Archbishop Rino Fisichella,

Before you are gathered the Shepherds of Region IV of the Episcopal Conference of the U.S.A.: the ecclesiastical provinces of Baltimore and Washington, as well as the Archdiocese for the Military Services. It is truly a joy and privilege to express to you and the secretary, indeed to all of your collaborators at the Council, our cordial greeting and gratitude for your service to the universal Church and also, since we are gathered with you today, to us.

There is no doubt that within our region the New Evangelization is truly a dominant focus. In one sense, the reality of evangelization is not new. Pope Paul VI wrote so eloquently and positively about it during his pontificate. Then, Blessed John Paul II pointed out the “newness” of this evangelization and consistently and insistently called us to be its heralds. And now, Pope Benedict XVI urges us to be “among the protagonists of the New Evangelization that the Church has undertaken and carries forth, not without difficulties but with the same enthusiasm as the first Christians” (Homily on Oct. 16, 2011).

Permit me to outline for you the context for promoting the New Evangelization in the United States and particularly in our region, which includes the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia as well as the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and the worldwide Archdiocese for the Military Services, U.S.A. Roman Catholics comprise the largest single religious denomination in the United States. The largest groups immediately following are self-identified former Catholics and the unchurched. The percentage of self-identifying Catholics who participate in the Holy Mass each week is in general 25-30 percent. That percentage is generally the same in most of our arch/dioceses, although it may be a little higher in one or the other of these, including Arlington.

However, many Catholics who, in fact, take part in the Mass every Sunday, have not truly integrated the Faith into their daily living. The effects of secularism, relativism and the painful reality of the non-relevance or even, at times, the denial of God’s presence have negatively impacted even these practicing Catholics. Moreover, the widespread ignorance of the truths of the Catholic Faith on both the cognitive and affective levels are real. Nonetheless, there is truly a hunger and thirst for something more, especially among our young — yes, for more, and that “more” is not something but someone and His name is Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life, the One Savior of the World.

Therefore, there is a crucial need for promoting the New Evangelization, not only because evangelization lies at the core of the Church’s identity — “She exists to evangelize”— but because now is the right moment “to re-propose faith in Jesus Christ to people of our time” and yes, to people within our region.

We understand that promoting the New Evangelization is both ad intra and ad extra. In terms of ad intra, we ourselves need to be re-evangelized even as we bring Christ to others. This includes us as bishops and our brother-priests for we are the shepherds, the pastors of their souls. Also this includes deacons, men and women living the consecrated life, and the lay faithful. The goal: that each one be on fire with Jesus Christ and integrate His Word and His living Presence into our daily lives and into every segment of our culture, our society and the world. There are many formats for doing so, which we can perhaps discuss in our dialogue later.

There is also evangelization ad extra: so many alienated Catholics, so many seeking the fullness of truth, and all the unchurched! The harvest is great!

As you are aware so well already, we must use every possible instrument for this promotion, those more “traditional” in nature and the newer forms of the emerging new media and information technology, both to inform and strengthen the faithful and to reach out to the alienated, the searching and the unchurched. The virtual world is not a panacea and it is dangerous in various ways and requires the use of great prudence in its use, yet the need to enter it is real because of the vast number of people, especially the young, who spend their time there. Obviously these formats include web pages, list serves, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, video and audio, and downloads for computers and hand-held devices, apps for hand-held devices, etc.

Teaching the Faith online is crucial for the countless thousands who cannot attend traditional colleges and universities. One such example is located within the Arlington Diocese: Catholic Distance University.

The levels for promoting the New Evangelization are many: family, parish, diocese, ecclesiastical province and country.

The Year of Faith gives us a solid foundation for deepening the spirit and practice of this New Evangelization.

Yes, the challenges are real, diverse and many within our region and beyond, but our response cannot be anything less than positive, using every format because to respond is to give life. After all, Jesus tells us “Cast out into the deep” as He promises: “I am with you always.”