Back to basics: Pope begins renewed focus on Eucharist

Published: 2004-09-10

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After an intense quarter-century of teaching, writing and traveling, Pope John Paul II is going back to the basics with a renewed focus on the Eucharist. He has convened a special eucharistic year that begins in October. Last year he wrote an encyclical extolling the Eucharist as the source and culmination of the church's life. He has convened a Synod of Bishops on the same topic for the fall of 2005. And more frequently he speaks of the importance of the Eucharist in the life of each Catholic. The Eucharist has a "transforming power" that provides the courage to live the faith and to spread the Gospel, the pope said in June before leading a eucharistic procession through downtown Rome. "There's a very close connection between the Eucharist and announcing Christ," he said. In fact, said Cardinal Jozef Tomko, who heads the Vatican's committee for international eucharistic congresses, the pope is convinced that unless Catholics have a firm understanding of the Eucharist the church's many missionary and social activities lose meaning.

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