Novo Millennio ineunte

Novo Millennio ineunte ( German : At the beginning of the new millennium) is an apostolic letter from Pope John Paul II , which he published at the end of the jubilee year 2000. On January 6, 2001, Pope John Paul II solemnly closed the year of the Great Jubilee 2000 and promulgated this Apostolic Letter at the closing service . In this document he wants to give the church “guidance” for the third millennium after Christ that has just begun.

structure

The papal letter consists of four parts:

I The encounter with Christ, the legacy of the great jubilee

II The face to be looked at

III Starting anew with Christ

IV A future of love

Motto: retrospect and future

His motto, chosen for this letter, is Jesus Christ's invitation to Simon Peter : “Duc in altum - go out on the high seas and cast out the nets!” ( Lk 5.4 EU ) “This word”, the Pope said , "Sounds to us today and invites us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present passionately and to open ourselves to the future with confidence." (Cf. Novo Millennio ineunte (NMI), 1.)

The Holy Father writes: “Let us allow the word of Christ to penetrate us with all its might: Duc in altum! It was Peter who spoke the word of faith when that fish was caught: 'But if you say so, I will cast out the nets.' Allow the Successor of Peter , at this dawn of the millennium, to invite the whole Church to this act of faith ”(NMI, 38).

John Paul II sees the event of the Holy Year 2000 not as a past but as a prophecy of the future: “What we have done this year must not serve as a justification for a feeling of complacency. Even less should it tempt us to put our hands on our laps ... When it comes to the kingdom of God , there is no time to look back and even less to lie in bed. Much is waiting for us, so we need to start creating an effective pastoral program for the post- anniversary period (NMI, 15) ... Let us go forward with hope! A new millennium lies in front of the Church like a vast ocean to be driven out onto ... At the beginning of this new century, our pace must be faster (NMI, 58) ... After the enthusiasm of the anniversary, we do not return to gray everyday life . On the contrary, if our pilgrimage was serious, it loosened our legs, as it were, for the path that awaits us (NMI, 59). "

Exhortation: warning and appeal

With a view to mankind today, the Pope in his exhortation urges responsibility for avoiding the impending ecological collapse that would make large areas of the planet inhospitable and uninhabitable (NMI 51). The responsibility for peace among and within peoples also remains acute. In the face of globalization : a peaceful world or no world. An essential contribution to peace is the reduction of injustice, which benefits few in technological, economic and cultural growth and excludes millions and millions from progress. Likewise, respect for human dignity from conception to natural death. Like any technology, biotechnology must never disregard the fundamental requirements of ethics . God's plan for marriage and the family , which is inscribed in the essence of man and woman, and which is torn apart into legislation today, must be recognized and known.

Responsibility: Evangelization and Religion

In our world situation, Christians can less than ever afford an “intimistic (not intended for others) and individualistic (self-related) spirituality ” (NMI, 52). Love obliges them “to serve culture , politics , the economy and the family” (NMI, 51). With regard to Christianity, the Pope in his letter on the new millennium calls attention to three main responsibilities: a.) The task of increased evangelization , since two thirds of humanity do not even know Jesus Christ; b.) then the task of interreligious dialogue in order to rule out religious discrimination or even violent religious conflicts, in order to discover even more the spiritual wealth in non-Christian religions and c.) in order to understand Jesus of Nazareth more deeply as the incarnate Son of God and the world than to introduce their true Savior more invitingly.

Challenges: Holiness and Pastoral Care

Novo Millennio Ineunte emphasizes that individual Christians and the Church as a whole will only be able to meet the challenges of the new millennium if they strive for “holiness” above all other things and with the utmost commitment. It must be the permanent focus of every pastoral plan and the standard of ordinary Christian life, which of course also has its own personal touch. Since “ Baptism allows us to enter into the holiness of God through the incorporation into Christ and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit ”, it would be absurd, according to the Pope, “to be satisfied with a mediocre life, one that is characterized by a minimalist ethic of a superficial one Religiousness is led ”(NMI, 31). As his greatest wish for the third Christian millennium, the Pope mentions: “That the whole Church constantly looks to Jesus, listens to Jesus and offers Jesus to the world. He and not a magic formula is the inspiring program and the pastoral grammar for all church activities ”. (NMI, 16-28).

Web links