New Vatican Document Considers the Difficulties of Passing on the Faith Today

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published a document titled “Venite ad Me: Considerations on the Transmission of the Faith in an Epochal Change” on Thursday. Approved by Pope Leo XIV on August 21, the text consists of eight chapters and 144 paragraphs. Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the dicastery, signed the document.

The text is presented as a set of considerations based on input from several national bishops’ conferences rather than a doctrinal note. It identifies secularization and individualism as current obstacles to sharing the faith. The document states that modernity has created a new culture that competes with traditional structures used to transmit the faith. It further notes a crisis regarding the vision of the human person and foundational values.

The document describes the heart of the Christian experience as an encounter with Jesus that provides the light of faith. This document is expected to be the final text commissioned from the dicastery by the late Pope Francis.