10

PRIESTLY IDENTITY AND NEW

EVANGELIZATION: RESOLVING DEFICITS
IN PRIESTLY IDENTITY THROUGH
AUTHENTIC PATROLOGY.
Clement AJIBOLADE
Seminary of All Saints, Uhiele- Ekpoma
[email protected]

Abstract
The catholic priesthood has got a character with which the priests are
easily marked out, even since antiquity. No matter the historical
development of the priesthood, this character remains substantially
intact. The consciousness of the character is also a source of great
impetus for enthusiastic evangelization. However, one of the major
challenges bedeviling the catholic priesthood in Nigeria is the crisis of
identity. This plays out strongly in the minimal level of zeal displayed in
the pastoral ministry, witnessing to Christ. It has been a clog in the wheel
of the new evangelization, which remains almost only in theory and the
fruit of its practice is elusive. What explains this crisis of identity? Is it
really because we are product of our society? Is it the change in outlook
in the course of history? Could it be because the priesthood has had
some development? Does the historical development cause essential
change leading to loss of identity today? This paper sets out to reveal yet
another nuance to the issue of crisis of identity among priests in Nigeria,
which is the seed-bed of the problems limiting ‘catholic evangelization’
on the Nigerian soil. This is because; the growth of any of the Church’s
agenda relies to a large extent on her priests, who are the close pastors of
the people. We shall submit that authentic patrological formation would
help to ameliorate this menace, if not eradicating it totally. To achieve
this, the method of exposition is employed.

Keywords: Patrology, Identity, Crisis, Evangelization and Formation.

136
 Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation 137

Preliminary and Useful Insight

We are aware that the only antidote to the endemic poison of our society
that has held people hostage and put them in fetters of ignorance is the
communication of truth. That is why Jesus Christ says that you shall
know the truth and the truth shall set you free (Jn 8:12). The reality of
the level of ignorance and deception concerning the meaning of human
body resulting to the perversion of the truth of sex and sexuality, the
intelligent understanding of human origin and summit of human
existence and unnecessary mistaken mentality of the essentiality of
human life are arbiter of the aspiration and thirst of men of this age for
the teaching of the truth. No one can really know the truth unless he is
taught, no one can be taught unless there is a teacher (Rom. 10:14ff).
The task of announcing the gospel truth in an evangelizing manner and
missionary disposition has become emergent than ever before, in the age
of relativism and the desire for unguided freedom and this is a loud and
laudable awakening from clerical slumber.
The congregation for the clergy puts this in a particular
perspective saying: “We are aware that no missionary activity can be
realistically undertaken without the enthusiastic support of priests, who
are the first and most valued collaborators of the Order of Bishops.”1
And so, “All priests are called to become aware how especially urgent it is
for them to receive formation at the present time: The new
evangelization needs new evangelizers, and these are the priests who are
serious about living their priesthood as a specific path toward holiness.”2
We can say, relying on the aforementioned documents that the Church
relies so much on priests for the task of new evangelization. This is
because they are evangelizers by their own right and virtue of their
ordination and they are also supposed to be trainers of evangelizers and
personnel for evangelization because, the word evangelization captures
concisely the entire missionary activity of the followers of Christ.
Evangelization has to be understood then as the announcement
and transmission of the message of Christ that is “the power of God for
the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16).
The term evangelization has a very rich meaning. In the broad sense, it
sums up the Church’s entire mission: her whole life consists in
accomplishing the traditio Evangelii, the proclamation and handing on of
the Gospel, which is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone
who believes” (Rom 1:16) and which, in the final essence, is identified
with Jesus Christ himself (cf. 1 Cor 1:24). Understood in this way,
evangelization is aimed at all of humanity. In any case, to evangelize does
not mean simply to teach a doctrine, but to proclaim Jesus Christ by
one’s words and actions, that is, to make oneself an instrument of his
presence and action in the world.3
138 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century

