Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome and archpriest of the Lateran Basilica, said that Rome’s parishes need to reach out to fallen-away Catholics and evangelize.
“What I frequently ask priests to do is to pay close attention to those who, for various reasons, no longer set foot in our parishes” Cardinal Reina said in a September 17 interview. “Unfortunately, because of the way our communities are structured, we often focus on the people who come to church.”
“But the Kingdom of God goes beyond the boundaries of the parish, and the Lord Jesus is very clear in the Gospel in giving his disciples, and us today, a missionary mandate that embraces everyone,” he added.
Cardinal Reina also discussed the breakdown of the family, drug addiction, and homelessness.
“Housing poverty is becoming increasingly serious: market forces are driving prices beyond the reach of people on an average salary,” he said. “And in a household where only one person works, they cannot even afford to pay the rent.”