THE THEOLOGY OF MISSION according to THE MAGISTERIUM FROM VATICAN II TILL TODAY

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL MISSION CONGRESS OFM Conv Cochin, Kerala (India) January 2006 AMALADOOS MICHAEL S.J. THE THEOLOGY OF MISSION according to THE MAGISTERIUM FROM VATICAN II TILL TODAY

2 AMALADOOS MICHAEL S.J. THE THEOLOGY OF MISSION according to THE MAGISTERIUM FROM VATICAN II TILL TODAY The Church is on mission. Mission is its very identity. Every Christian is called and sent missioned to witness to Jesus and to the Kingdom of God that he proclaimed and realized. The mission of the Church has had a glorious history especially in the past 500 years. Following the discovery of the Americas and of new routes to Asia missionaries from Europe went out into the world to conquer it for Christ. America became Christian. Christianity has been spreading steadily in Africa. It has not had much success in Asia, which is only about 2% is Christian. The 19 th and 20 th centuries saw the birth of many missionary Congregations in Europe and America. Today this mission of the Church seems to be in crisis. The Christian countries are becoming secularized needing re-evangelization. Missionary vocations there are no longer numerous. In the missions, there has been a resurgence of the various religions, often linked to anti-colonial, nationalist movements. Missionaries are not welcome in many Asian countries today. The theology of mission itself is being hotly discussed today, at least in Asia. According to some, the thrust towards dialogue with cultures and religions that started with the Second Vatican Council has weekend missionary vision and enthusiasm. There have been attempts to balance dialogue and proclamation. In the face of reducing numbers of conversions, John Paul II foresees a great harvest of faith in the Third Christian Millennium. (Ecclesia in Asia, 1) It is in this context that I would like to set my presentation today on The Theology of Mission in the Documents of the Magisterium from Vatican II till today. While permitting myself a few theological remarks from an Asian point of view towards the end of my presentation, I shall be faithful to the focus given to me. But the focus itself needs some clarification. What or Who is the Magisterium in the Church? Some may suggest that the Teaching Office of the Church refers only to the Pope and his collaborators. Others would include collegial bodies like the Synod of Bishops. Still others would extend it further to regional bodies of Bishops like the FABC, CELAM, SECAM, etc. Then we have the national Bishops Conferences and the individual Bishops. I would personally opt for a broader understanding of the Magisterium, precisely in the context of Vatican II. However, talking in the context of Asia, I shall limit myself to the Pope and the Asian Bishops. As we shall see, they also offer an interesting contrast in the context of the pluralism of religions. We must also realize that the Magisterium itself is not simply being a mouth-piece of God, but is theologizing in a particular historical and cultural context, reading the signs of the times. Mission at Vatican II Before the Second Vatican Council, the goal of mission was understood as the planting of the Church. Unlike in the early centuries of Christianity where this gave rise to different 2

