OUR MISSION AD GENTES

Introduction

The 10th General Chapter of the Consolata Missionaries, celebrated in Kenya where began the almost centenary history of their work of evangelization, was an event of the grace of God. All of us that took part in it as representatives of the whole Institute, recommitted ourselves to the original inspiration of the foundation. We beheld our past history. From it, we drew enthusiasm. It inspired our projects for the future. We kept in mind the feelings, the evaluations and the wishes expressed by the Missionaries in the pre-chapter reflections. On this basis, and in the light of the Word of God and of the Magisterium of the Church, we endeavored to discern the ways that God shows us today in order to accomplish what was dear and important to our Blessed Father Founder. With firmness and determination, he proposes to us a renewal of our ways of being. That way, he told us, our Institute "will not relent in its journey, but will always flourish splendidly, and will maintain itself in the spirit which we have endeavored to instill in it through so many years" (Letter to the Missionaries in Kenya, for the General Chapter of 1922).
The orientation and the quality of our engagement in the Mission are a sure sign of health and vitality. The attention of the Chapter turned abundantly to this point. We feel our being missionary; we feel in us the Mission, which is first the expression of the Missionary God, as it grips us and permeates the whole of our existence: head, mouth and heart (see Confer. III, 16-18).
Many missionaries think that it is necessary, or at least opportune, to ask ourselves questions on the fidelity of our Institute to the charism ad gentes which the Founder communicated to us. We must find out how and where we are living that charism, and whether there is something that must be improved in our way of living it. This discernment is warranted by the deep and fast changes taking place everywhere, and in a particular way:
" in the evolution of the very concept of Mission ad gentes, of its geographical dimension, of the agents of mission who, in always growing numbers, feel involved in it, first of all the local churches themselves;
" in the personnel of our Institute as it receives members coming from diverse cultures; in the rising average age of members; and in the numerical decrease in the northern areas of the world where the charism began;
" in the dealings with the local churches, because of their growing consciousness of the need of evangelization, both for themselves and for the world at large, and also because of our priority choices.
We must reflect on the institutional elements of our Institute: do they need to be renewed? Must we correct some inflexible attitudes which may hinder the necessary adjustment to the new needs of the Mission, so that we may be able to face the new situations with competence and methods, and with a presence that is fully adequate?
The chapter document "Our Mission Ad Gentes" revolves around these presuppositions and urgencies. We looked at this topic with the intention of updating its theological concept, of matching our choices and our manner of doing mission with the urgent needs of today's world. We considered the future engagements of our Institute, for which we identified priority areas Ad Gentes, the renewal of its personnel, the strengthening of evangelization, always keeping in mind our real potentials.
After an overview of the contexts that challenge the Mission today (first part), our reflection was focused on some key words that contain our identity as Consolata Missionaries: charism, call and sending, consecration, evangelization, ad gentes, consolation (second part). Finally, there is a consideration on some specific attitudes that characterize us as Consolata missionaries, and on some others which are important today in the Mission (third part).
The development of these themes, in each of its parts (inspiration, analysis of our reality and operative proposals)is directed indistinctly to all Consolata missionaries: Brothers, priests, professed students and novices, except when it refers to the specific state of each member.

I.THE CONTEXTS THAT CHALLENGE THE MISSION

The analysis that we present on some aspects of importance in our times, does not concern the complex reality of the whole world today, or the reality of each continent. It only refers to the aspects which cause problems and raise questions about the Mission. The span of time that separates us from Blessed Joseph Allamano, our Father Founder, has produced deep changes in the concept of Mission and in the manner of doing it. Despite that, we do feel that our Founder is very close to us. He is the first to reassure and encourage us. While the contexts may change, the spirit remains the same. Strengthened by his constant presence, we look at the reality in which we are called to do Mission, in order to identify the attitudes and the methods which better fit its actualization.

