Evangelical Catholicism: The New Face of the Catholic Church

Is the face of Catholicism changing?  The simple and exciting answer is, “YES”!  Several important shifts can be observed in the history of the Catholic Church – from the primitive Jesus movement of the New Testament to the patristic era to the medieval Church to the Counter-Reformation era  – and it seems that another definitive shift is happening right now, in our very lifetime.  And what are theologians and ecclesiastics calling it?  Evangelical Catholicism.

George Weigel of the Institute on Religion and Public Life suggests that the unique combination of postmodernity and the consistent call of the Great Commission have “impelled a new evolution in the Church’s self-understanding and self-expression.  The result of that evolution [is] Evangelical Catholicism.”[1]

The distinct marks of Evangelical Catholicism are particularly exhilarating for those of us who minister in Young Life, a ministry which necessarily calls for the cooperation of Christians from many different theological traditions.  So exactly what is Evangelical Catholicism?

·      Evangelical Catholicism is not about maintenance but mission.  As Catholics we are not “keepers of the aquarium” but fishers of men (and women). 

·      Evangelical Catholicism is not satisfied with church membership and Mass attendance.  It is in the business of disciple-making and everything falls under that essential mission. 

·      Evangelical Catholicism is about friendship with God.  There is a big difference between knowing about God and truly knowing God.  It is personal.  It is relational.  It is a true friendship and everyone is called into that friendship.

·      Evangelical Catholicism is about conversion and transformation.  Gone are the days of “pray, pay and obey.”  The new normal is a continual life-changing encounter with the living God.

·      Evangelical Catholicism is a friend of reason and a lover of mystery.  It sees the cooperation of faith and reason “are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.”[2]  Our God-given faculties of reason and the tools of science, combined with our faith, are complementary avenues for exploring and discovering the world and the ubiquitous presence of God in the cosmos.

·      Evangelical Catholicism is biblically-centered and finds its center of gravity in a return to the sources.  The Bible is the normative measure for Christian faith, always understood in continuity with the apostolic witness.

·      Evangelical Catholicism calls every person to holiness and participation in God’s great story of redemption.  Every member of the body of Christ plays a critical role!

·      Evangelical Catholicism does not hide from culture but engages it.  “You are the salt of the earth”(Mt. 5:13). The gospel both affirms and challenges the world to be the seat of God’s mercy, justice and love.

·      Evangelical Catholicism lifts up evangelization (or the New Evangelization) as her deepest identity and the overarching strategy for the Catholic Church for the twenty-first century and beyond.

Is the old, stingy, dogmatic, defensive, rule and ritual-laden, culture-fearing posture of the Catholic Church a thing of the past?  Of course, that’s not exactly a fair assessment of an era of Catholic Christianity spanning the greater part of the last 500 years but I think that gets to the heart of the way many outsiders perceive the Catholic Church today. Many will continue to cling to their bygone ways. This shift will not occur overnight. 

But behold, a new day is dawning and the birth of Evangelical Catholicism marks an exciting new development in the life of the Church and for the world it has been called to serve in the name of Jesus Christ.  Click on the video below and explore the new face of Catholicism.

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[1]             George Weigel, “Evangelical Catholicism,” First Things, No. 231 (March 2013), NY: Institute on Religion and Public Life, p.34.

[2]             Pope John Paul II, Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason), 1998.