Reflecting on the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s new document on transmitting the faith, a Vatican spokesman said that “appeals to moral values and Christian principles can never take for granted what must come first: the encounter with Christ.”
“Passing on the faith today cannot begin simply with teaching a body of doctrinal content or religious information, as might still have been possible many decades ago, when the Gospel permeated daily life in the family and society,” said Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication. “Yet in a time like ours, it is equally shortsighted to think that passing on the faith can be entrusted to marketing and pastoral strategies devised on paper.”
“We need witnesses who let the beauty of Christian life shine through,” Tornielli continued. “We need living communities, and living communities attract.”
The essential Christian message, Tornielli concluded, “reminds all the men and women of our time: ‘Jesus Christ loves you; He gave His life to save you; and now He is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.’”