3 local, ritual Churches, after the 15 th century this really meant transplanting the Latin Church everywhere with its catechetical, liturgical, theological, spiritual and canonical structures. The Council however provided a deep foundation for the mission of the Church in what has been called the mission of God. The Church on earth is by its nature missionary since, according to the plan of Father, it has its origin in the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit. This plan flows from fountain-like love, the love of God the Father God in his great and merciful kindness freely creates us and moreover, graciously calls us to share in his life and glory. He generously pours out, and never ceases to pour out, his divine goodness, so that he who is creator of all things might at last become all in all (1 Cor. 15:28), thus simultaneously assuring his own glory and our happiness. It pleased God to call men to share in his life and not merely singly, without any bond between them, but he formed them into a people, in which his children who had been scattered were gathered together. (cf. Jn. 11:52) (Ad Gentes, 2) The document, however, goes on to specify later the real goal of missionary activity as the evangelization and the implanting of the Church among peoples or groups in which it has not yet taken root. (Ad Gentes, 6) But this has to be done in a spirit of dialogue with people, being familiar with their national and religious traditions and uncover(ing) with gladness and respect those seeds of the Word which lie hidden in them. (Ad Gentes, 11) This dimension of dialogue is broadened in three other documents of the Council, namely those on Religious Liberty, on Other Religions and on the Church in the Modern World. The document on Religious Liberty accepts the rights of people, created in the image of God and therefore endowed with human dignity and freedom, to follow any religion according to their conscience, not only individually, but also collectively. (Dignitatis Humanae, 2-3) The document on Other Religions accepts that all people stem from the one stock which God created to people the entire earth (cf. Acts 17:26) and share a common destiny, namely God. His providence, evident goodness, and saving designs extend to all men (cf. Wis 8:1; Acts 14:17; Rom 2:6-7; 1 Tim 2:4). (Nostra Aetate, 1) The Church, therefore, urges her sons to enter with prudence and charity into discussion and collaboration with members of other religions, since it rejects nothing of what is true and holy in them. (Ibid., 2) The document on the Church in the Modern World focuses on the secularizing, nonbelieving world. It speaks about human dignity and freedom, common good and social justice, equality, participation and solidarity. (Gaudium et Spes, 12-32) It recognizes that salvation is made available to every human being in ways unknown to us. Since Christ died for everyone, and since the ultimate calling of each of us comes from God and is therefore a universal one, we are obliged to hold that the Holy Spirit offers everyone the possibility of sharing in this Paschal Mystery in a manner known to God. (22) The Church needs to enter into communion with different forms of culture thereby enriching both itself and the cultures themselves. The good news of Christ continually renews the life and culture of fallen man It takes the spiritual qualities and endowments of every age and nation, and with supernatural riches it causes them to blossom, as it were, from within; it fortifies, completes and restores them in Christ It 3

4 stimulates and advances human and civil culture. (Ibid., 58) At the same time the Church affirms the legitimate autonomy of culture and especially of the sciences. (Ibid. 59) The Church at the Council, even while setting mission in the context of building the Church, opens it out to dialogue with the world, its cultures and religions. This means that mission is not seen in narrow, spiritual terms as the saving of souls. This broadening of the focus, if not the context, of mission is further strengthened in the years following the Council. The Broadening of Mission The Bishops, gathered in synod in 1971, affirmed that the promotion of justice is an integral dimension of the mission of the Church. Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation. (Convenientes ex universo, Introduction) This thrust would be further developed by CELAM in Latin America in their Conferences in Medellin and Puebla. The Synod of Bishops in 1974 had evangelization for its theme. The post-synodal document, Evangelii Nuntiandi of Paul VI, focused particularly on the evangelization of culture and on liberation. Evangelization is to be achieved, not from without as though by adding some decoration or applying a coat of colour, but in depth, going to the very centre and roots of life. The gospel must impregnate the culture and the whole way of life of man The gospel and, therefore, evangelization cannot be put in the same category with any culture. They are above all cultures. Nevertheless, the kingdom of God which is proclaimed by the gospel is put into practice by men who are imbued with their own particular culture, and in the building up of the kingdom it is inevitable that some elements of these human cultures must be introduced. (Ibid., 20) There are close links between evangelization and human advancement, that is development and liberation It (liberation) cannot be confined to any restricted sphere whether it be economic, political, social or doctrinal. It must rather embrace the whole man in all his aspects and components, extending to his relation to the absolute, even to the Absolute which is God The church proclaims liberation and cooperates with all those who are working and suffering on its behalf. (Ibid., 31, 33) The Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences, at its first general assembly in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1974, also had evangelization for its theme. It speaks of it as a three-fold dialogue of the Gospel with the cultures, the religions and the poor, based on their Asian experience. Evangelization is the carrying out of the Church s duty of proclaiming by word and witness the Gospel of the Lord. Within this context we have spoken of these tasks 4

