Proclaim Conference on the New Evangelisation – 9-11 August, 2012!

Fr Chris Ryan speaking

The PROCLAIM CONFERENCE will be held from 9-11 August, 2012 at the Concourse in Chatswood, Sydney. More information is available as well as registration and information on speakers at the following link www.proclaimconference.com.au

PROCLAIM 2012 is a conference on the New Evangelisation organised on behalf of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference by the National Office for Evangelisation and Catholic Mission.

The aim of PROCLAIM 2012 is to give people an understanding of the new evangelisation. It will also help attendees in building parishes that can evangelise effectively today. Some participants may already be actively engaged in the new evangelisation while others will be unfamiliar with the term and what it entails.It is for clergy and religious; diocesan and parish staff and volunteers; married and single people, young and old.

The focus is on parish evangelisation as the parishes are the communities given to us by the Church within which to live out our Catholic faith. There are some vital parishes but many others are struggling. All parishes will receive support and encouragement at PROCLAIM 2012.

Marta Fernandez Sardina

It promises to be an extraordinary three days for the enrichment of the faith for all Catholics

When?

The PROCLAIM 2012 conference will be held 9-11 August 2012. It will be held at The Concourse in Chatswood, a business district just north of Sydney.

It will be a key event in the Year of Grace, to be celebrated by the Church from Pentecost 2012 to Pentecost 2013, an opportunity offered by the Australian Bishops to “start afresh from Christ”.
Who is it for?

It is for Catholics who are passionate about sharing faith through witness, proclamation and service to others. It is anticipated that PROCLAIM 2012 will bring together over 1,000 mainly Catholic leaders over a period of three days in Sydney,  including but not limited to the following influential individuals:

  •     Bishops
  •     Priests
  •     Deacons
  •     Members of Religious Congregations
  •     Parish Pastoral Associates
  •     Diocesan Staff supporting parishes and schools
  •     Youth Ministers, university Chaplains and young Catholics
  •     Migrant communities
  •     Leaders in Adult Faith Formation, Stewardship, Liturgy, Special Religious Education and other ministries
  •     Parish Pastoral Council members
  •     Parish Finance Council members
  •     Catholic Educators interested in joint parish/school outreach
  •     Directors of Mission in Catholic Social Service, Health and Aged Care
  •     Members of Groups and Movements

What is the New Evangelisation?

A working definition of what “New Evangelisation” actually means was given by Archbishop Nikola Eterović, Secretary of the forthcoming Synod, who explains it in the context of the Church’s three kinds of missionary effort:

Evangelization as a regular activity of the Church, directed at practicing Catholics;
The mission ad gentes, meaning the first proclamation of Christ to non-Christian persons and peoples;
“New Evangelization,” meaning outreach to baptized Catholics who have become distant from the faith.

(Source: John L Allen Jnr report in National Catholic Reporter, 18/3/11)

Italian Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, talks with a cleric before the start of an evening prayer service led by Pope Benedict XVI at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome June 28. At the service, the pope announced he is establishing a pontifical council for new evangelization. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) (June 28, 2010) See POPE-VESPERS June 28, 2010.

The 2006 report by the Pastoral Projects Office entitled Catholics who have stopped going to Mass indicated that the percentage of Catholics attending Mass on a typical weekend is 15.3%*. Thus 84.7% of Catholics are not actively living out their faith, giving the Church 4.2 million potential returning Catholics.
While those who are regularly practicing their faith are willing to continue to live their commitment, many are unaware of what actually needs to be done to evangelise others.

Why hold a conference on the New Evangelisation?

In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI announced the formation of the new Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization. He also decided that the next Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held in October 2012, is to be dedicated to the theme “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith”.

The Popes have long been calling the Church to a New Evangelization – from Paul VI, John Paul II and now Benedict XVI.

PROCLAIM 2012 will give Catholics in Australia an opportunity to reflect on these universal initiatives.