1. THE CULTURAL CONTEXT

Some of the phenomena and changes in today's world, which we can call epochal, challenge the Mission ad gentes directly. One of them is the cultural phenomenon, very insidious indeed, since not everybody is aware of it.
Vatican II felt the need for the Church to face and confront the world and its cultures, and wrote about it in the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes. The recent encyclicals of Pope John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor and Fides et Ratio, are placed on the same line of "service to the truth".
We today witness a new way of thinking and of operating, a new paradigm, a new vision of the world. We cannot ignore this reality, a reality which renders more difficult the translation into an understandable language of the values, the doctrine and the expressions of Christian life, deepens "the chasm between Gospel and culture", a chasm which is, "without a doubt, the drama of our time, just as it was of other times. Therefore every effort must be made to ensure a full evangelization of culture, or more correctly of cultures. They have to be regenerated by an encounter with the Gospel" (EN 20).
The first indispensable condition of such an evangelization is the knowledge of the culture. This is not easy to describe in a few words. We give here some of its ideologies or manifestations, which are more directly relate to, and challenge, our missionary activity, promotion and formation:
" A powerful and dominating culture uses every means to impose itself everywhere.
It produces a sense of belonging to the global village, but also uniformity and conformism to the disadvantage of the local or weaker cultures. It provokes a strong cultural identity crisis, instability and disorientation.
" In a parallel way, efforts are made to regain the identity and the personal, cultural, group belonging. This is a value in itself, but it may lead to expressions of tribalism or nationalism, which, in turn, may cause wars and impoverishment.
" In the domain of post-modernity, the new age proposes its own ideology of limitless reality in which definite values are absent, an ever-changing and ever-evolving reality. Order, law and values are no longer considered pillars of life in this ideology; creativity, 'disorder' and liberty are favored. It is easy to see the present-day tendency of rejecting all that is institutional, even in religion itself. There is rejection of points of reference, of authoritative directives, full-fledged ideals, or projects for the future… Only the immediate, the fragmented becomes important. The individual is considered as supreme good: rights take precedence over duties, no care is given to the consequences of what one does, because it is pleasurable; no sacrifices are undertaken in view of future benefits. One searches for what feels good now without tolerating delays in obtaining gratification. All this generates uncertainty and solitude. Without a definite direction or points of reference, one plunges into the strangest forms of irrationality, occult, and visions.
In order to present the Gospel and its guidance and ideals to this culture, we must anchor ourselves on its positive aspects, such as nonviolence, tolerance, dialogue, respect of the person, equal dignity of women, minorities, creation and mother earth, search for spirituality, communion and a strong sense of life.
We must gain a deep knowledge of this kind of world, and immerse ourselves in it, rooted in faith, gifted with a deep sense of prophecy, and clothed with Gospel courage.

