Cardinal designate Timothy Dolan told the pope and assembled cardinals the Catholic Church needed a “creative strategy” and can be made more exciting by using 140 characters (Twitter) and less.
“We know that the Church has lost some of its pizzazz,” Dolan said.
“We have to refresh and rekindle that faith.”
Pope Benedict chose Dolan to give a keynote address on the new evangelization, a pet project of the Holy Father.
Dolan outlined “a creative strategy of evangelization,” calling upon Church leaders to proclaim the faith with clarity and confidence.
“The good news was that triumphalism in the Church was dead. The bad news was that, so was confidence!”
He called for a Church marked by confidence, tempered by humility and the recognition that the faithful, too, need constantly to be evangelised.
“We gather as missionaries, as evangelisers,” he told the assembled Cardinals.
The Church, he suggested, needs to sweep out fire and brimstone for a little, for some fun.
Dolan stressed that content is just as important as the medium.
“Instead of the Church being seen as pointing out what’s bad all the time, we should point out what’s good,” he said.
“The Church used to be a place of celebration more than it is today,” Dolan said.
“Baptisms, communions, confirmations, weddings — all are cause for celebrations. The church isn’t just for funerals.”
A day after Dolan’s speech, he and 21 others were made cardinals at a consistory ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica. As part of the ceremony they received their “red hat,” (Biretta), and gold ring.
Sources
- NY Daily News
- NY Post
- Reuters
- Image: NY Times