Pope Benedict XVI is in the process of creating a new Vatican office to re-evangelise the West and to fight secularization. The Pope announced this development on Monday during a vesper’s service.
Benedict said that in parts of the world like Europe, Christianity has existed for centuries but "the process of secularization has produced a serious crisis of the sense of the Christian faith and role of the Church."
The new pontifical office, Benedict stated would promote a renewed evangelization" in countries where the Church has long existed "but which are living a progressive secularization of society and a sort of eclipse of the sense of God.'"
While the Pope did not clarify who would head this new office, the Italian media believe that the leading candidate is Monsignor Rino Fisichella, who as the standing head of the Pontifical Academy for Life is the Vatican’s top bioethics expert.
Fisichella may not be a universally popular candidate for the post, however, among hardline conservative Catholics since he was at the centre of a recent controversy where he defended the actions of Brazilian doctors who aborted the twin fetuses of a 9 year old child who was raped by her stepfather.