Kohlgraf demands: Church needs new joy in evangelization!

Kohlgraf demands: Church needs new joy in evangelization!

On April 26, 2025, a remarkable speech by Bishop Kohlgraf took place, in which he addressed Pope Francis' perspective on faith as "a source of joy". Kohlgraf recalled basic statements from the apostolic letter "Evangelii Gaudium" and found that reality within the church is often little shaped by this joy. This discrepancy between the ideal picture and the current situation of the church caused a lively discussion in the audience.

Kohlgraf asked the faithful to avert the focus of internal topics and instead to turn to the people who have so far been foreign to the gospel. "It's not just about maintaining structures, but about an active, lively faith," he said. According to the bishop, the times are over when certain people were solely responsible for the proclamation of faith. Every believer is called to ask himself whether his own belief is an issue at all.

The focus on the searchers

Kohlgraf emphasized that the church focuses no longer on the preservation of municipalities, but on the searching people in cities and villages. Traditions are no longer sufficient; Rather, it is about discovering and living the new of faith. In conjunction with the challenges of the modern world, questions about social justice, economic justice and the urgent issues of inequality are central, as Pope Francis records in "Evangelii Gaudium".

A crucial point in Kohlgraf's speech was the less noticeable letter from Pope Francis from 2019, which was written in response to the German synodal path. In this letter, the order to pass on the gospel is not viewed as a rigid method, but from the personal joy of faith. Kohlgraf emphasized that this legacy must be kept alive to meet the challenges of the time.

The order for evangelization

"The evangelization follows the mission assignment of Jesus", as the first chapter of "Evangelii Gaudium" says. Pope Francis encourages the church to be “departed” to announce the joy of the gospel. Kohlgraf underlined the need for a missionary redesign of the Church to counteract the diverse challenges of today's world.

According to "Evangelii Gaudium", the social dimension of evangelization and the obligation to charity are central issues. The church must take care of the integration of the poor and social peace, which requires justice and solidarity. The bishop made it clear that every baptized can and should act as a missionary disciple.

The core message of Kohlgraf is a call to all believers to live the faith as a source of joy and to actively contribute to the healing message in order to meet the challenges of the present and the future. "The joy and love of God should be expressed in the proclamation of the gospel," he concluded his appeal.

The speech by Bishop Kohlgraf is an urgent call for the active participation of the church in a constantly changing world, in which evangelization is more an essential task than ever. It is time to renew the joy of faith and to serve the fellow human beings.