In this atmosphere, our meeting is a blessing from the Lord. What your President Inzaurraga has just said comprises the programme which the Holy Father, Pope Francis, particularly the missionary dimension, has presented to all the church. This missionary dimension should characterise – as affirmed in Evangelii Gaudium – all the Church’s structures and activities.

I would like to encourage you to continue working in the various contexts, which are very varied and at times marked by conflicts and hardship. The question of peace, the building of a world of peace and reconciling differences is clearly a priority.

I would like to stress two points. The first one is the vocation and mission of the laity, that is the animation of the world’s temporal realities. Be the beares of the leaven of the Gospel in all spheres of life and work! Today, in a secularised world, marked by deep conflict, where religion is very often manipulated to serve other aims, one of the most important tasks for lay people is to know how to spread the leaven of the Gospel, the salt and the light of the Lord.

The Council stresses two spheres wherein lay people should be involved: collaboration with Pastors within the Church – here Catholic Action’s presence has been particularly important – and outside.

Stressing this involvement outside is of great importance. It means being attracting witnesses. President Inzaurraga reminded us of the Pope’s words as regards respect, consideration, attention, and dialogue. He also referred us to what Saint Peter said when he exhorted us to be able to give a reason for the hope that we have, and to do it with respect and courtesy (cf. 1 Pt 3,15), so that people may feel really attracted.

As Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have said, the most effective way of evangelising is by being witnesses, able to arouse questions in men’s hearts and answering these, first and foremost, with our lives.

The second aspect which is of great importance and which I would like to dwell on concerns the differences that prevail. We live in a fragmented world which is very pluralistic from the cultural, social, political and religious points of view and here the differences tend to place themselves in opposition and to become sources of conflict. As christians, who wish to be witnesses and to live the Church’s missionary spirit, our challenge is to succeed in making the cultural, social and political differences converge into a higher unity and become a source of harmony and collaboration.

I entrust you with this commitment. Let us therefore put ourselves at the service of one another in order to avoid the cultural and civic conflicts which continually confront us and let us stive to become true builders of peace.

In my opinion, the Pope is very sensitive to this and keeps stressing it, with special attention to the poorest and to the most vulnerable, who need to find in us so many samaritans who could help them.

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After a short exchange of ideas, the conversation turned to a reflection on The Church and on the document An outgoing CA, on a mission

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The Church and an outgoing CA, on a mission

When Pope Francis speaks about evangelisation in our times, he refers to a fundamental text, to the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi by Pope Paul VI.

We are faced with change. Even from my experience as Nuncio in Latin America, I have had the possibility of getting to know different ways of evangelising. We must change our attitude of just waiting. This keeps us closed in our realities and inactive. We should assume the attitude of the Shepherd in the Gospel, who goes out to look for the lost sheep. In this sense, an outgoing Church goes out in search, makes proposals and does not limit itself to waiting. In my opinion, this is the major required change.

In my opinion, amongst us, there is a lot of confusion but also so many good things but we run the risk of keeping a bit closed within ourselves without projecting ourselves towards others. Opening up entails not only a change in our theoretical paradigm and mindset but also concrete involvement – “dirtying your hands”.

We need to find adequate ways of actually going out and being among people. We are not facing a world which is completely closed. Rather it is a world which is searching for answers. And these are answers which we have found because if we are Christians, lay Christians or priests, it is because we have come across the answers to our questions and we should be able to pass these on to others. We can only attract others if we answer man’s fundamentel questions.

Let us try to undertake this journey, everyone in his situation and according to his role but all together as a communion-Church. Communion is an indispensable requisite for a mission. We cannot all follow our own individual ways but all together. At the very moment when we show that we love one another as the Lord commanded us, the fruit of our mission will definitely be more effective.

As Catholic Action, may you be truly the leaven of communion within the Church. When I was a child, Catholic Action was the only association in our parish. I come from the diocese of Vicenza, in Veneto, and there were dioceses where Catholic Action was very strong even from the quantitative point of view. Today, even within the Church, so many movements, associations and groups have cropped up and if the initial difficulties which characterised their relations have been overcome, communion amongst them still remains a challenge. It is precisely the missionary dimension which can unite them. This means that we cannot be lost in our differences – typical of every family – but we should truly feel committed to the same mission.

It is important that you, as Catholic Action, in your programmes and in your activities, know how to be elements of communion within the different associations and movements.
I would like to thank you once again for your visit and best wishes for your activity. Best wishes too for the remaining part of your meeting.
I will pass on your greetings and best wishes to the Holy Father. I will tell him that he can count on you.
We could conclude this meeting with a prayer and a Blessing.

An Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be were recited

Card. Pietro Parolin then imparted his blessing

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The text keeps to the colloquial style of the meeting