Pope wants new statutes for worldwide missionary organisations

Pope Francis wants the statutes of the Pontifical Mission Societies, which are active worldwide, to be changed. These should further develop a "spirituality of missionary communion", he told representatives of Catholic missionary organisations from around 120 countries in Rome on Saturday. It is about living communion with God and with people. "We should enable the people we meet to experience the fundamental love of God. They will be able to find it in our lives and in the life of the Church," said Francis. Christians must be "shining witnesses" of God.

The Pope exhorted the mission directors to move forward in a spirit of "missionary communion". The call to conversion applies to everyone, including the heralds of the message. Therefore, the renewal of the statutes of the Pontifical Mission Societies is also important. The worldwide statutes of the Pontifical Mission Societies, which were founded in the 19th century, were last amended in 2005 under Pope Benedict XVI (2005-2013). The penultimate renewal of the statutes was enacted by John Paul II (1978-2005) in 1980. The national and regional missionary organisations in German-speaking countries also work on the basis of the worldwide statutes. (KNA)