Paul VI says: “Evangelization means bringing the good news into

all the strata of humanity and through its influence transforming
humanity from within and making it new”4 Ronald says: “evangelization,
of course, comes from the Greek root ‘to proclaim good news’, and it has
been particularly used by Christians in every age to speak of the missions
ad gentes, that is, outreach to all peoples the world to bring them to
Christ.”5 That is why the Pauline ambition is “to preach the good news
not where Christ has already been known …but as scripture says: those
not told about him will see and those who have not heard will
understand.” This does not only mean going to a geographical location
that was not accessible for the past missionaries, but entails the
inculcation, appropriation and internalization of “the mind of Christ” (I
Cor. 2:16). So, Joseph Okojie writes: “Evangelization aims at penetrating
and uplifting a given culture by the word of God. It is the acceptance of
Christ’s call and a deep response to the invitation of the Trinity to the
work of love and a commitment to continue this work in everyday life.”6
Evangelization then, is crucial and irreplaceable. It is central to
the life of the Church and all her activities since antiquity. In this recent
age7 particularly, the pontificate of Pope St. John Paul II reawakens the
consciousness of evangelization in our own age when he was speaking of
New Evangelization. “What was new about evangelization?”8 The new
evangelization is not the announcement of a new message, but a new way
of the announcement – a new way that is characterized with a new
disposition of vigorous resilience. Will this be possible without great
recourse to tradition of the Church?
Those who are familiar with wine and all that concerns it have
convincingly argued that the longer it stayed the better. In like terms the
longer the catholic tradition, having experienced several cultures, people
and time, the better for evangelization of peoples. St. Paul speaks of the
credence of the sacred tradition in the context of the liturgical celebration
of the Eucharist in his first letter to the Corinthians chapter 11: “this is
the tradition of the Lord that I received… (I Cor. 11:23). The author of
the letter to the Hebrews urges: “remember your leaders who taught you
the word of God. Consider the end result of their lives and imitate their
faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be
led astray by all kinds of strange teachings.” (Heb. 13:7-9). the
consideration of the end result of the lives of our past leaders in faith is
aided by the study of the fathers, which is technically referred to as
patrology. Patrology like patristics is used to mean the study of the
Fathers.9 The word patrology was synonymous with patristics, which is
used to designate the works of ancient Christian writers. In recent times,
it refers to an organized manual on the patristic literature.10 Here, we
 Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation 139

want to use the term patrology to refer to the whole life and works of the
Fathers.

The Gist of the Problem of Priestly Identity Crisis

We have said earlier that priests are supposed to be at the fore front of the
Evangelization. More deeply, let us say that young priests are believed to
be the protagonists of the new evangelization. The employment of the
youthful hue and vigour is appropriate especially in the areas described as
young Churches. However, what is experienced in some instances is
perturbing, concerning the disposition of some priests. To this effect,
Charles Hammawa laments:
Some young priests are bereft of a proper sense of
mission. Their concept of priestly ministry is limited to
the works assigned and Masses allocated to them. They
are not interested in the total well-being or the temporal
good of the Church. The ecclesiology is so deformed
that their comfort is the primary issue to them.11
The resultant effect of this is that the announcement of the
gospel suffers and the people continue to be in want. That is why
Ambrose Agu retorts:
“…unfortunately, today, in many places, the Gospel is
not proclaimed with due force and veracity. It is not
exposed level of its radical and disturbing implications.
When this is done, the pastor or minister of the Gospel is
excoriated as being conservative, unnecessarily strict or
not in touch with present realities. The tendency for
many pastors is to shield the people from the disturbing
and pungent truth of the Gospel message. They tell the
people what they would want to hear and dilute the force
of the message handed on to them. Sometimes, a
message is avoided entirely if it is considered a
contradiction of the spirit of the time.12
Corroborating this, Anselm Jimoh calls the prevalent menace a lack of
pastoral commitment. He also offered the effect of this disposition of
some young priests. He says:
The observed lack of pastoral commitment, moral
probity, inordinate materialistic tendencies, over-
socialization of matters of faith and spirituality, frequent
display of disobedience to Local Ordinaries/Superiors on
the part of the priests, and other observable
misdemeanors which coincidentally are more common
among the younger generation of priests is disturbing…13
140 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century

Today, instead of yearning to win the whole of the world for Christ,
the happenings in our society appears to be overtaking us and exerting
much influence on us. The spirit of avarice, which may be seen as the sin
of the old, is now common among the young. This we must say beclouds
the vision of evangelization and pastoral initiative that is greatly
missionary. There is no other better time to shun the empty promises of
the world so that we may purify it. “Yet increasing it appears that more
and more young priests are taken up with buying cars the day after their
ordination…”14 and “pastors and priests are getting swallowed en mass
and the virtue of comportment and decency no longer has a place in our
life.”15
It is an understatement to say that some priests do not evangelize,
they even disturb the mission. John Aniagwu says: “Many priests are
giving counter witness.”16 Substantiating this, Hassan Kukah writes:
“given the poverty of our society, it seems that materialism on the part of
many priests and religious has become the greatest threat to our
mission.”17 Particularly of young priests, who should “spear head” new
evangelization because of the gift of youthful strength, it is advised:
“formators need to take account of what happens in parishes when young
priests get there… an exalted and glamourous priest will weigh too
heavily on the mission of the Church. The young priest must not be
gullible to think that the one who endorses his every whim is the one
who supports his ministry.”18
Relying on the impetus created by St. Paul, Oredipe calls for new
missionary drive when he wrote: “surely then, the memory of St. Paul
will inspire a new missionary drive in the Church for the benefit of the
whole of humanity.”19 In like manner, Ambrose Agu speaks of new
pastoral courage in the following terms: “this concern must be seen in
his zeal to reach out to the people outside the Church. This concern calls
for the special attention of the pastors and ministers of the Church.”20 He
continued: “the duty of a pastor does not end with leading the flock to
pasture and protecting it. He has also the onerous task of going out in
search of the straying and the lost sheep and bringing it back to where it
belongs … and this requires special pastoral courage and zeal, which of
course is the only way the pastor can foster faith and call to faith in the
world of today.”21 And so, Aniagwu complains: “there is proclamation by
written word…But many do not do it. They simply do not write. They
are either too timid to do so or they do not have the time.”22
It is true that the general theme of this conference focuses on the
formation to the priesthood, let us speak commonly at this moment so
that other young persons may have the issue to ponder on, since the task
of evangelization per se, is of all who are “baptized and sent.”23 Dwight
Longenecker underscored the fact that our disposition towards
 Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation 141

evangelization is too minimal. He has this to say: “We Catholics skate

around this one muttering catchphrases like “The New Evangelization’
and we trumpet the few evangelization enterprises that are going on, and
we self-righteously quote St. Francis (who never actually said it), ‘Preach
the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.’”24 He did not fail to
enumerate some of the reasons for such disposition generally by
catholics which include; cultural Catholicism, over-sacramentalism,
ignorance, social gospel and professional catholicism.25
Catholics tend to be shy about evangelizing. And, it shows. The
decline in Sunday Mass attendance is best described as a plummet.
Seventy-five percent of Catholics went to Mass weekly in 1955 Gallup
reported. That dropped to about 39 percent according to data collected
between 2014 and 2017; which was down from 45 percent between 2005
and 2008. It’s a disturbing trend and one that Msgr. Thomas Richter,
pastor of Queen of Peace Church in Dickinson, wants Catholics to do
something about. He addressed this issue as the featured speaker last
month at the University of Mary’s St. Hildegard Lecture series,
explaining that evangelizing is primarily the job of laity.26
In 2013, the Barna Group did a large survey on the importance
of Christians who share their faith. The group which had the lowest
number of people who actively shared their faith was Catholics. Here is
the truly sad part. They only polled those they designated as ‘people who
said they have made ‘a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still
important in their life today’ and who also indicated they believe that
when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their
sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.’ This means they
polled the best and most engaged Catholics who have had an encounter
with Jesus. They found that only 1 out of every 3 Catholics agreed with
the statement, ‘I, personally, have a responsibility to tell other people
about my religious beliefs.’ Additionally, only 1/3 of Catholics who have
encountered Jesus and chosen to follow him agreed with the statement,
‘During the past 12 months, I explained my religious beliefs to someone
who had different beliefs, in the hope that they might accept Jesus Christ
as their Savior.’ This means we Catholics in the USA are TERRIBLE at
evangelization - the core mission of the Church! We aren't Christians to
merely get ourselves to heaven. We are Christians to get others.’27
Notwithstanding, the urgency of evangelization today cannot be
overemphasized. The perversion in the world today has made those who
learn not to understand and possession has constantly led to
impoverishment. The announcement and the encounter with the truth
are evermore demanded. Thus, the urgency of evangelization today is as
prevalent as at the time of Jesus, when they were advised not to even
salute anyone on the road. Cardinal Dulles made this observation
142 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century

concerning the disposition for evangelization even after the Second

Vatican Council: “The commentaries on Vatican II published in the first
decade after the council generally overlooked the centrality of
evangelization. They focused attention on collegiality, ecumenism,
dialogue and social teaching.”28 But now is the acceptable time to wake
up with great enthusiasm for the work of new evangelization.

