Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Madrid (Fides Service) - A path of missionary formation for children and young people, reflection on mission ad gentes in the new cultural and social situations, integration of missionary work achieved by Church Movements, commitment to consolidate the Pontifical Mission Societies: these were some of the topics discussed during a National Day for Diocesan Mission Delegates and the National Meeting of diocesan directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Spain, held 21 and 23 June Alcalà di Henares, organised jointly by the Bishops’ Commission for Missions and for Cooperation among Churches and the National Office of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Spain (see Fides 17 June 2004).
The President of the Bishops Commission for Mission Cardinal Carlos Amigo Vallejo, reflecting on the repercussions in the local Christian communities of the recent National Mission Congress, urged the participants to undertake new initiatives to help the contents and the spirit of the Congress to penetrate ever more deeply the consciences of individual Christians and communities. Some activities have begun others have been proposed including the elaboration of a path of mission formation for children and young people and reflection on mission ad gentes in new cultural and social situations in Spain (immigration, poverty and youth)…
One theme given ample space was the need for “integration, in a key of communion, of missionary work within the particular Churches by Church Movements and New Communities”, Rev. Anastasio Gil, technical secretary of the Bishops’ Commission for the Mission and also PMS vice national director told Fides. Representatives of Communion and Liberation, Focolarini, Neo Catechumen Way, Regnum Christi movements and the Sant’Egidio Community, illustrated how these new ecclesial realities are co-operating with mission ad gentes and how their presence in the particular is a new source of support for the missionary activity of diocesan delegations.
During the Meeting of the PMS diocesan directors, presided by Archbishop Francisco Pérez, National Director of PMS Spain, there was the presentation of the 2003 Economic Report revealing the generous contribution made by the Church in Spain to the PMS with a total of 16,550,377,11 Euro. Representatives of the national offices of the four Pontifical Mission Societies presented the activity of animation carried out by each of the Societies during the past year. Worth noting efforts by the Spanish office of St Peter Apostle to revitalise this society at the service of local vocations; efforts by the local Holy Childhood office to prepare a path of mission formation for children and lastly great effort by the local Missionary Union Office to make its magazine “Illuminare” in an authentic channel for mission formation for pastoral workers.
In his intervention Archbishop Antonio Cañizares, Archbishop of Toledo, reflecting on Pope John Paul II’s Message for World Mission Day 2004, underlined that “there can be no Eucharist without universal mission”. From this viewpoint an indicator of the value of the Eucharist in the life of Catholics is to verify if its celebration renders us missionaries. “Otherwise - the Archbishop said - we should discern what value is being given to the celebration of the Eucharist in our communities”.
The assembly closed with a series of proposals and commitments on the part of diocesan directors, oriented to confirm commitment to imbue ordinary pastoral with the missionary dimension. “It is not a question of ‘doing’ many things, however important they may be, but rather of spreading the spirit born from Christ’s command: Go and announce the Gospel to all men and women”. (R.Z.) (Agenzia Fides 26/6/2004; Righe 44; Parole 557)
