On February 7, the Holy Father met with priests of the diocese of Rome in the Vatican’s Hall of Blessings. According to Vatican Information Services’ release of February 8, Pope Benedict affirmed the traditional teaching on the Church’s mission to evangelize:
Dialogue, he said, means respecting others. Yet, he explained, this dimension of dialogue does not exclude the announcement of the Gospel, which is a gift of Truth that we cannot keep for ourselves but must also offer to others.
Mission is not imposition, rather it means offering the gift of God and allowing His goodness to illuminate us. To do otherwise, said the Pope, would be to neglect a duty. We too would be unfaithful if we did not present our own faith while respecting the freedom of others, he added, highlighting the importance of missionary work. Dialogue and mission do not exclude one another, but need one another.
The Holy Father also dwelt on the importance of the Final Judgement, recognising that in the Church today there is perhaps too little reference to sin, Paradise and Hell.
Did the Holy Father mean to link a reference to Hell with not spreading the faith? Hmm….
