Pope says every Christian must share love of God with others

Published: 2006-03-13

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The first obligation of every Christian is to share with others the love of God and his promise of salvation in Jesus Christ, Pope Benedict XVI said. The pope met March 11 with people from about 100 countries attending a conference on the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's decree on the church's missionary obligation. The conference was sponsored by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Urbanian University. Pope Benedict said the Vatican II document gave new energy to the church's missionary work, outlined the theological foundations of missionary activity and emphasized its "value and relevance in the face of global transformations and the challenges that modernity poses for preaching the Gospel." The document reminded all Catholics that in every age they are called help others hear "the truth of the Gospel message and, in that way, open for them the way of salvation," the pope said. The Christian vocation, he said, always includes a missionary obligation.

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .