Catholic Information Service to Launch Series on the New Evangelization

Catholic Information Service (CIS) – a service of the Knights of Columbus which provides Catholic booklets and online content – announced today that it will launch a new series on the New Evangelization.

The New Evangelization Series will consist of online content and booklets focused on issues of evangelizing modern culture – a project begun by Pope Paul VI, who called for a “new period of evangelization” in his 1975 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelium Nuntiandi. The new series will draw primarily from the extensive discussion of the New Evangelization by Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II.

The term “New Evangelization” was first used by Pope John Paul II early in his pontificate in Poland in 1979. Over two decades as pope, he often returned to this theme in his speeches and writing, as has his successor Pope Benedict XVI, who championed the idea of the New Evangelization even before becoming pope.

“Pope Benedict XVI has made the New Evangelization a priority. In the next year, the Church will explore the New Evangelization during the synod of bishops and will ask all Catholics to live out the New Evangelization in their own lives during the Year of Faith,” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. “It is our hope that this new CIS series will help Catholics to learn about their faith in a way that allows them to participate first hand in the Church’s mission of the New Evangelization.”

CIS currently publishes more than 75 booklets in two series – with many available in podcast and PDF format. The booklets cover almost every aspect of the Faith.

The Luke E. Hart Series, named for a past Supreme Knight, and written by Boston College philosophy professor and popular author Peter Kreeft, was designed to give a systematic introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This series is divided into three sections of ten books each, and provides instruction in what Catholics believe, how they worship and how they live.

The Veritas Series, which offers Catholic perspectives on a wide variety of issues pertaining to faith and life, currently consists of 47 booklets. Numerous authors explore subjects that range from the existence of God to annulments, from the Bible to angels and from end-of-life issues to stem cell research. Church teaching is incorporated throughout the series, and the booklets provide an accessible discussion of subjects that can be difficult to navigate. The series provides basic, reasonable and verifiable information as a resource to aid the faithful in ordering their lives according to God’s plan.

Newly appointed director of Catholic Information Service, Michelle Borras, Ph.D., will serve as general editor of the new series.

For over 60 years, CIS has printed and distributed millions of booklets, and thousands of people have enrolled in CIS catechetical courses. Today, CIS continues the Knights’ tradition of evangelization by providing low-cost, Catholic publications for the general public, as well as for parishes, schools, retreat houses, military installations, correctional facilities, legislatures, the medical community and for individuals who request them. CIS has expanded its audience in recent years with French, Spanish and Polish translations of many of its resources.