2. THE POLITICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT

The Mission must also confront political ideologies, both at the local and international level, and the socio-economic realities of the world which, in turn, challenge it. These realities need the attention of the Mission, and interventions that must evangelize the structures themselves.
International politics seems to have lost interest in Africa. Europe and Latin America are trying to organize areas of power alternative to that of the United States of America. Self-protecting and agglomerating contexts spring up, such as China, Asia and Islam.
Political interests tied up to ideologies create difficulties to the Mission by controlling freedom of speech and practice of religion, by forbidding entry in some countries and by banning the exercise of religious ministries. Other realities can favor the Mission, such as interest in the defense of human rights, promotion of the woman and ecology.
The socioeconomic situation is very different in the various continents. Some of its aspects are becoming increasingly relevant:
" The neo-liberalistic ideology has generated or worsened certain forms of injustice, rejection and violence, generalized corruption and a process of techno-scientific revolution: All this has caused a new culture which is contrary to universal humanism;
The move from colonialism to independence of the African nations is now evolving to a neo-colonialism. The disillusion of people with systems such as socialism and Marxism has often contributed to the impoverishment of the masses. Fragile or distorted democracies, which serve private or international interests, have turned away from the real needs of the people. New forms of geopolitics are taking place in Africa. The economic and political disintegration of the continent is pressing forward.
" "The transition from dictatorship to democracy in Latin America has indeed favored many values, but it has not reduced the gap between social classes, nor its dependence on neo- liberalism; it has also promoted the migration from the countryside to the suburbs of urban centers, where violence has developed dramatically.
" The spread of AIDS is a real tragedy, especially in poor countries, first of all in Africa.
" New technologies in biology, while solving century-old problems, give rise to questions on the meaning of life, since these technologies look at these problems strictly from scientific and egotistic interests; they are a very real danger for entire generations;
" The abnormal growing of the external debt of impoverished countries produces unbalanced development within those same countries, corruption, reduction of local production, suffocation of their resources and of agriculture, brings about injustices, and sets back their educational and health system;
" The phenomenon described with the word 'globalization', which is practiced by an imposed market economy, tends by itself towards a homogenization of the whole world. This is done through the means of communication (such as the Media, Internet, etc) which are concentrated in the hands of a few people. This 'globalization' of the economy gives birth to a new 'religion' in which the market is god. To it are sacrificed not only security programs and social development, but entire populations that are marginalized by a small minority in order to favor the latter's opulence. It creates the following problems: authoritarianism and privatization of the educational and health systems; crises and desintegration of families; nationalism; general insecurity, especially in urban centers; an enormous development of the market of weapons; unemployment and subsequent impoverishment; lack of trust in the future; irrational exploitation of natural resources and destruction of the ecological balance; drug trafficking in a world scale, that produces a drug mentality; spontaneous or forced migrations, especially towards Europe and North America, which produce serious social, cultural and religious uneasiness, and cause generalized discrimination towards immigrants, who are accused of causing negative situations within the host community (unemployment, crime, etc); regional armed conflicts, and conflicts between ethnic groups and diverse cultures; widespread violence, not only in the big cities but in entire continents.

Globalization offers also some opportunities to the Mission: it favors the acquisition of a conscience and a mentality that are open to universality; it helps to appreciate and support international organizations that can have a positive influence on the journey of humanity. In fact, globalization:
" opens up the mind to a global vision which overcomes sectarianism and national fanaticism; great events are felt and lived also; most at the personal level;
" through international cooperation, globalization can help solve common problems such as: the defense of the ecological environment, the control of drugs and weapons trafficking, the going beyond and above world political blocks, the safeguard of peace, and the fight against hunger, illiteracy and discrimination;
" focuses attention on human rights, especially of women, children and the elderly; it stimulates religions to place themselves more concretely at the service of the Universal Kingdom of God by working for justice, peace and the development of peoples.

3. THE RELIGIOUS CONTEXT

The world's major religions no longer identify with geographical areas: Christianity, Oriental religions, Islam, Traditional religions, but they all meet and confront each other everywhere. More particularly, the challenge of Islam and its fundamentalism reaches not only Asia but also Africa and Europe, and it is spreading in Latin America too. The influence of the great Oriental religions is present in all big metropolises. Sects proliferate, and so do new religious movements and fundamentalist groups; ancestral forms of religion reappear on the world scene, as well as religious groups of occult orientation which were considered extinct. The number of non practicing Catholics grows alarmingly, many people abandon the Church in order to join other religious movements, especially in Latin America. The means of communication have a great influence on all this: they are present everywhere, even in the most remote areas of the globe, where people are most prone to be influenced by any novelty because of their lack of critical maturity. At the same time:
1. there is a movement from the local autonomy of religious forms towards an international coordination and support, and from a personal practice of religion towards a social consciousness of it;
" religious feelings, and some forms of lower popular religiosity, appear to be on the rise among simple people. It seems that they satisfy the many growing and differentiated needs of a humanity in search of spirituality, meaning of life and profound human values. Rather than doctrine, people look for the experience of faith, more precisely, the experience of religiosity, preferably in small communities or groups. This upsurge of the "sense of the sacred" and of interest in spiritual values challenges the missionary Church;
" new paganisms are being spread, and so, too, an organization of personal and social life without God, thus relegating all forms of religiosity to the strictly private area of life; rules of behavior are established without any reference to morals or religion.
All this, together with a rampant secularization and the impact with post-modernity, has a strong influence on religion and poses urgent challenges to the Mission.

