Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale286

The world needs this witness! Who can deny that the present moment is a

crossroads, not only for the Church in America but also for society as a

whole? It is a time of great promise, as we see the human family in many

ways drawing closer together and becoming ever more interdependent. Yet at

the same time we see clear signs of a disturbing breakdown in the very

foundations of society: signs of alienation, anger and polarization on the part

of many of our contemporaries; increased violence; a weakening of the moral

sense; a coarsening of social relations; and a growing forgetfulness of Christ

and God. The Church, too, sees signs of immense promise in her many strong

parishes and vital movements, in the enthusiasm for the faith shown by so

many young people, in the number of those who each year embrace the

Catholic faith, and in a greater interest in prayer and catechesis. At the same

time she senses, often painfully, the presence of division and polarization in

her midst, as well as the troubling realization that many of the baptized,

rather than acting as a spiritual leaven in the world, are inclined to embrace

attitudes contrary to the truth of the Gospel.

''Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth!''.9 The words

of today's Responsorial Psalm are a prayer which rises up from the heart of

the Church in every time and place. They remind us that the Holy Spirit has

been poured out as the first fruits of a new creation, ''new heavens and a new

earth'',10 in which God's peace will reign and the human family will be re-

conciled in justice and love. We have heard Saint Paul tell us that all creation

is even now ''groaning'' in expectation of that true freedom which is God's

gift to his children,11 a freedom which enables us to live in conformity to his

will. Today let us pray fervently that the Church in America will be renewed

in that same Spirit, and sustained in her mission of proclaiming the Gospel to

a world that longs for genuine freedom,12 authentic happiness, and the fulfil-

ment of its deepest aspirations!

Here I wish to offer a special word of gratitude and encouragement to all

those who have taken up the challenge of the Second Vatican Council, so

often reiterated by Pope John Paul II, and committed their lives to the new

evangelization. I thank my brother Bishops, priests and deacons, men and

9 Cf. Ps 104:30. 10 Cf. 2 Pet 3:13; Rev 21:1. 11 Rom 8:21-22. 12 Cf. Jn 8:32.