«CAM 2 – the 2nd American
Missionary Congress», which will be held in Guatemala City
from 25th to 30th November 2003, unites all the Americas in the
celebration of Mission. CAM 1 was the first of a new series of Missionary
Congresses of the Churches of Latin America called COMLA, after
the Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America had in fact united
the missionary commitment of all the Churches of this Continent.
Held in Paranà (Argentina) in 1999, the «Sixth Latin
American Missionary Congress» (COMLA 6) became CAM 1 and was
thus the last of a glorious tradition that had brought Latin America
to the forefront of the movement for the World Mission of all her
Churches. It should be noted that the long series of Missionary
Congresses was the fruit of the Latin American Bishops’ close
collaboration with the Pontifical Missionary Societies whose task,
particularly with the Pontifical Missionary Union, is the missionary
animation of the entire People of God. In fact the PMS have given
a missionary character and impulse to the Latin American Churches
in the 25 years in which Congresses have been held every four years.
In this number of Omnis Terra we are presenting the organisation,
objectives, aims and hopes of the forthcoming CAM 2 in the form
of a «Special Feature». It concerns in particular the
Churches of Central America that have undertaken the task of organising
the Congress and among them, particularly, the host Church of Guatemala.
The letter for the «Convocation» of the Congress of
H. Exc. Mgr. Rodolfo Quezada Toruño, Archbishop of Guatemala
and President of the Episcopal Conference, explains the reasons,
content and expectations of the Congress in the context of the life
and «pastoral suffering» of the Churches of Central
America.
«The objective of the Congress – as the Document declares
– will be to animate the life of the particular Churches of
the Continent so that from their evangelizing experience they will
take on, with responsibility and soldiarity, the commitment to the
mission “ad gentes”. [...] For this reason, during the
Congress themes will be dealt with which remind the participants
that the mission is the announcement of the Gospel of Life».
This is then followed by a long, authoritative document by Fr. Jesús
Osorno, Executive Secretary of the Mission Department (DEMIS) of
the Latin American Bishops’ Conference (CELAM), who, starting
from his experience of the ecclesial life of the Churches of Central
America, gives a profound and stirring introductory meditation to
the Congress works. The document we are presenting was approved
in a Meeting of Bishops held from 25th to 28th November 2002 in
San Salvador (El Salvador). «Finally – Fr. Osorno declares,
taking his inspiration from Puebla – the time has come for
you to go ad gentes... from your poverty, your smallness and the
blood of your martyrs... “The winter is over” of indifference
or meanness, and the infinite horizon of solidarity and universal
communion is opening up...». He explains the theological,
ecclesial and historical reasons for this great commitment which
for the first time establishes the honour and onus of the sister
Churches of Central America on behalf of and in union with the Churches
of North and South America. A studied reading of this preliminary
«Message» to the Congress can give an idea of the intense
spirit of missionary outreach that animates the Churches organising
the event, and present a picture of the long missionary journey
made by the Latin American Churches in the past through COMLA 1-6.
The fervent and vibrant spirit that comes from the «Message»
is the fruit of the meditation and prayer that was the soul of all
the Latin American Missionary Congresses. In fact this spirit of
prayer is what Christ himself had asked for the Evangelization of
the world: «The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are
few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers
into his harvest». Previously Pius XII, the author of the
Encyclical Letter Fidei Donum, which had opened the door of Mission
to all the particular Churches, in his Encyclical Letter of 1943
Mystici Corporis, had declared: «And if there are still many,
as unhappily there are, who wander outside the path of Catholic
truth and fail to give their free consent to the inspiration of
divine grace, this is due to the fact that not only they themselves,
but the faithful also, omit to offer to God more fervent prayers
for this intention. We therefore earnestly and insistently exhort
all lovers of the Church to follow the example of the Divine Redeemer
and to offer such petitions without ceasing» (n. 103). On
his part John Paul II in the Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Missio
recommends prayerful meditation and awareness of the missionary
task: «Particular Churches should therefore make the promotion
of the missions a key element in the normal pastoral activity of
parishes, associations and groups, especially youth groups... Such
formation is entrusted to priests and their associates, to educators
and teachers, and to theologians, particularly those who teach in
seminaries and centres for the laity. Theological training cannot
and should not ignore the Church's universal mission, ecumenism,
the study of the great religions and missiology» (n. 83).
In the «Conclusion» of his Missionary Encyclical the
Pope returns to and insists on the fact that the whole Church has
a duty to pray for her Mission of Evangelization: «Like the
apostles after Christ's Ascension, the Church must gather in the
Upper Room “together with Mary, the Mother of Jesus”
(Acts 1:14), in order to pray for the Spirit and to gain strength
and courage to carry out the missionary mandate. We too, like the
apostles, need to be transformed and guided by the Spirit»
(n. 92).