Resolving Deficits in Priestly Identity through Authentic

Patrology.
We speak of the apostolic foundation in the Church not just from mere
human calculations or wisdom, but because the Lord built the Church
on the apostle that He named Peter, the rock. Therefore, the faith of the
Church is foundational and this permeates her activities. The proper
understanding of the missionary mandate and evangelization requires
that we get in touch concretely with those to whom the message is
handed over on behalf of the generation that will come to believe Christ
through their teaching (Jn 17:20). Chinua Achebe wrote: “a man who
does not know where the rain began to beat him cannot say where he
dried his body.”29 Here, we have to present the lasting values of patrology
through which we encounter the Fathers and even learn from them in
order to prepare candidates in formation for the all important task ahead.
The Congregation for Catholic Education instructs:
Observation of the present condition of the Church reveals how the
needs of the church’s pastoral mission and the emergence of new
currents of spirituality call for healthy nourishment and reliable source of
inspiration. So many efforts seem sterile, but there is a fresh breath of
true wisdom and Christian authenticity that flowed from the patristic
works. It is a breath which contributed recently to the resolution of
numerous liturgical, ecumenical, missionary and pastoral phenomena,
which were noted by the Second Vatican Council and which are
considered a source of encouragement and light by the church today.30
In a letter to Fulton Sheen, a priest wrote: “I am convinced that
many of our people are searching for many of the old devotions which
many of the parishes have done away with, and this is very often because
we priests cannot be bordered putting ourselves out.”31 These old
devotions motivate the faithful for the missionary activities. Patrology
helps us to encounter the depth of these devotions, some of which are
handed down by the apostles themselves and are inspired by the Lord
and His Spirit. A good example of such devotions is the elongated
Lenten spiritual practices of the Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults
and other prayerful pedagogy that accompany the rites. This is also not
common again in our Churches. Another is the adoration of the Lord in
 Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation 143

the Blessed Sacrament, which some parishes have also done away with.
But these and many others enliven our soul.
The inspiration they (the Fathers) offer in terms reflection, and
contribution to the explanation of the mysteries communicated through
the Scriptures is lasting. To this effect, Pope Benedict XVI in his Verbum
Domini advised that pastoral or missionary activities be inspired by the
Scriptures.32 The understanding of the Sacred Scriptures, just as the
familiarity with it, is in no little measure germane to the work of
evangelization. As a matter of fact, the Scripture is the code for every
missionary activity. In it we find the example of the Lord Himself being
on mission to evangelize and also learn his principles and strategies
which can never fail us. But without the proper understanding, we can
do little or nothing humanly speaking. Thus authentic patrology helps us
to have better understanding of the Scriptures, when we encounter the
insight offered by the apostles and the Fathers, such that they continue to
challenge and spur us for missionary actions. “The living Tradition is
essential for enabling the Church to grow through time in the
understanding of the truth revealed in the scriptures…”33 The second
Vatican Council Fathers offer immense insight:
Hence there exists a close connection and
communication between sacred tradition and Sacred
Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same
divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and
tend toward the same end. For Sacred Scripture is the
word of God inasmuch as it is consigned to writing
under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, while sacred
tradition takes the word of God entrusted by Christ the
Lord and the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and hands it on
to their successors in its full purity, so that led by the
light of the Spirit of truth, they may in proclaiming it
preserve this word of God faithfully, explain it, and make
it more widely known. Consequently it is not from
Sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her
certainty about everything which has been revealed.
Therefore both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are
to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of
loyalty and reverence.34
As important as the Scriptures may be, our knowledge is equally
nourished by the study of the Holy Fathers and other Doctors and
monuments or Tradition. In order, moreover, that they may give apt
answers to questions posed by men of this age, it is necessary for priests
to know well the doctrines of the magisterium and the councils and
144 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century