5 Indigenization renders the local Church truly present within the life and cultures of our peoples. Through it, al their human reality is assumed into the life of the Body of Christ, so that all of it may be purified and healed, perfected and fulfilled. Through the second task, the Asian religions are brought into living dialogue with the Gospel, so that the seeds of the Word in them may come to full flower and fruitfulness within the life of our peoples. Finally, through the preaching of the good news to the poor (Lk 4:18), Christ s renewing life and the power of his paschal mystery is inserted into our peoples search for human development, for justice, brotherhood and peace. (FABC I, 25-28) Mission and Other Religions But the FABC breaks new ground in its attitude to other religions. They say: In Asia especially this (evangelization) involves a dialogue with the great religious traditions of our peoples. In this dialogue we accept them as significant and positive elements in the economy of God s design of salvation. In them we recognize and respect profound spiritual and ethical meanings and values. Over many centuries they have been the treasury of the religious experience of our ancestors, from which our contemporaries do not cease to draw light and strength. They have been (and continue to be) the authentic expression of the noblest longings of their hearts, and the home of their contemplation and prayer. They have helped to give shape to the histories and cultures of our nations. How then can we not give them reverence and honour? And how can we not acknowledge that God has drawn our peoples to Himself through them? (FABC I, 13-15) Such a positive attitude to other religions contrasts with the attitude of Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi. Considering them natural, he goes on to say: By virtue of our religion a true and living relationship with God is established which other religions cannot achieve even though they seem, as it were, to have their arms raised up towards heaven. (53) A change in this attitude comes in a dramatic way when John Paul II invites the leaders of other religions to come together to Assisi to pray for world peace in October The chief organizer of the event, Marcello Zago, said: At Assisi, the welcome given to the religious representatives and people being present at the prayer offered by various religions were in some way a recognition of these religions and of prayer in particular, a recognition that these religions and prayer not only have a social role but are also effective before God. 1 In a speech to the Cardinals before Christmas that year John Paul II affirmed the basic unity of all humans in the salvific plan of God and insisted that all authentic prayer is from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit can obviously work through the symbols and rituals of other religions. 1 See Marcello Zago, Day of Prayer for Peace, in Bulletin of the Secretariat for Non-Christian Religions 22 (1987), p

6 The Mission of the Redeemer John Paul II, however, felt that the missionary dynamism of the Church was waning. So he tried to relaunch the missionary activity of the Church with the Encyclical The Mission of the Redeemer. It is significant that, in the meantime, the idea of mission had been broadened to include also re-evangelization of former Christian populations so that John Paul II has now to speak of mission ad gentes, directed to people who have not yet effectively heard about Jesus Christ and the good news. The Encyclical is a summary of the theology of mission covering all its dimensions. Let us look at the main points. It starts with a strong affirmation: Christ is the one Saviour of all, the only one able to reveal God and lead to God Christ is the mediator between God and mankind. (5) At the same time it recognizes that Although participated forms of mediation of different kinds and degrees are not excluded, they acquire meaning and value only from Christ s own mediation, and they cannot be understood as parallel or complementary to his. (5) While acknowledging that God loves all people and grants them the possibility of being saved (cf. 1 Tim 2:4; LG 14-17; AG 3), the Church believes that God has established Christ as the one mediator and that she herself has been established as the universal sacrament of salvation (LG 48; GS 43; AG 7, 21). (9) What about the people who are not members of the Church and to whom its mission is actually directed? Here is the answer. The universality of salvation means that it is granted not only to those who explicitly believe in Christ and have entered the Church. Since salvation is offered to all, it must be made concretely available to all. But it is clear that today, as in the past, many people do not have an opportunity to come to know or accept the Gospel revelation or to enter the Church. The social and cultural conditions in which they live do not permit this, and frequently they have been brought up in other religious traditions. For such people salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church but enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation. This grace comes from Christ; it is the result of his Sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy Spirit. It enables each person to attain salvation through his or her free cooperation. (10) Salvation is, therefore, available to every human being. They are related to the Church in a mysterious way, which is not further specified. They do not belong formally to the Church. There is no mention of other religions or the participated forms of mediations about which the Encyclical had spoken earlier. If people can be saved in various ways, why then mission? The Church s mission derives not only from the Lord s mandate but also from the profound demands of God s life within us. (11) The Kingdom and the Church The Encyclical then introduces the image of the kingdom of God in the context of mission and seeks to articulate its relationship with the Church. This is done with reference to the attempts by some theologians to focus on the kingdom of God, rather than the Church, as the goal of mission in the context of the pluralism of religions. For instance, a missionary who has 6

