Bishops face a stumbling block when they speak of a new evangelisation, Archbishop Paul Cremona said, referring to the challenges of the Maltese congregation.

"Many of our faithful still live in nostalgia and compare the present situation with the model of the Church of 30 to 40 years ago," Mgr Cremona said.

He was addressing the Bishops' Synod in Rome on the theme of The Word Of God In The Life And Mission Of The Church.

He said the Church needs to come out of this traumatic experience to enter into a new evangelisation, where the faithful recognise that this kind of Church does not exist anymore and that it cannot be proposed again in today's changed world.

Since the Catholic Church has not remained in a privileged position as it was in the past, the faithful live in an atmosphere of shock when the Church or its pastors are challenged, he said.

"Many times they stand in fear of speaking openly before what is often a hostile culture," Mgr Cremona argued.

"We have to shape today's Church on that community."

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