Pope says main task of evangelizers is to lead people to Jesus

Published: 2006-03-22

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The basic mission of Jesus' Twelve Apostles and of those who evangelize today is not to spread an idea, but to lead people to Jesus and gather them into a single family, Pope Benedict XVI said. Addressing some 35,000 people in St. Peter's Square March 22 for his weekly general audience, the pope gave the second in a series of talks about the apostles and the church. In each of the four Gospels, he said, Jesus' call of the Twelve Apostles is the first step of his public ministry following his baptism in the Jordan River. Pope Benedict said that, especially in the Gospel of Luke, "the call to follow him comes after they have listened to Jesus' first preaching and experienced the first marvelous signs he performed," especially the episode in which they catch a huge net full of fish after having little success.

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