At the top end of the Archdiocese of Hobart sits Mersey Leven Parish. It comprises six rural Mass centres, with Sunday Mass attendance varying from 10 to 20 parishioners in Sheffield to 140-200 parishioners in Devonport. Tourism occasionally spikes these numbers. The parish sits within one of the poorest socioeconomic regions in Australia.

The turn to modern philosophy began in the 17th century when Rene Descartes penned those famous words “I think, therefore I am”. Later commentators have said that he should have said “I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am”. Whether you agree with the commentator does not matter, because all philosophical thought begins with a foundational question. Descartes’ was “Is there anything which I can know with absolute certainty?”

We make God’s love manifest in the world when we care for each other and for the whole of creation, so answering the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth are ways of evangelising. The Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development is the part of the Vatican that is most engaged with this form of evangelisation. 

From the USCCB website, Bishop Robert Barron, Chair of the Committee on Evangelisation and Catechesis writes:

The phenomenon of the rising number of people who are disaffiliating from the Catholic Church—and religion altogether—presents a challenging cultural situation for the Church today. However, as Pope Francis reminds us, “challenges exist to be overcome! Let us be realists, but without losing our joy, our boldness and our hope-filled commitment. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of missionary vigour!” (Evangelii Gaudium, no. 109).