7 lived, worked and died in Asia without making a single convert can still find his life meaningful, because he has helped promote the kingdom, though he has not been successful in planting the Church. The Encyclical recognizes this, but insists that the primary goal of mission is the founding of the Church. The proclamation and establishment of God s Kingdom are the purpose of his (Jesus ) mission. (13) The Kingdom is the concern of everyone: individuals, society, and the world. Working for the Kingdom means acknowledging and promoting God s activity, which is present in human history and transforms it. Building the Kingdom means working for liberation from evil in all its forms. In a word, the Kingdom of God is the manifestation and the realization of God s plan of salvation in all its fullness. (15) The Encyclical then goes on to criticize the attempts to look at the kingdom in purely human and secular terms (attributed to the Latin American theologians) or divorced from Christ and the Church (attributed to Asian theologians) and seeks to correct such mistakes. It is true that the Church is not an end unto herself, since she is ordered toward the Kingdom of God of which she is the seed, sign and instrument. Yet, while remaining distinct from Christ and the Kingdom, the Church is indissolubly united to both. Christ endowed the Church his Body, with the fullness of the benefits and means of salvation. The Holy Spirit dwells in her, enlivens her with his gifts and charisms, sanctifies, guides and constantly renews her (LG 4). The result is a unique and special relationship which, while not excluding the action of Christ and the Spirit outside the Church s visible boundaries, confers upon her s specific and necessary role. (18) The Church serves the Kingdom by establishing communities and founding new particular Churches, by spreading throughout the world the Gospel values which are an expression of the Kingdom and by her intercession. (20) But the Church is no longer simply identified with the Kingdom. It is true that the inchoate reality of the Kingdom can also be found beyond the confines of the Church among people everywhere, to the extent that they live Gospel values and are open to the working of the Spirit who breathes when and where he wills (cf. Jn 3:8). But it must be immediately be added that this temporal dimension of the Kingdom remains incomplete unless it is related to the Kingdom of Christ present in the Church and straining toward eschatological fullness (EN 34) (20) Let me just note, in passing, that the Church is identified here as the Kingdom of Christ, as distinguished from the Kingdom of God. The Spirit in Mission The Encyclical goes on to speak of the Holy Spirit as the principal agent of mission, making the whole Church missionary. Then it goes on to point to the presence of the Spirit also in other religions and cultures. 7

8 The Spirit manifests himself in a special way in the Church and in her members. Nevertheless, his presence and activity are universal, limited neither by space nor time (DEV 53) The Spirit s presence and activity affect not only individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions The Church s relationship with other religions is dictated by a twofold respect: Respect for man in his quest for answers to the deepest questions of his life, and respect for the action of the Spirit in man The universal activity of the Spirit is not to be separated from his particular activity within the Body of Christ, which is the Church. Indeed, it is always the Spirit who is at work, both when he gives life to the Church and impels her to proclaim Christ, and when he implants and develops his gifts in all individuals and peoples, guiding the Church to discover these gifts, to foster them and receive them through dialogue. (28-29) Speaking about the vast horizons of the mission ad gentes, the Encyclical evokes some of the new challenges: the relativism and indifferentism within the Church; the need to focus on the cities and on the young; the attention to the modern equivalents of the Areopagus like the world of communications, promotion of peace and human rights, especially of the minorities, feminism and ecology; the defense of human freedom and a special attention to the South and the East. (31-40) The Encyclical then enumerates the many paths of mission: witness and proclamation leading to conversion and baptism; the formation of local Churches; incarnating the Gospel in peoples cultures; dialogue with the brothers and sisters of other religions; promoting development by forming consciences; works of charity as the source and criterion of mission. (41-61) A few principles from this section could be highlighted. Inculturation must be guided by two principles: compatibility with the Gospel and communion with the universal Church... (It) must involve the whole people of God, and not just a few experts, since the people reflect the authentic sensus fidei which must never be lost sight of. (54) The fact that the followers of other religions can receive God s grace and be saved by Christ apart from the ordinary means which he has established does not thereby cancel the call to faith and baptism which God wills for all people Dialogue should be conducted and implemented with the conviction that the Church is the ordinary means of salvation and that she alone possesses the fullness of the means of salvation. (UR 3; AG 7) (55) The important new development in the theology of mission in The Mission of the Redeemer is the formal recognition, for the first time, of the presence and action of the Spirit of God, not only in individuals but also in cultures and religions. Dialogue and Proclamation About six months after the publication of The Mission of the Redeemer, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples issued a document on Dialogue and Proclamation. This title itself indicates that the relationship between dialogue and proclamation has been a source of tension in the theology and practice of mission in recent years. It was felt that people who considered the other religions as legitimate mediations of salvific divine-human encounter were not giving due importance to the proclamation of the good news leading to the conversion of the others to the Church. So the document affirms: Interreligious dialogue and proclamation, though not on the same level, are 8

