In
recent years, the number of seminars organized by missionary groups on topics
such as the environment, immigrants and reconciliation has been impressive. Concern
for nature and human rights is an integral part of the Christian message and,
as such, should rank high on the agenda of communities engaged in spreading
Christianity.
However, the primary contribution that
Christians, as a Church, can offer the world today is not a special competence in
economics, the environmental sciences or social affairs but the gospel message
with its call for radical change based on a deeper bond with God, creation and
others. We cannot presume that, without this commitment, the majority of people are prepared to look beyond
their own self-interest to seek a better world and only need to be told what
they have to do.
Since missionaries
have the extra challenge of bringing the Christian message across cultural
barriers, it might be expected that the first question at any conference on
world concerns, organized by missionaries, should be: how successful are we in
the specialized role entrusted to us? Are we making the Christian message
intelligible enough, for example in Asia and Africa, to encourage people there
to want to make the changes in their lives that alone can solve personal and
world problems?
Of
course, that would draw attention to our own precarious situation: our
confusion about missionary goals, the lack of skills demanded by the new
challenges and concern whether there will be a next generation to continue our
work.
With
forty years of mission in Asia , I am daily reminded of this reality and a number of the questions that
require urgent attention at missionary meetings on local or international level.
1. Updating Terminology
The
first challenge in reviving a missionary spirit is to find a new and simple language
to express the urgency and goals of mission. Once, when working with the Irish
Missionary Union, I spent two years trying to find a satisfactory replacement
for the old slogan, “Missionaries save souls”, an expression that had already lost
its meaning. At that time we could not find a suitable substitute, but that was
twenty years ago.
Today we need an answer
to the question, “What to missionaries do?” that will not only restore the
interest and support of lay people, but will help missionaries find focus and
energy in their efforts and enable potential recruits to see the relevance and
attraction of mission. It calls for discipline in peeling away the non-essentials
of mission and re-expressing the original objectives in terms of today’s
context.
One
of the key terms that need to be broken down and reformulated is ‘salvation’. How
do missionaries ‘save’ souls today? Missionary
goals and methods will be determined by the answer given. One understanding of salvation
can lead to an emphasis on church over message, with a focus on catechetics and
adherence to a fixed set of beliefs and laws. A different interpretation of
salvation might put more emphasis on a scriptural and spiritual search, seeking
to help individuals develop a personal comprehension and commitment. In Asia , while the previous
generation could accept the former, the more worldly-wise present generation
look for the latter.
Why
is there a need for missionaries today? Finding a simple but compelling answer
should provide material for more than one seminar and remove many of the
distractions that are sapping missionary energy. If it cannot be done, the
future of international mission is not too bright.
2.
Extending the Opportunities for Inculturation
While
much has been written and said about the need for inculturation, little has
been done. When missionaries do discuss the topic they tend to focus on how to use
the limited opportunities permitted at present (for example, in liturgy) rather
than on how those opportunities can be expanded. There are other wider issues such
as the need to revalue the role of
analytical theology in Asian and African cultures where ideas are
transmitted through narrative and example. Grasping the message comes first,
theological distinctions emerge later.
The Holy See has a
responsibility to guard unity and uniformity in the Church but missionary
societies have the complementary vocation to be pro-active in seeking diversity
by lobbying for greater cultural latitude. The future of the Church in Asia and Africa depends on how active the
missionary lobby is.
3. Taking
Lay Mission
With
the dramatic decrease in clerical and religious missionary vocations, the
challenge of preparing lay missionaries to take a leading role in mission is an
obvious concern that has yet to be faced.
While
a number of lay missionary organizations do exist, most of them are engaged in
auxiliary roles. Few possibilities exist for lay missionaries to engage in key
ministries, there is little
encouragement or opportunity for them to prepare for the demands of
transmitting the faith cross-culturally, and steps have yet to be taken to secure
sustainable ways of financing them and their families.
In
recent centuries mission has been entrusted to priests, brothers and sisters,
and the goals and methods of mission have been fashioned around them. The
Church must now find new ‘workers for the vineyard’ and change the system to
suit them. While the future of clerical ministry is a pressing one for the
whole Church, the task of finding new full-time personnel for mission is even
more compelling.
4. Revitalizing
Western Spirituality
For
many years, Church leaders have given lip-service to the role that the Churches
in Africa and Asia can play in enriching Christian spirituality. At a time when Christianity
in the West is losing its credibility as a spiritual and moral guide, any enrichment
it can get from other traditions is not only desirable but necessary.
This
is more than a pious platitude. People in the West are being attracted to
aspects of Eastern or African religions but the Church offers them little guidance
or encouragement in discerning what is helpful.
Missionaries
who have experienced the sacred in other cultures are those best placed to be a
bridge and guide in promoting the exchange. Since their appreciation of
non-Christian traditions comes from direct experience, they are the most
credible witnesses of what other spiritualities have to offer and best positioned
to share them with their home Churches.
While
a few individuals are already attempting to do this, it will take a more
organized effort for the mutual enrichment to have any wide effect. Missionary
gatherings would seem to be the most natural place to discuss and initiate
practical steps.
A
final question can be asked: why have the above topics, which seem so obvious to
those in the field, been neglected or ignored until now?
Perhaps
for too long, missionary societies have followed a pattern of parish-based
mission that demanded little innovation or reflection. The system itself calls
for unquestioning adherence and missionaries, as loyal ‘champions of the faith’,
are inclined to be conservative. As a result, they tend to be ‘doers’ rather than
thinkers, more comfortable in overcoming practical difficulties than giving
time to speculation or speculators
It
is not surprising, then, that missionary societies till have to deal with the consequences
of Vatican II. Since the Council, Papal documents have done their best to
clarify the distinction between the evangelizing duty of Christians everywhere and
the special role of Ad Gentes
missionaries among those not yet touched by the Christian message. Yet, confusion
continues and a vocal number of missionaries have come to see the ‘missio dei’, or activity of God that operates
also outside the Church, as making the preaching of the gospel or spreading of
the Church a less urgent demand. Their interest has turned to the cutting-edge
social issues of the day, even in their home countries. This has become a sensitive
issue among missionaries, one they are reluctant to debate in public.
Now
is an opportune time for missionary gatherings to face the issues that will decide
whether the Catholic Church becomes a slowly shrinking European/North American religious
movement or grows as a world religion. At this turning point, missionaries, with
their cross-Church and cross-cultural experience, can play a valuable role. Maybe
this is one of the life-giving things that “missionaries do today”.
Hugh MacMahon SEDOS 2/6/08
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