Pope Benedict XVI launched a campaign to bring lapsed believers back
to the Roman Catholic fold today, opening a major convention of bishops
on what the Vatican has termed the "new evangelisation" of the developed
world.
The church is battling losses to its practicing flock in
former strongholds in Europe, North America and Latin America in the
face of sex abuse scandals, increasing secularism, rival faiths and open
dissent against church teachings on homosexuality and its ban on a
female priesthood.
The synod - a church conference where hundreds
of bishops meet to work out a common global strategy, iron out divisions
and advise the pope - has the theme "the new evangelisation", the
Vatican's buzzword for its drive to woo back believers.
In an open
air Mass in St Peter's Square, Pope Benedict defined the campaign as
"directed principally to those who, though baptised, have drifted away
from the church and live without reference to Christian life".
The
synod's working document spoke of the need to address the divergence
between Catholic values and the reality of modern life in Europe and
North America, and an "educational emergency" of children no longer
being taught the faith.
The Catholic Church, which teaches
abstinence outside of heterosexual marriage and opposes divorce, has
found itself at variance with some increasingly prevalent societal
trends in the developed world.
Pilgrims waved Spanish and
Brazilian flags and nuns snapped photographs on camera phones as the
pope, dressed in green robes and an ornate white and gold mitre, was
driven around the column-lined square, blessing the crowds from his
popemobile.
Sergio Barabaschi, a member of a Milan parish, said
the church's failure to address social change was alienating young
people. "The church is always too slow for the way the times change.
Some moral stances are negotiable," he said.
Enrico Viccardi, an organist from Milan, said it was clear the church was in difficulty.
"Between scandals in the church and issues like living together outside marriage, it's a very critical time," he said.
Both
said they were influenced by Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, a former
papal candidate considered a leading liberal voice in the church, who
called it "200 years out of date" shortly before he died in August.
At
the same ceremony, the pope also named two new "Doctors of the Church",
a title given to figures judged to have made a historic contribution to
the faith such as Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas, bringing
the total number to 35.
Saint Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century
abbess, philosopher and polymath, became the fourth woman to hold the
title. She and the Spanish clerical reformer Saint John of Avila were
the first new Doctors of the Church to be named in 15 years.
The
Synod of Bishops has taken place every few years since the 1962-1965
Second Vatican Council, where it was conceived as a way for the papacy
to collaborate with its dioceses worldwide and decide common policy and
opinion.
This year's conference marks the 50th anniversary of the
landmark council, which attempted to bring the church up to date with
the modern world.
Among its innovations was the introduction of the Mass in local languages after centuries of it being said in Latin.
The
council also encouraged dialogue with other religions and in a landmark
document repudiated the concept of collective Jewish guilt for Jesus's
death, revolutionising Catholic-Jewish relations after 2,000 years of
mistrust.