9 both authentic elements of the Church s evangelizing mission. Both are legitimate and necessary. (77) What one is called to do concretely will depend on the living context and on the signs of the times through which the Spirit of God is speaking, teaching and guiding. (78) Dialogue can take the form of mutual prophecy, common pilgrimage and collaboration in the promotion of the values of the Kingdom. (79-80) In the course of articulating the relationship between dialogue and proclamation the document makes an important assessment of the role of other religions in the process of salvation. Concretely, it will be in the sincere practice of what is good in their own religious traditions and by following the dictates of their conscience that the members of other religions respond positively to God s invitation and receive salvation in Jesus Christ, even while they do not recognize or acknowledge him as their saviour (cf. AG 3, 9, 11). (29) Dominus Iesus In 2000, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published the document Dominus Iesus, because it felt that the Church s constant missionary proclamation is endangered today by relativistic theories which seek to justify religious pluralism, not only de facto but also de jure (or in principle ). (4) According to the opinion of many commentators, while seeking to summarize the traditional teaching of the Church, it does not take into account the practical and doctrinal development after the Second Vatican Council in the areas of ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. The affirmation that the believers of other religions have only belief, not faith (7) does not recognize the presence and action of the Spirit in them to which they respond. The statement If it is true that the followers of other religions can receive divine grace, it is also certain that objectively speaking they are in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of the means of salvation (22) ignores the conviction of the document on Dialogue and Proclamation quoted in the previous paragraph. What is surprising is that, while the presence and action of the Spirit is recognized in other religions, there is an attempt to quantify that presence and not merely distinguish it from the Spirit s presence in the Church, but also to subordinate it. I suggest that this does not respect the freedom of the Spirit, but seeks to contain it within the limits of a narrow theological vision. The affirmation that the Church is the instrument for the salvation of all humanity (22) goes beyond the mysterious relationship of which John Paul II speaks. ( The Mission of the Redeemer, 10) The International Theological Commission was much more careful when it said: Whether the religions as such can have salvific value is a point that remains open. (Christianity and the World Religions, 81) The document also betrays a scholastic philosophical mindset with which most people today may not feel comfortable. The Asian Bishops The discourse of the Asian Bishops on mission and dialogue is contextual, based on their experience of other believers, and not a priori. Responding to the Lineamenta for the Synod for Asia, the Indian Bishops said: In the light of the universal salvific will and design of God, so emphatically affirmed in the New Testament witness, the Indian Christological approach seeks to avoid negative 9

