmore lively faith and deeper understanding,\u201d he wrote, recommending the practice of lectio divina \u2013 meditating and praying using Scripture \u2013 to help Catholics encounter Jesus Christ. He emphasized that this education is rooted in the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

\tVocations to the priesthood and religious life are \u201cborn of a Catholic culture\u201d and intensified prayer is a practical step to advance them, the archbishop explained.<\/p>\n

\tIn the realm of promoting a culture of life, the archbishop said the Church must \u201cproclaim the Gospel of life\u201d and protect \u201cthe rights of the person from conception to natural death.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe explained the defense of marriage as an effort to restore a \u201cfamily culture\u201d in the face of \u201cwidespread cultural confusion.\u201d This defense must include doing more to support mothers, fathers and families in Catholic parishes and ministries.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOur Church must lead a cultural renewal so that our society will once more see that marriage is sacred and that the family is the true sanctuary of life and the heart of a civilization of love,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tArchbishop Gomez encouraged lay people to sanctify their work and see their daily activities \u201cas the place where you meet and walk with Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThrough our witness, let us make this truly a City of the Angels \u2014 a city of love and truth, where all can know that God is near in his love, and where the horizons of every life are open to his promise of salvation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tThe pastoral letter also announced some changes in the diocesan administration.<\/p>\n

\tThe archbishop intends to create an Office of the New Evangelization. He will expand the mission of the archdiocese\u2019s Office of Justice and Peace to include \u201cdefending innocent life against the threats of abortion and euthanasia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe archbishop closed his letter by asking for the prayers of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of the Angels.<\/p>\n

\tArchbishop Gomez is presently in Rome for the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization, which will run until Oct. 28.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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