Cardinal Farrell: Local Church must help lay people with basic formation
By Tiziana Campisi
On Wednesday, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, opened his Dicastery's third plenary assembly, being held from 4 to 6 February at the Jesuit General Curia in Rome, insisting there is a great need for a “basic formation” in the Christian life among lay people, in order to respond to “the alarming increase in the number of people who do not know Jesus Christ at all.”
Specifically, he called for a “formation of the heart,” which involves the whole life: at the origin of Christian life there is an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ, who first changes the heart, then our mindset, and eventually transforms daily conduct and all of life.
Evangelization and Catechesis
Cardinal Farrell stressed that the solution to the challenges facing the Church is not to change structures or the principles of Catholic doctrine or morality. Such changes, he said, will not “bring people back to Mass,” increase vocations, or draw young people back to the Church.
Rather, the Cardinal stressed, every local Church, diocese, and parish must offer, on a permanent basis, "paths of evangelization, catechesis, initial proclamation of the faith, Christian initiation, formation in the faith, and accompaniment in spiritual growth.”
He recalled that Pope Leo, in his Apostolic Letter Drawing New Maps of Hope, affirmed that Christian formation must embrace “the entire person: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical,” and he encouraged lively, kerygmatic catechesis, introduction to sacramental life, liturgical celebrations, prayer life, examination of life in the light of Scripture, dialogue, experiences of fraternity, service, charity, and missionary activity.
A key element of this formation, he said, is the synergistic collaboration of all ecclesial components—pastors, lay people, families, single people, consecrated persons, lay associations and movements, youth groups, parish structures and programs, even online formation and “web apostles.”
Formation of families and couples
The Cardinal also insisted on the particular need for Christian formation and accompaniment of families and spouses, explaining that listening to Bishops during ad limina visits, and other interlocutors of the Dicastery, revealed a strong need to provide families with opportunities for formation in married spirituality, married life, family prayer, and the transmission of faith to children.
In this context, Cardinal Farrell encouraged that such formation be led primarily by couples who, through the witness of their own lives, can guide, enlighten, and support other spouses—especially younger couples and those facing moments of crisis.
Thus, He invited the Church to pray that “new saints may arise—whose zeal and creativity help the Church to bring many people closer to the faith”—and to foster “a renewed impetus for evangelization and catechesis.”
Objectives of formation
Summarizing the formation goals of the Dicastery, Cardinal Farrell said that in many ecclesial environments faith is not being generated in people but rather is often taken for granted. Christian formation must therefore generate faith and lead people into “a living relationship with God and with Christ,” fostering a mature Christian life in the Church.”
He emphasized the need for Episcopal Conferences to genuinely commit themselves to formation, and to identify fundamental criteria that can be used to develop guidelines for Christian formation that local Churches can adopt in their pastoral contexts.
World Meetings
Regarding the World Meetings organized by the Dicastery, including World Youth Day, the World Meeting of Families, and the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, Cardinal Farrell said that profound changes around the world must be taken into account, citing "cultural and economic globalization, increased social mobility and interculturality, growing religious indifference, and a renewed search for spirituality among younger generations."
Faced with these scenarios, the Pope called for pastoral creativity and new approaches and expressed his hope that the Meetings "can be evangelically more effective, touch people’s hearts, transmit grace, and have a lasting impact on their lives," becoming “authentic experiences of encounter with Jesus Christ.”
The Dicastery's activities
In his address, Cardinal Farrell also reviewed the Dicastery’s work since its establishment in 2016. In the area of Associations and Movements, eight annual meetings of moderators have been held, with ongoing accompaniment through meetings, statute review, and formation initiatives.
In the field of Family and Life, two World Meetings of Families have taken place, that in Dublin in 2018 and in Rome in 2022, and in 2022, the Dicastery published the Catechumenal Pathways for Married Life to introduce preparation for marriage and accompaniment in the early years of married life.
Regarding pastoral care of life, he recalled the work in this field of numerous Episcopal conferences using the resource Life is Always a Good.
Meanwhile, in youth ministry, World Youth Day was celebrated in Panama in 2019 and Lisbon in 2023, with preparations underway for Seoul in 2027, and, in pastoral care of the elderly, two international congresses have been held in 2020 and 2025.
