The goal of the initiative, according to the pope's Apostolic letter, titled “Porta Fidei” is conversion and to re-discover faith, so that all members of the Church can become credible witnesses of truth.

The Year of Faith actually coincides with the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II. It also marks 20 years since the Catechism of the Catholic Church was published. The Vatican hopes the combination of these key anniversaries, will help promote awareness.

For this to happen, the apostolic letter, recommends action be taken on four different levels.

The first one is the Universal Church. For example all the events Benedict XVI will take part in during the “Year of Faith” will have the goal of promoting unity among all Christians. That will especially be the case during World Youth Day 2013 in Rio.

The second level is the Episcopal Conferences. It's recommended that they improve the quality and instruction of catechesis. It's also recommended that they use new media and even art to communicate with a larger number of people.

The third level are the Dioceses. It's recommended that they promote healthy discussions between faith and reason by organizing conferences and meetings, especially in universities.

The last area is that of the parishes and religious movements. There, the focus will remain on celebrating Mass, since it's here that faithful can celebrate and strengthen their relationship with faith and the Church.

Finally, as a way to organize things, a Secretariat will be established by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, to coordinate all these activities, all over the world.

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