Argentinean archbishop encourages believers to take Christian life seriously

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oct 24, 2006 / 22:00 pm

Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata said this week that Christians need to live courageously and be faithful to the Gospel in the face of challenges which the world offers.

During his television program, “Keys to a Better World,” Archbishop Aguer said the dilemma of “how to remain faithful not only to the Christian faith but also to a way of life that is proper to the Christian amidst a culture in which authentically Christian values have become blurred if not lost altogether” is not just a modern problem, but is one that has challenged Christians throughout history.

The archbishop pointed out that the letters of the New Testament warn the early Christians “not to be conformed to this world.”  The Apostles are warning their people not to conform to those cultures, ways of thinking or living that are contrary to the Gospel, the prelate said.

Archbishop Aguer pointed out that even in once strongly Catholic Argentina, there exists today a “culture that has nothing to do or very little to do with the Christian faith.”  This reality should not cause Christians to shrink from witnessing to the faith or to lose their convictions, which are necessary in order to persevere in the Christian life, he added.

Christians are called not only to live their faith courageously, he continued, but also to bring that faith into their daily lives and to evangelize the culture, “which means spreading this way of thinking and living without any hang-ups.”