THE CURSILLO MOVEMENT AND THE EVANGELIZATION OF ADULTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 30, 2000 (VIS) - Pope John Paul, today at noon, appeared on the inner courtyard balcony of the residence at Castelgandolfo to recite the angelus with the faithful who had gathered there, as well as in the town square outside the palace. There was an audio-video link with the Paul VI Hall with the Italian members of the Cursillo Movement as well as with pilgrims present in St. Peter's Square.

The Pope remarked that "even in the heart of the summer the Great Jubilee does not stop. Yesterday in St. Peter's Square, among the many pilgrims present, were those from the Cursillo Movement, born in Spain over fifty years ago and present in many countries of the world."

He went on to say that "a characteristic of the Cursillos, as of similar ecclesial movements, is that of a new evangelization of adults. The Christian message is proposed through moments of intense spiritual experience, capable of making people rediscover the beauty of encountering Christ and of being Church, as well as the joy of fraternity and reciprocal service, permeating one's entire existence with the Christian spirit."

In concluding remarks, the Holy Father said that "the Church has understood ever more clearly, through the sometimes dramatic events of recent decades, that her duty is the care and responsibility for man, not man in an 'abstract' sense but in a real, 'concrete' and 'historical' one to whom she offers Christ, the One Redeemer. ... Christianity, therefore, can never be reduced to doctrine, to simple principles, because Christ, the center of Christianity, is alive and His presence constitutes the event which constantly renews human creatures and the cosmos."

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