The Fathers, who had lunch with Benedict XVI today, looked at the challenge of evangelising in a world dominated by mass media" that are in "open opposition" to Christianity and nurture lifestyles that are opposed to it. There is a need for a "shift in pastoral charity" for divorced people who have remarried and a reflection on how and when the marital bond is deemed null and void. Proclaiming God's Word needs to be simplified.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The suffering of Nigeria's Christians, victims of bloody attacks, was at the centre of today's Synod proceedings, which ended in a luncheon during which the pope met Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Primate of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, as well as the Council Fathers who are in Rome to mark the 50^th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council.

In addition to expressing participants' solidarity towards Nigeria, the Synod addressed yesterday afternoon and this morning the issue of evangelising among sex abuse victims, the need to inform Church members about the "open opposition" of the mass media to Christianity, the need to adopt an approach based on pastoral charity towards divorced people who have remarried, and the new for a simplified enunciation of the principles of Christianity.

Today's assembly opened with a meditation by Mgr John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, archbishop of Abuja. This gave Mgr Nikola Eterovic an opportunity to show "closeness, sympathy and concern for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria's desire to find a path towards dialogue and promote peace in justice with regards to the disturbances that have caused violence in their country, especially in the north." In Mgr Eterovic's words, let us "pray that religions not be used and manipulated for the aims of groups and parties but act as the basis of understanding, cooperation and peace."

One of the issues the assembly addressed was the sex abuse scandal. There should be no fear to acknowledge them, the bishops said. Indeed, the new evangelisation should not forget the victims; it should listen to them instead, and try to understand their pain and loss of trust.

"How can we evangelise among those who were deeply hurt by men of the Church involved in sexual abuse?" wondered some bishops, including Mgr Brian Joseph Dunn, bishop of Antigonish (Canada). "Jesus," he said, "took an interest in the disenchanted, listening carefully to the disciples' stories in order to give them back a new awareness of his presence."

According to Mgr Dunn, Jesus' example shows that we need "a real opportunity to listen and a certain insight to understand the depth of pain, anger and disappointment caused by this scandal. [. . .]  Listening could become part of the ministry of each diocese through a meditation office where people can express their pain and find the right reconciliation," the Canadian prelate said. One proposal would be to encourage "sharing responsibility with appropriate changes in some of the structures and mindsets found in Church, as well as the attitudes and emotions of those who operate in close proximity with the laity."

"These changes could include creating pastoral groups made up of presbyters and lay people, thus reflecting an official recognition of the lay Church ministry," Mgr Dunn noted. They could also include "the deliberate and systematic involvement of women, who would be given a position of leadership at every level in Church life, and would be allowed to become readers and acolytes." They could also include the "creation of the catechist ministry. When this happens, the Spirit will be heard again, our faith will be passed on more effectively, we shall be able to renew our faith and our witness will be become more genuine in the contemporary world."

Yesterday afternoon, Mgr Bruno Forte, archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, stressed the need for "a decisive shift towards pastoral charity" for divorced people who have remarried, as well as a reflection on how and when the marital bond can be deemed null and void.

A well-known theologian, Mgr Forte addressed the issue from the perspective of youth disenchantment towards religious practice. "Even though many take it for granted that" young people "will move away from religious practice, that does not mean that their heart does not yearn for God. As I meet them in universities and schools, I see that over and over. We must bet on the answer to the so-called 'educational emergency' mentioned in the Instrumentum laboris. We must listen to them, give them time, speak to them about God, and welcome them whilst respecting their need for freedom."

"Here we can understand how decisive the family is, but also how tragic is that of children of remarried divorced parents, who are often estranged from the Sacraments because of their parents' non-participation. We must turn decisively towards pastoral charity, as Pope Benedict XVI often said, for example at the World Meeting of Families in Milan."

We shall also have to start "reflecting on how and when to acknowledge the end of the marital bond. As bishop and moderator in a regional Ecclesiastical Tribunal, I must admit that some requirements (like the double conforming sentence, even though it has no appeal) appear quite incomprehensible to many people who are hurting, who want to settle their situation."

For Fr Robert Francis Prevost, head of the Augustinians, all those who operate within the Church, from bishops to catechists, "must be better informed about the challenges of evangelisation in a world dominated by mass media" that are in "open opposition" and nurture lifestyles that are opposed to it.

According to Prevost, "the open opposition to Christianity by mass media is only one aspect of the problem. The sympathy, nurtured by mass media, for lifestyle that are opposed to Christianity is instilled in the public with great ability and cunning so that, when people listen to the Christian message, it inevitably appears ideological and emotionally cruel with respect to the apparent humanity of the anti-Christian perspective."

"If the 'New Evangelisation' wants to succeed against the distortions of ethical and religious reality by mass media, pastors, preachers, teachers and catechists must be better informed about the challenge of evangelising in a world dominated by mass media." Hence, "in order to succeed against mass media domination of the collective religious and moral imagination, it is not enough for the Church to own its own TV stations and sponsor religious movies. The Church's true mission is to enlighten people about the nature of the mystery as an antidote to the show." Called to raise hope in mankind through the truth, journalists must feel like captains of a ship if they want to save humanity from the sea of contemporary secularism.

Gregory III Laham, Melkite Greek patriarch of Antioch in Syria, called instead for a simplification of the proclamation of God's Word. "Our beautiful Christian faith is too complicated," he said. "In Islam, the profession of faith boils down to two declarations: 'There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet,'. For Jews, the essence of their faith is "I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shall love the Lord your God with all thy heart, and love thy neighbour as thyself!"

"Our beautiful Christian faith is too complicated: its terms, content and explanations. We are overwhelmed by a series of dogma and mysteries: the Holy Trinity, Incarnation, Redemption, and the Sacraments (which in Greek are called mysteries). The dogmas must be interpreted in ways that touch daily life, human aspirations, happiness and prosperity, the daily life of our faithful. [. . .] For this reason, we must, for the New Evangelisation, write a text that is concise, precise and clear about our faith. This is important for our ad intra faithful but also for our ad extra non-Christian compatriots."

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