4. THE ECCLESIAL CONTEXT

Our presence as missionaries in the local churches is challenged by the latter's maturation and internal difficulties, especially the difficulties that concern evangelization. Historically, in many places, missionaries have worked as pioneers, when there was no local Church as yet. Thanks to the work of the missionaries, the local churches were born. For a long time, missionaries committed themselves to providing the local churches with autochthonous forces. Wherever that was fully achieved, the missionary, from an envoy of the Pope, became a helper of the local bishop.
This change is often characterized with ambivalent signs. The local churches aim at an autochthonous development, but at the same time they still ask for the collaboration of the missionaries. The latter, on their part, no longer feel to be the protagonists of the Mission, and it is not always easy for them to respect the rhythm of development of these Churches, and not easy to find in them a specific role for themselves. In any case, the rapport with the local churches is fundamental for a missionary Institute.
When the work of animation has created a strong missionary conscience in the local churches, they often presume that they no longer need the missionary institutes, which they consider an obstacle to the growth of their own missionary spirit. However, their missionary capability is limited by internal urgent demands, by the need of re-evangelize and by the massive presence of immigrants, especially in certain countries. This makes people think and say, "It is not necessary to go anywhere else, since "Mission is right here", Mission is everywhere. We too may fall into the danger of letting ourselves be absorbed by secondary pastoral engagements that blur our specific purpose.
It is not easy for missionary Institutes to insert themselves in the Local Churches, even in those Churches that they helped grow by their work and by the gift of their life. Which brings up the question: What is these Institutes' specific place in the Mission today? How can they make meaningful their ad gentes identity? It is a question which cannot be eluded. One way or another, we must find new ways of being present in these Churches, within the parameter of our specific missionary charism.
Other Churches, as for example in Latin America, have progressed well in the development of their Christian life, although they have not yet reached a high level of maturity in the missionary spirit. They accept, even ask for, and appreciate our contribution to the formation of their missionary conscience as God's people, at a diocesan, national and continental level.

