Donald Cardinal Wuerl on the "Tsunami of Secularism" and the New Evangelization

Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, has been appointed to the very important position of Relator General for the upcoming Synod of Bishops on The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. He explains, in the video above, what a synod is generally, and what the Church hopes to accomplish in the upcoming synod on the New Evangelization.

What is a relator? John Allen presents this useful summary:

In every synod, the key figure is the relator, or general secretary, who organizes the work, supervises preparation of all the documents, and delivers two key reports before and after the synod deliberations. The first one sets the tone, while the second sums everything up.

It's a much-watched job, in part because the last two popes in a row first came to prominence as a synod relator. Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Poland held the job for the 1974 synod on evangelization, and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany did so for the 1980 synod on the family, a performance that sealed John Paul II's determination to bring him to Rome as his doctrinal czar.

This time around, the relator is Wuerl, 72, himself frequently mentioned as a candidate for a senior Vatican job. In 2010, Wuerl published a pastoral letter on the new evangelization said to have left a very positive impression on Benedict XVI.