But it is our intention through dialogue to launch a message to all, including those who have left us and who could now come back. We will embark on the third millennium in a few years' time and the Church is placing great stress on this deadline. That's a difficult question. I often ask myself how we can touch the heart of modern man. I am in constant touch with young people and I am always surprised to find that they expect to be challenged.
Youth is a challenge in itself.
They are waiting, almost anxiously, to encounter someone who will tell them that there is a way to live life to the full. They are unconsciously waiting and desiring the encounter with Jesus Christ, the fullness of life, even when they are apparently very distant, even when they scorn and blaspheme against the Church. What they are really hoping to encounter is none other than the experience which, by grace and despite all our limitations, it is possible to live within the Church. In short, there is an entire generation which, in the midst of all its contradictions, lives in expectation and yearning. The new evangelization drive must start with prayer because the success of any such endeavor depends on the grace of God and must be implored from heaven.