Evangelii Gaudium §15

15. John Paul II asked us to recognize that “there must be no lessening of the impetus to preach the Gospel” to those who are far from Christ, “because this is the first task of the Church”.[14] Indeed, “today missionary activity still represents the greatest challenge for the Church”[15] and “the missionary task must remain foremost”.[16] What would happen if we were to take these words seriously? We would realize that missionary outreach is paradigmatic for all the Church’s activity. Along these lines the Latin American bishops stated that we “cannot passively and calmly wait in our church buildings”;[17] we need to move “from a pastoral ministry of mere conservation to a decidedly missionary pastoral ministry”.[18] This task continues to be a source of immense joy for the Church: “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Lk 15:7).

[14] Encyclical Letter, Redemptoris Missio (7 December 1990), 34: AAS 83 (1991), 280.

[15] Ibid., 40: AAS 83 (1991), 287.

[16] Ibid., 86: AAS 83 (1991), 333.

[17] Fifth General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops, Aparecida Document, 29 June 2007, 548.

[18] Ibid., 370.