{"id":2987,"date":"2013-04-18T15:47:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-18T15:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/without-evangelization-church-becomes-babysitter-pope-warns\/"},"modified":"2013-04-18T15:47:00","modified_gmt":"2013-04-18T15:47:00","slug":"without-evangelization-church-becomes-babysitter-pope-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/04\/without-evangelization-church-becomes-babysitter-pope-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"Without evangelization Church becomes babysitter, Pope warns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Apr 18, 2013 \/ 09:47 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- If Catholics do not proclaim Jesus with their lives, then the Church becomes \u201cnot the mother, but the babysitter,\u201d Pope Francis cautioned in a homily and a separate letter to his brother bishops in Argentina.<\/p>\n

\tWhen believers share their faith, \u201cthe Church becomes a mother church that produces children (and more) children, because we, the children of the Church, we carry that. But when we do not, the Church is not the mother, but the babysitter, that takes care of the baby \u2013 to put the baby to sleep. It is a Church dormant,\u201d Pope Francis stated.<\/p>\n

\tThe solution to this is \u201cto proclaim Christ, to carry the Church \u2013 this fruitful motherhood of the Church \u2013 forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tThe Pope first mentioned the importance of being spiritually fruitful during the April 16 Mass he celebrated for employees of the Vatican\u2019s Institute for Works of Religion in St. Martha\u2019s residence.<\/p>\n

\tHe based his homily on a reading from the Acts of the Apostles, which recalled the lives of the first Christians.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThey left their homes,\u201d he recalled, \u201cthey brought with them only few belongings, and going from place to place proclaiming the Word.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThey were a simple faithful, baptized just a year or so \u2013 but they had the courage to go and proclaim,\u201d the Pope said.<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis then turned to a point that he emphasized frequently in Buenos Aires. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\tThe early Christians, he stressed, had nothing but \u201cthe power of baptism,\u201d which \u201cgave them apostolic courage, the strength of the Spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tBut, he asked, do Christians today really believe in the power of their baptism?<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIs it sufficient for evangelization? Or do we rather \u2018hope\u2019 that the priest should speak, that the bishop might speak?\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThis way of seeing Christianity often carries with it the attitude of, \u2018I was baptized, I made Confirmation, First Communion \u2026 I have my identity card, alright.\u2019 And now, go to sleep quietly, you are a Christian,\u201d the Pope explained.<\/p>\n

\tInstead, he said that believers must be \u201cfaithful to the Spirit, to proclaim Jesus with our lives, through our witness and our words.\u201d Pope Francis repeated this message in a letter he sent to his fellow Argentinian bishops who are meeting for their annual full assembly in Pilar, Argentina.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cMission,\u201d he underlined, \u201cis key to ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cA Church that does not go out of itself, sooner or later, sickens from the stale air of closed rooms,\u201d the Pope wrote.<\/p>\n

\tHe acknowledged that in going out the Church runs risks, but \u201cI prefer a thousand times over a Church of accidents than a sick Church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Church, the Holy Father observed, typically suffers from being self-referential, only looking to and relying on itself.<\/p>\n

\tThis kind of self-centeredness \u201cleads to a routine spirituality and convoluted clericalism\u201d and prevents people from experiencing the sweet and comforting joy of evangelization, he warned.<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis finished his letter by greeting the Argentinian people and asking his fellow bishops to pray \u201cI do not grow proud and always know how to listen to what God wants and not what I want.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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Vatican City, Apr 18, 2013 \/ 09:47 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- If Catholics do not proclaim Jesus with their lives, then the Church becomes “not the mother, but the babysitter,” Pope Francis cautioned in a homily and a separate letter to his broth…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nWithout evangelization Church becomes babysitter, Pope warns<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Apr 18, 2013 \/ 09:47 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- If Catholics do not proclaim Jesus with their lives, then the Church becomes “not the mother, but the babysitter,” Pope Francis cautioned in a homily and a separate letter to his broth...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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