The Lessons Learned from The Catholics Come Home National Ad Campaign

 

    The Catholics Come national ad campaign that ran from December 12, 2011 to January 13, 2012 spotlighted a seeming blind spot in the way the Church evangelizes today. It was fifty years ago the the Vatican II council spoke about using the modern forms of media to reach the culture in the document Inter Mirifica. With the advent of EWTN the Church finally had a voice on the airwaves that people could tune in to. This has spurred Catholic radio stations across America who are faithful to the Church's teachings and for many Catholics has been a Godsend, including the author of this post.
    This question of evangelization is one of the primary issues addressed by the successors of Peter and the Apostles at The Second Vatican Council and this topic is present in all sixteen documents of Vatican II. All the successors of Peter since then have written or spoken about it extensively. This even includes Pope John Paul I! In his very first radio address to the world the day after being elected pope; He said “We wish to remind the entire Church that its first duty is that of evangelization.” Pope Paul VI in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi writes to all the faithful of the whole world "We wish to confirm once more that the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church." Pope John Paul II writes in Mission of the Redeemer. “The Church is missionary by her very nature, for Christ's mandate is not something contingent or external, but reaches the very heart of the Church.” And finally Pope Benedict XVI in his homily at the opening of the recent Synod on evangelization remarks very simply and directly “The Church exists to evangelize.”
    We should celebrate success of the EWTN network and Catholic Radio, however Catholics and non-Catholics still have to choose to tune in. This misses the vast majority of fallen away Catholics. Given the poor evangelization effort combined with the poor catechesis over the last fifty years the average fallen away Catholic has little to no interest in rehashing that which they think they already know. I have often heard "I went to Catholic School for twelve years" to which I reply "Now I understand why you no longer practice" and then go on to explain that I too went to Catholic Grade school and High School and I got the list of rules and regulations, but there was little explanation about why the Church does what she does or what she teaches.
    This is where utilizing the SECULAR media can stand in the gap. Every diocese and Archdiocese needs to produce quality commercials designed to air on national, regional, and local TV and radio stations.
These commercials must reflect the humble pastoral nature of the Church without compromising the Truth in any way. This is a big component of the New Evangelization, as it represents a very effective tool for reaching the souls of fallen away Catholics as well as refuting much of what the mainstream media puts forth as Catholic teaching. We already know that the Church will suffer persecution, but let's suffer for what we actually believe and teach instead of how the mainstream media portrays us.
    This will require an ongoing interior conversion of the hierarchy as well as the laity and the recent Synod on evangelization has proposed a reform of hierarchical structures in order to implement the New Evangelization. I am aware that finances are an issue as well , but Pope John Paul II said "I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church's energies to a new evangelization." The reorientation of funds and energies as well as the excitement a commercial campaign this will produce within the Catholic community should allow for the implementation of the all aspects of the New Evangelization.
    Perhaps we can view the HHS mandate and other serious government intrusions as a strong encouragement from God to radically reorient the Church's focus back to her primary mission and leave the rest to God. After all the power of the Gospel message is the one thing the government cannot take over, imitate, or take away from Christ's Church!

    A hearty thanks must go to Catholics Come Home for shining a light into the darkness and giving us a key component of the New Evangelization. The additional benefit of the New Evangelization is that it will go a long way to addressing the wider societal and political issues of our time.

© Copyright Chip Awalt 2012