What is the mission?

 

1 - The foundations of our mission: biblical, theological ecclesial and Franciscan documents

Br Benedict Vadakkekara

As the Ecclesial documents, in fact, already comprise substantially the biblical and theological foundations of our mission, it may be rather repetitive to dedicate distinct sections towards outlining these two aspects. Hence, this write-up begins straightaway with the magisterial teaching and does not deal with the biblical and theological aspects separately.

I.1 Vatican Council II –A defining Moment in Mission History

 The history of the missions takes concrete form in the early sixteenth century in the wake of the discovery of the seaway from the Mediterranean Christendom to the Americas (1492) and the East Indies (1498). The Patronage Jurisdictions of Spain and Portugal led to a process of colonisation together with evangelisation in the two spheres. It was into this colonised world that Propaganda Fide began its activities in 1622. This multifarious reality, which saw various legislative and administrative modifications down through the centuries continued till the end of WW II, when the world began bearing witness to a laboured start of decolonisation through the birth of scores of independent nations across the globe. Consequently, towards the end of the Fifties of the twentieth century, the Church found itself before a new world of a numerous independent nations, calling for the formulation of a new missionary strategy and diplomatic relationships on the part of the Church. Pope John XXIII convoked the Vatican Council II as the Church’s joint effort at discovering an effective mode of addressing the emerging world reality and carry out an aggiornamento of its strategies in carrying out its mission. As far as the universal Church was concerned, it was facing grave and hitherto unknown problems, which demanded a Christian response. In retrospect one may say that the Vatican II would spell out and formulate an innovative and new ecclesiology vis-à-vis the contemporary world.

I.2 Vatican II makes Missiological Headway through Ad gentes

The Vatican Council II sees appropriately the mission of the Church as something that flows from the Church’s very nature. The Preface of the Decree Ad gentes begins with an explicit reference to Lumen gentium, which declares: “Divinely sent to the nations of the world to be unto them "a universal sacrament of salvation… the Church, driven by the inner necessity of her own catholicity, and obeying the mandate of her Founder (cf. Mk 16:16), strives ever to proclaim the Gospel to all men. The Apostles themselves, on whom the Church was founded, following in the footsteps of Christ, ‘preached the word of truth and begot Churches’. It is the duty of their successors to make this task endure ‘so that the word of God may run and be glorified (2 Thess. 3:1) and the kingdom of God be proclaimed and established throughout the world. In the present state of affairs, out of which there is arising a new situation for mankind, the Church, being the salt of the earth and the light of the world (cf. Matt. 5:13-14), is more urgently called upon to save and renew every creature, that all things may be restored in Christ and all men may constitute one family in Him and one people of God”.

         Without a doubt, the Vatican II achieved a breakthrough in the understanding of the Church’s mission. Before the Council, if the emphasis was more on responding to the urgent need for peoples to be converted to Christ and be baptised in the Church, the Council adopted a new approach by emphasising the method of evangelisation in a more human and personalised and respectful manner that was more in keeping with the biblical spirit. For example, the conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate promulgated by Paul VI on 28 October 1965, is a foundational text for dialogue with other faiths. After the Council, the magisterium has kept on consistently highlighting several aspects that were already present in a seminal form in the conciliar documents. Ad gentes, 13, speaks about the individual’s fundamental freedom to accept the Gospel: “The Church strictly forbids forcing anyone to embrace the Faith, or alluring or enticing people by worrisome wiles. By the same token, she also strongly insists on this right, that no one be frightened away from the Faith by unjust vexations on the part of others”. Conversion to Christ is shown as being the maturation and fruition of the basic identity and innate cultural craving of the individual. Nostra Aetate, 2, underscores the point that “from ancient times down to the present, there is found among various peoples a certain perception of that hidden power which hovers over the course of things and over the events of human history; at times some indeed have come to the recognition of a Supreme Being, or even of a Father. This perception and recognition penetrate their lives with a profound religious sense”.

As of late, the popes have been expressly declaring that the Church does not grow by the pressure exerted by proselytism, but by the sheer force of attraction that it radiates. In his homily at the opening of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops’ meeting in Aparecida, Brazil, in 2007, Benedict XVI spoke out emphatically in such terms. It was an event at which his successor Francis assisted. This idea has been taken up several times and reiterated by Francis in his talks, interviews and writings. Evangelii Gaudium, 44: “Everyone needs to be touched by the comfort and attraction of God’s saving love, which is mysteriously at work in each person, above and beyond their faults and failings”. He says that the attractiveness of saints has produced “new spiritual vigour and important reforms in the Church” (Evangelii Gaudium, 12). In catechesis, children need to be provided “with attractive testimonies that win them over by their sheer beauty” (Amoris Laetitia, 288). Witnessing and proclaiming the Gospel in a way that attracts seems quite basic to the manner in which the Church is to go forward “as a community of missionary disciples” (Evangelii Gaudium, 12).

I.3 “Dialogue” - A new Watchword at the Vatican II

 “Dialogue” became a new watchword at the Council, especially with regard to the Church’s attitude towards other religions. In fact, this is one of the elements that makes the Vatican II distinct from the other ecumenical councils. The Church continued to regard the other religions and Confessions as something essentially related to it, as “a groundwork” for the Gospel and not as alternatives or rivals. It was in keeping with this perception that Paul VI established on the Pentecost of 1964 a special Section in the Vatican Curia known as the Secretariate for Non-Christians to express and deal with this essential relatedness with faiths. In 1988, the Secretariate was renamed as the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID). Two of its documents with a pronounced interreligious thrust are: The Attitude of the Catholic Church towards the Followers of other Religious Traditions: Reflections on Dialogue and Mission (1984) and Dialogue and Proclamation (1991).