10 and exclusivistic expressions. Christ is the sacrament, the definitive symbol of God s salvation for all humanity. This is what the salvific uniqueness and universality of Christ means in the Indian context. That, however, does not mean there cannot be other symbols, valid in their own ways, which the Christian sees as related to the definitive symbol, Jesus Christ. The implication of all this is that for hundreds of millions of our fellow human beings, salvation is seen as being channelled to them not in spite of but through and in their various sociocultural and religious traditions. We cannot, then, deny a priori a salvific role for these non-christian religions. 2 The Bishops from Indonesia view the people of other faiths as bearers of the seeds of the Word (who) try to live up to authentic religious values which lead them to God s Reign. They are our fellow wayfarers to the same Reign of God, to whom we all have access in the Spirit through Jesus Christ. 3 The Korean Bishops assert that the great traditional religions in Korea play a part in the salvific economy of God. 4 The Vietnamese Bishops affirm: Since God is the creator of all things, one should say that, in a sense, the existence of these non-christian religions is equally part of his Providence. 5 A theological consultation on Evangelization in Asia organized by the Office for Evangelization of the FABC says: The Kingdom of God is therefore universally present and at work. Wherever men and women open themselves to the transcendent Divine Mystery which impinges upon them, and go out of themselves in love and service of fellow humans, there the Reign of God is at work Where God is accepted, where the Gospel values are lived, where the human being is respected there is the Kingdom. In all such cases people respond to God s offer of grace through Christ in the Spirit and enter into the kingdom through an act of faith This goes to show that the Reign of God is a universal reality, extending far beyond the boundaries of the Church. It is the reality of salvation in Jesus Christ, in which Christians and others share together; it is the fundamental mystery of unity which unites us more deeply than differences in religious allegiance are able to keep us apart. 6 The Indian Bishops say, before the Synod for Asia: It is an accepted principle that we cannot comprehend a mystery; before it, our attitude needs to be one of reverent acceptance and humble openness. God s dialogue with Asian peoples through their religious experiences is a great mystery. We as Church enter into this mystery by dialogue through sharing and listening to the Spirit in others. Dialogue, then, becomes an experience of God s Kingdom. 7 2 Peter C. Phan (ed), The Asian Synod. Texts and Commentaries. (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2002), p Inid., p Ibdi., p Ibid., p For All the Peoples of Asia, Vol II, (edited by Josef Eilers) (Manila: Claretian Publications, 1997), p Peter C. Phan (ed), The Asian Synod, pp

11 I would only ask you to note the difference in tone and perspective between a document like Dominus Iesus and the statements of the Asian Bishops. Conclusion I do not have the task nor do I have the time to present to you an Asian theology of mission. I shall limit myself to one comment. Placed before the same data two people may organize them in two different ways depending on the basic paradigm or framework they choose. The traditional paradigm is a linear one. Creation and fall are followed by God s call of Abraham and Moses who prepare for the coming of Jesus as the saviour. Jesus establishes the Church and sends it out on mission to gather the whole world into itself as its fulfillment and thus achieve the kingdom of God. The second paradigm is more complex. Mission is primarily God s mission and it starts with creation. God manifests God s self at various times and places and in various ways through the Word and the Spirit. The Word becoming flesh in Jesus is a definitive and decisive moment in the salvific plan of God. Jesus establishes the Church as the symbol and servant of the kingdom of God. The goal of mission God s and ours is to build the Kingdom and the Church as its symbol and servant. In its task the Church finds in the other religions allies and collaborators, the real enemies of the Kingdom being Satan and Mammon. This vision does not separate Christ and the Spirit, the Kingdom and the Church, but distinguishes them as different dimensions of one and the same salvific mystery. Precisely because we are convinced that Christ and the Spirit are present and active every where in ways unknown to us, mission starts as contemplation to discern that presence and action and continues as dialogue to coordinate the various actions. We always try to invite and to welcome people who wish to become special disciples of Jesus and collaborate with his mission. The unity of all and the fulfillment of everything in the kingdom of God is eschatological. I think that Asians in general opt for the second paradigm. Given the globalizing and secularizing world of today and the growing and conflictual multi-religious situation in Asia and the world what we need today is harmony and collaboration between religions to promote peace and wellbeing for all. This does not exclude the affirmation of our specific identity as disciples of Jesus and the proclamation of his good news. But it supposes also the recognition, respect and acceptance of the identity and freedom of the others. Dialogue then becomes the way of mission. Michael Amaladoss, S.J. Institute of Dialogue with Cultures and Religions, Loyola College, Chennai , India. 11