United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

136 • Part I. The Creed: The Faith Professed

FROM THE CATECHISM

1. Are non-Catholic Christians guilty of separation from the Church? One cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers. . . . All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorpo rated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church. (CCC, no. 818, citing UR, no. 3) 2. What does particular Church mean for Latin Catholics? The phrase “particular church,” which is first of all the diocese . . . refers to a community of the Christian faith ful in communion of faith and sacraments with their bishop ordained in apostolic succession. These particular Churches “are constituted after the model of the universal Church; it is in these and formed out of them that the one and unique Catholic Church exists.” (CCC, no. 833, citing LG, no. 23) 3. What is the principal vocation of the laity in the Church? By reason of their special vocation it belongs to the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God’s will. (CCC, no. 898, citing LG, no. 31)

Christ. This is evangelization. Fr. Alvin Illig (1926-1991), a Paulist priest, devoted his life to making evangelization a priority in the Church of the United States. He helped us recover the great Commission of Jesus Christ to evangelize the world. He composed some practical ways to evangelize in an American context. Here are a few of his thoughts: