Havana, Cuba, Nov 18, 2004 / 22:00 pm
In a message sent to Bishop Juan Garcia Rodriguez, President of the National Committee for Justice and Peace of the Church in Cuba, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, in the name of Pope John Paul II, sent an extensive encouraging greeting to the 9th Catholic Social Week in Cuba which is taking place in the country this week under the theme, “Truth, Justice, Love, Liberty, Fundamentals of Peace According to Pacem in Terris.”
The letter signed by Cardinal Sodano states that in the unceasing mission of announcing the Reign of God in diverse cultures, nations and surroundings, “the teaching and application of the Catholic social doctrine is a magnificent instrument of evangelization for the Church.”
The letter underscores also that “these teachings from the so-called ‘social Gospel’ should be inculturated in a continuous and persistent fashion, in the concrete circumstances in which the Christian faithful are called to transform society with the force and light of the Gospel.”
The message encourages “the presentation of Christian social thought in accord with the fundamental qualities of the identity of the Cuban people, and that it be communicated in a comprehensible language” and thus “enlighten human existence and social realities.”