documents of the Roman pontiffs and to consult the best of prudent

writers of theological science.35
Evangelization is intrinsically traditional since, evangelization
entails the handing over of the faith. To hand over is traceable to the
Latin word tradere, meaning to handover. It is therefore, historical and
traditional. “The new head of a worldwide federation of traditional
Catholics has stressed that if the New Evangelization is to be effective,
it’s vital that the faithful know and understand the Church’s roots,
history and tradition.”36 “In our Christian mind, the Fathers are always
linked to tradition having been both its protagonist and witnesses. They
are closer to its source in their purity… the Fathers are therefore
witnesses and guarantor of authentic catholic tradition.”37 Just like we
have written earlier, no Christian evangelizer is going to announce a new
gospel as St. Paul wrote to the people of Corinth (I Cor. 3:11), the
primordial message of Christ but with a new style, dedication and
vigour. Patrology then helps us to understand that primordial message of
Christ as we study the works and life of those who were with them from
John’s baptism till when the Lord was taken up (Acts 1:22).
Therefore, it is clear that (for) seminarians regular familiarity with the
work of the Fathers can only strengthen their spiritual and liturgical life
by shedding particular light on their vocation by rooting it in the long
tradition of the Church bringing it to a direct communication with its
origins in their wealth and purity.38
Another important reason for patrology is that the Fathers have
bequeathed to us the authentic method of grafting the faith into cultures.
They grappled with the heresies of the pagan cultures and were able to
impress the faith in the heart of these cultures, although not without
difficulty. They were successful. If inculturation that we clamour for
today must be successful, we have to consider the Fathers who have done
it in the past. The Fathers have helped to answer the question of how the
faith can be explained in the “wisdom and philosophy of people.”39
There is yet another pivotal point to be mentioned concerning
the rich patrimony that patrology introduces us to that we may be helped
in our mission of evangelization. This is the arena of Catholic Christian
spirituality. “… Given this lively spiritual sense, the image of themselves
that the Fathers offer us is that of men who are not only learning but
above all are experiencing divine things. Most of the time, they are
specialists in supernatural life who communicate what they have seen
and experienced in their contemplation of divine things, what they have
known through the path of love.”40 Any evangelizer who does not learn
from the spirituality of the Fathers may not be faithful and successful.
The Fathers are to be our spiritual models after the mind of Christ. St.
Paul says; imitate me as I imitate Christ. Due to the intellectual poverty
 Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation 145

that some young persons have concerning the lives and works of the
Fathers, they have come to choose other spiritual models of this age. It
shows in the liturgical assembly that they lead. Yet, the Fathers have
more to offer in spirituality than the Pentecostal pastors of this age.
Authentic patrology will help in resolving this lacuna.

Conclusion
This paper calls for an urgent appreciation of spiritual mentorship, father
figure and role modeling. This paper is also a clarion call for renewal
towards enthusiastic evangelization. As Paul VI says: “to make the
Church of the twentieth century ever better fitted for proclaiming the
Gospel to the people of the twentieth century”41, this paper aims at
making the Church in the twenty-first century better active for the
proclamation of the gospel to the people of the twenty-first century. “As
in early times, today too Christ needs apostles ready to sacrifice
themselves. He needs witnesses and martyrs like St. Paul.”42 To actualize
this desire of Christ we need to be constantly be inspired by the Fathers,
who were the first recipient of the message of Christ and served it in its
purity. Thus, in the training of a candidate to the priesthood, authentic
patrology should be an epicenter of their formation. This will continue
to reinvigorate these young evangelizers, buoyed their spirituality and
boost their evangelical morale through pastoral outreach. We wish to
submit therefore, that with authentic patrology, the misplacement of
priority that has led to a kind of identity crisis, being a clog in the wheel
of new evangelization, will be reduced to bearable decimal, if not totally
eradicated.

Endnotes

1Congregation for the Clergy, the Priest and the Third Christian Millennium: Teacher
of the Word, Minister of the Sacraments and Leader of the Community, 1999.
2John Paul II, Pastores Dabor Vobis no. 82.
3Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of

Evangelization, no. 2, 2007.

4Quoted in Frank P. DeSiano, Kenneth Boyack, Creating the Evangelizing Parish,

New York: Paulist Press, 1993, p. 23.

5Ronald D. Witherup, Saint Paul and the New Evangelization, p. 10.
6Joseph Okojie, The Eucharistic Celebration as an act of Evangelization, Benin City:

Floreat Systems, 2014, p. 25.

7Post Second Vatican Council.
8Ronald D. Witherup, Saint Paul and the New Evangelization, Minnesota: Liturgical

Press, 2013, p. 2.
146 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century

9Joseph A. Komonchak, Mary Collins (eds.) et. al., the New Dictionary of Theology,
Bangalore: Theological Publications in England, 2011, p. 387.
10Michael Glazier and Monika Hellwig (eds.), The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia,

Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2004, pp. 625-626.