The Vatican II had already envisaged the manner in which Church was to handle its relatedness with other religions. Nostra Aetate, 2-3 appeals to all Catholics to “acknowledge, preserve and promote the spiritual and moral goods found in other religions, and the values in their society and culture,” as a way to “join hands with them to work towards a world of peace, liberty, social justice and moral values”. Religions, however, that are bound up with an advanced culture have struggled to answer the same questions by means of more refined concepts and a more developed language. Thus, in Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery and express it through an inexhaustible abundance of myths and through searching philosophical inquiry. They seek freedom from the anguish of our human condition either through ascetical practices or profound meditation or a flight to God with love and trust. Again, Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination. Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing “ways”, comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself (See Nostra Aetate, 2).

The document continues in the same vein: “The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honour Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting. Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom. As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham's stock. Thus, the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God's saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. She professes that all who believe in Christ-Abraham's sons according to faith are included in the same Patriarch's call, and likewise that the salvation of the Church is mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people's exodus from the land of bondage. The Church, therefore, cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles. Indeed, the Church believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles. making both one in Himself (Nostra Aetate, 3-4). The one term that describes the Church’s basic approach to other religions today is “interreligious dialogue”.

I.4 Dialogue of Life

Dialogue of life is a form of interreligious dialogue, which takes place informally in the everyday life of the members of the various religions. It promotes amicable relation among people of different religions. ... This kind of process which involves the social interaction in everyday activity is known as dialogue of life. It is a form of informal interreligious encounter and it begins when one encounters, lives and interacts with the others and participates in the everyday life. It is a social interaction which shows the involvement of non-elite participants at the grass roots level. Such a process involves the social interaction in everyday life. Those activities can be seen in the life experience of living together in a pluri-religious family, celebrating festivities and wedding ceremony as well as doing business with the other religious communities and collaborating with one another for a common good. The popes have been underscoring these aspects.

The following citations are instances showing how the recent Popes have been stressing the practical import of “Dialogue of life” in carrying out interreligious dialogue.  

Paul VI to the Dignitaries and Representatives of Islam in Uganda on 1 August 1969: “ In our prayers, We always remember the Peoples of Africa, for the common belief in the Almighty professed by millions of them must call down upon this Continent the graces of His Providence and Love, most of all, peace and unity among all its sons, We feel sure that, as Representatives of Islam, you join in Our prayer to the Almighty, that He grant all African believers that desire for pardon and reconciliation so often commended in the Gospels and in the Koran. Our pilgrimage to these holy places is not for purposes of prestige or power. It is a humble and ardent prayer for peace, through the intercession of the glorious Protectors of Africa, who gave up their lives for love and for their belief. In recalling the Catholic and Anglican Martyrs, We gladly recall also those confessors of the Moslem faith who were the first to suffer death, in the year eighteen hundred and forty-eight, for refusing to transgress the precepts of their religion.

John Paul II told the leaders and representative of the Islamic and Hindu communities in Kenya, Nairobi, 18 August 1989: “Humanity’s needs are of many kinds. Foremost are the spiritual needs, such as our constant search for meaning in life and our desire to live in a way that is worthy of our human dignity as children of God. At the same time, we cannot discount man’s material needs, which in many African countries today, marked by drought and famine, mean the fundamental struggle to survive. I am thinking particularly of the plight of refugees, whether they be people who have fled across international borders from repressive situations or zones of war, or those who are forced to migrate from their native districts due to crop failures and natural disasters. The refugee situation in the world today must become the concern of all religious believers who value the dignity of man. It is an urgent need which requires fraternal solidarity and collaboration in favour of those who suffer. In addition to these spiritual and material needs, there are the social needs: the need for just, honest and efficient government; the need to respect and defend human rights without any discrimination on the basis of race, ethnic group, religion, age, social class or sex; the right to live and raise one’s family in peace, without fear that their physical and moral wellbeing will be menaced. In the face of all these human needs - spiritual, material and social - the religions of the world cannot remain passive. The great needs of our brothers and sisters are an urgent plea for a generous response in love, calling for mutual and effective collaboration. The close bonds linking our respective religions - our worship of God and the spiritual values we hold in esteem - motivate us to become fraternal allies in service to the human family”.

Benedict XVI addressed the participants in the International Encounter for Peace in Naples on 21 October 2007: “Today's meeting takes us back in spirit to 1986, when my venerable Predecessor John Paul II invited important Religious Representatives to the hills of St Francis to pray for peace, stressing on that occasion the intrinsic ties that combine an authentic religious attitude with keen sensitivity to this fundamental good of humanity. In 2002, after the dramatic events of 11 September the previous year, John Paul II himself once again summoned Religious Leaders to Assisi to ask God to halt the serious threats that were looming over humanity, due especially to terrorism. While respecting the differences of the various religions, we are all called to work for peace and to be effectively committed to furthering reconciliation among peoples. This is the true “spirit of Assisi” which opposes every form of violence and the abuse of religion as a pretext for violence… The Catholic Church intends to continue on the path of dialogue in order to encourage understanding between the different cultures, traditions and forms of religious wisdom”.

In the Laudato si’, 3: Pope Francis speaks of the urgency of safeguarding our common home: “Now, faced as we are with global environmental deterioration, I wish to address every person living on this planet… In this Encyclical, I would like to enter into dialogue with all people about our common home”. He continues: “As the bishops of Southern Africa have stated: ‘Everyone’s talents and involvement are needed to redress the damage caused by human abuse of God’s creation’”. All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents” (Ludato si’, 14). Safeguarding our common home is, thus, an area of interreligious dialogue of life, involving the whole humankind.