VATICAN - “The Christian faith at the dawn of the new millennium and the challenge of non belief and religious indifference”: Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture

Tuesday, 9 March 2004

Vatican City (Fides Service) - About sixty participants from all over the world will attend the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture, in the Vatican 11-13 March, presided by Cardinal Paul Poupard. The theme is “The Christian faith at the dawn of the new millennium and the challenge of non belief and religious indifference”.
The Plenary will have three main parts: part one will consist in the presentation of an updated map of non believers which will reveal, rather than a globalisation of faith, a globalisation of an abandonment of religious traditions both in regard to religious practices and adhesion to doctrinal and moral contents Part two will examine the causes of a spreading attitude of relativism which affects also believers and new emerging forms of religiosity. Part three will identify guidelines for pastoral responses to these phenomena.
One of the speakers, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, S.E. mons. Franc Rodé who will speak of different categories of non believers, the Archbishop of Puebla S.E. mons. Huesca Pacheco will report on the influence of small groups of non believers in Catholic countries. The Archbishop of Jakarta S.E. mons. Darmaatmadja will speak about proclamation in Asia among cultural and religious worlds distant from Christianity and marked by religious fundamentalism. There will also be talks by Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Unity among Christians on ‘Christian Churches and the Challenge of non Believers’ and S.E. mons. Mauro Piacenza, President of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church on ‘The Path of Beauty, a Path for Non Believers ‘. (AP) (9/3/2004 Agenzia Fides; Righe:28; Parole: 323)


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