11Charles M. Hammawa (ed.), New Techniques in formation, Educating Seminarians

for Healthy Sexuality and Celibate Living and Materialism and Priestly Life in
Nigeria”; Proceedings of the National Seminaries Committee Workshops, Makurdi
2002, Ekpoma 2003 and Ibadan 2005, no 2, Benin City, Floreat Systems, 2007, p.
183
12Ambrose C. Agu, Responding to the Divine Call, Bombay: St. Pauls, 2009, pp. 158-

159.
13Ibid
14B. Itsueli, “Materialism and Personal witnessing in Priestly Life” in Charles M.

Hammawa (ed.), New Techniques in formation, Educating Seminarians for Healthy

Sexuality and Celibate Living and Materialism and Priestly Life in Nigeria”; p. 186.
15Ibi S. Ajayi, “Materialism and the Nigerian Society” in Charles M. Hammawa (ed.),

New Techniques in formation, Educating Seminarians for Healthy Sexuality and

Celibate Living and Materialism and Priestly Life in Nigeria”; P. 155.
16John Aniagwu, quoted by B. Itsueli, “Materialism and Personal witnessing in

Priestly Life” in Charles M. Hammawa (ed.), New Techniques in formation, Educating

Seminarians for Healthy Sexuality and Celibate Living and Materialism and Priestly
Life in Nigeria”; p. 186.
17Hassan Kukah quoted by B. Itsueli, “Materialism and Personal witnessing in

Priestly Life” in Charles M. Hammawa (ed.), New Techniques in formation, Educating

Seminarians for Healthy Sexuality and Celibate Living and Materialism and Priestly
Life in Nigeria”; p. 187.
18B. Itsueli, “Materialism and Personal witnessing in Priestly Life” pp. 188-189.
19Paul K. Oredipe, St. Paul and Priestly Formation: Impetus for Today, Benin City:

Floreat Systems, 2018, p. 13.

20Ambrose C. Agu, Responding to the Divine Call, Bombay: St. Pauls, 2009, p. 157.
21Ibid
22John Aniagwu, Called to Act In Persona Christi: Reflections on Priestly Life and

Ministry, Ibadan: Daily Graphics, 2014, p. 46.

23Pope Francis, Message on the Mission Sunday, 2019.
24Dwight Longenecker, “10 Reasons Why Catholics Don’t Evangelize” in Natioal

Catholic Register, https://www.ncregister.com/blog/longenecker/10-reasons-why-

catholics-dont-evangelize (accessed 2/3/2020 10:40 pm)
25Ibid
26Patti Armstrong, “Evangelizing is the Job of the Laity”, 2019
https://bismarckdiocese.com/news/evangelizing-is-the-job-of-the-laity (accessed
3/3/2020 12:08 am)
27Marcel LeJeune, “5 Reasons Why Catholics Don't Evangelize” in Catholic

Missionary Disciples, https://catholicmissionarydisciples.com/news/reasons-why-

catholics-dont-evangelize (accessed 2/3/2020 11:16 pm)
 Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation 147

28Avery Cardinal Dulles, Evangelization for the Third Millennium, New York: Paulist
Press, 2009, p. 14.
29Chinua Achebe, There was a Country, USA: Penguin Books, 2012, P. 1.
30Congregation for Catholic Education, Instruction on the Study of the Fathers in the

Formation of Priests, pdf (accessed 27/2/2020 7:50 pm)

31Fulton J. Sheen, Treasure in Clay, Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 1980, p.

204.
32Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, p. 88.
33Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, p. 25.
34Dei Verbum no. 9
35Presbyterorum ordinis no. 19.
36Edward Pentin, “New Evangelization Needs Tradition and History to be Effective”

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/new-evangelization-needs-
tradition-history (accessed 3/2/2020 5:14pm).
37Congregation for Catholic Education, “Instruction on the Study of the Fathers in

the Formation of Priests, pdf (accessed 27/2/2020 7:50 pm)

38Ibid
39Ad Gentes no. 22.
40Congregation for Catholic Education, “Instruction on the Study of the Fathers in

the Formation of Priests, pdf (accessed 27/2/2020 7:50 pm)

41Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, no. 2.
42Benedict XVI’s Homily at Vespers for the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, at the

Basilica of St. Paul the walls on June 28, 2007.