All this was done in the various Missionary Congresses of which
prayer is the essential part, together with the study of the problems
of Mission for a missionary formation and animation. Therefore it
is not by chance that the year of CAM 2 has been declared a «Missionary
Holy Year» (28 Nov. 2002 –2003) in all the particular
Churches. I bore witness to this reality personally through my participation
at COMLA 6 – CAM 1 (1999) in Paranà (Argentina). During
the course of this lively Congress, with the participation of representatives
from the whole of America, the city’s churches were full of
faithful at prayer and every evening the cathedral had a great Eucharistic
celebration for Mission. This missionary gathering in prayer was
preceded by two years of preparation, through meetings for prayer
and study in every Diocese and in parishes, mindful of Christ’s
warning: «Apart from me you can do nothing» (Jn 15:5).
All this is in line with what the Pontifical Missionary Union (PMU)
has tried to do from its inception through missionary animation
and the spirit of its Founder, Blessed Father Paolo Manna. A missionary
of unshakeable faith, before the immense task of the evangelization
of the world which seemed as impossible an undertaking as it would
be for «a camel to go through the eye of a needle»,
he had the same firm faith as Christ: «With men this is impossible,
but with God all things are possible» (Mt 19:26).
The significance of CAM 2 assumes a special importance if it is
considered within the Church’s situation in the world. In
fact for many Churches Mission alone represents resurrection to
a new life, a «surge» of supernatural energy that sets
them again in the footsteps of their Pastors. In the Apostolic Exhortation
Ecclesia in America, the Pope had urged: «... the particular
Churches in America are called to extend their missionary efforts
beyond the bounds of the continent» (EA 74). The «5
Continental Synods» of the end of the Millennium clearly expressed
the difficulties of the Churches in the various continents, and
the «Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortations» of the Holy
Father John Paul II gave indications and suggestions for a new way
of being the Church-in-Mission. In the Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia
in Europa the Pope declares that it is necessary «to proclaim
this message of hope to a Europe which seems to have lost sight
of it» (EE 2). Consequently in his discourse at the Angelus
of 13 July 2003 (OR 14-15/7, 2003), reiterating the same Synodal
discourse, he declared that «European culture gives the impression
of “silent apostasy” on the part of people who have
all that they need and who live as if God did not exist» (EE
9). In a later discourse at the Angelus of 27 July (OR 28-29/7/2003)
the Holy Father uses even stronger and more meaningful words in
this regard: «From the Risen Christ, the Church received the
mission to proclaim the Gospel to the very ends of the earth. In
these recent Sundays I have had several opportunities to remind
the Ecclesial Communities of Europe that they are called to this
duty in a particular way. [...]. If certain regions and areas are
actually awaiting a first proclamation of the Gospel, this proclamation
is in need of revival everywhere. Often, in fact, the knowledge
of Christianity is taken for granted while, in reality, the Bible
is little read and studied, catechesis remains superficial and the
Sacraments are widely disregarded. In this way, in place of authentic
faith, a vague and non-committal religious sentiment is spreading
and running the risk of becoming agnosticism and practical atheism.
The Europe of today requires “the presence of Catholics who
are adult in their faith and for missionary Christian communities
who testify to God's love before all mankind” (cf. EE 50).
Such a renewed proclamation of Christ requires that a deep unity
and communion within the Church accompany it, along with a sincere
effort in the ecumenical field and in dialogue with the followers
of the other religions. [...]. Christ goes to meet men and women
wherever they live and work and gives full meaning to their lives».
Unfortunately this situation of «secularisation» of
personal and social human life, with the great epochal changes of
our own century, is the sad experience of many Churches in every
nation and in all continents. For this reason, also in order to
present the event of the Missionary Congress in Guatemala in its
true light and in its highest aims, we have decided to publish some
documents on the typical situation of a local Church in the five
continents. The first article, the fruit of the theological study
and experience of an Italian «Fidei Donum» priest, presents
the situation of the Church in Italy. The second speaks about another
«First-World» Church, the Church in Canada seen through
the eyes of a Congolese missionary serving in Quebec. A Dutch missiologist,
for a long time a professor in African seminaries, then presents
the situation of the Church in Mozambique and in general throughout
the African Continent. Finally a Pastor from a Church in the North
of China reveals the «lights and shades» of missionary
pastoral activity in his great nation. The «Special Feature»
in the yellow-page insert presents the reasons for, the programme
and the spirit of CAM 2 in Guatemala.
We pray and hope that the «Motto» of this Congress,
the first of the 21st century and a «Missionary Holy Year»
for the Americas, through the intercession of Mary the «Queen
of Missions» and in the «Year of the Rosary»,
may become a reality:
«CHURCH IN AMERICA, YOUR LIFE IS MISSION!» |