TODAY'S CHALLENGES REQUIRE A RENEWED ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GOSPEL

VATICAN CITY, JUN 1, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a message from the Pope to Agostino Superbo, the general assistant for Italian Catholic Action, on the occasion of the seventh national assembly of the Ecclesial Movement of Cultural Commitment, which took place in Assisi, Italy May 28-30.

In the message, which is dated May 27, John Paul II writes that "the unrelenting acceleration of the rhythms of history, the crisis of cultures, the challenges presented by a number of schools of thought and by a mentality that pays ever less attention to Christian anthropology, require a renewed announcement of the Gospel."

"The new evangelization, an urgent task for the modern Church, requires that the Ecclesial Movement protect culture, in order that (this culture) be invigorated in the ferment of the Gospel, by means of respect for intelligence and competence in the search for truth."

The Holy Father writes that "the aims and the identity of the Ecclesial Movement will find their greatest guarantee of authenticity in a style of life rooted in the Gospel and experienced in scientific research and the service of our brothers and sisters. They will also find the capacity to treasure the past in order to open themselves courageously to the future.

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