5. THE MISSIOLOGICAL CONTEXT

Diverse realties and demands, together with evolving situations, tell us that there cannot be a uniform model of Mission. The Mission can no longer be described in a terminology that would have been familiar to Blessed Joseph Allamano. No longer do we speak of salvation of "souls"; the word "pagan" is no longer used in reference to peoples; no longer do we intend to bring "the benefits of western civilization".
The Mission, once basically defined as the implantation of the Catholic Church everywhere, must be redefined in unison with the vision of humanity that emerged from Gaudium et Spes (The Church in the Modern World), Nostra Aetate (The Church and Non-Christian Religions), and Dignitatis Humanae (Declaration on Religious Freedom). The Mission must place itself in a state of listening to the reflection on the theology of religions and of salvation.
The concept itself of Mission is being subjected to interpretations that adulterate it to the point of denying that the Mission is needed. There is also, however, a positive elaboration of its concept that has its basis on theology and on the evolution of the human situations, things that require a mentality, a vocabulary and a way of doing Mission that are different from the ones used in the past.
There are also causes within the Church itself which deviate from the universal evangelization. Some of these were mentioned by Paul VI: decrease of fervor, fatigue, disillusion, lack of interest, lack of joy and hope, and a mentality of indifference which professes that "one religion is as good as another" (Cf. EN 80; RM 35).
In more recent times, questions were raised about the identity of the missionary, and on whether the Mission is opportune or not. These questions were summarized in the encyclical Redemptoris Missio: "Is missionary work among non-Christians still relevant? Has it not been replaced by inter-religious dialogue? Is not human development an adequate goal of the Church's Mission? Does not respect for conscience and for freedom exclude all efforts of conversion? Is it not possible to attain salvation in any religion? Why should there be missionary activity" (RM 4). Other series of questions are asked in face of the dissolution of Christian communities built with much effort and fatigue, in the face of ethnic conflicts and massacres perpetrated in areas considered largely Christian. What did missionary evangelization lack in these instances? To many missionaries, these questions have become devastating.
The contribution to development given by Christianity and its missionaries is positive and abundant. However, the effort we continue to make seems almost irrelevant in front of the phenomenon of globalization, which marginalizes a growing number of groups and countries that are considered incompetent and non-integrated into the global market. New ways must be found, and urgently, that will favor human promotion and the dignity of peoples, ways that will support the role of local churches and of the ecclesial organizations. Such action will help mediate the present political transitions and processes of peace, and will help bring about reconciliation in many African and Latin American nations.
We too must face this evolution, we must confront the conflicts in the areas where we work, but always with fidelity to our charism. Our method of doing Mission already changed deeply when we went from Africa to Latin America and Asia. We have learned how to reconcile our way of doing evangelization with a variety of situations: and it was not always easy. The experience of Basic Ecclesial Communities, in the many forms it assumes in Latin America, has also influenced our way of performing mission.

6. THE CONTEXT OF OUR INSTITUTE

Our Institute too is changing. A good number of its recent members come from countries of the South. This gives us a more pluri-cultural face. We gain new sensibilities, attitudes and methods of doing Mission. At the same time our active forces diminish on account of the continuous rising of the average age of our members, and because of the frailty of some members still capable of working. Our commitments are disproportionate to our capacities of personnel; this causes an excessive mobility that has negative effects on certain communities and on the effectiveness of the work. We are forced to ask ourselves which activities and places to keep and which to terminate, and whether it is feasible to enter new areas of work and insert ourselves into new missionary situations. We must ponder in all honesty if we are what and where our Founder would like us, to accomplish what he has proposed to us as the specific and characteristic aim of the Institute.
We cannot deny that a big effort has been made in fields such as formation, renewal of life along the lines of our charism and the spirit of the Founder, and attention towards initiatives and new pastoral methods, the loving interest towards the Mission, interest that was even displayed during the preparation to this Chapter.
However, as we prepare to enter the third millenium, facing a world in rapid evolution and needing, more than ever, the truths of the Gospel, we have the duty of revisiting our own identity and of pondering what place God wants us, Consolata Missionaries, to occupy in this world.
Our preoccupation must not have the only scope of justifying our actions. We have no right to assume the attitude of people who try to escape serious and challenging questions. Sometimes we are indifferent to the changes around us, and we leave to others the job of analyzing what would throw doubt on the value of the actions we perform, and put us in conflict with what we should be. The Allamano, however, often exhorts us to confront what "we must be". This is even more necessary in front of epochal changes, a new era, and a new missionary paradigm. Even more so because the new systems of values that are presented, such as individualism, are not always positive, and we have been affected by them, as our General Chapters of 1987 and 1993 have underlined.
The average age of our missionaries, the cultural milieu from which come our young members, and, even more so, the lack of models whose efficiency in the past would support changes in our methods, have a negative influence on the need of verifying and restructuring our life, our communities and our activities. To these unquestionable exigencies mentioned above, various answers can be given:
"many missionaries who possess a deep love for the Mission, understand the value of the "new". They would like to merge it with the tradition, but do not know how. They wind up fluctuating between one attitude and the other;
"some have recourse automatically to tradition and consider inappropriate any kind of discourse of adaptation and renewal. They limit themselves to a literal old-fashioned interpretation of the Gospel and of the Founder;
"there are others who look only for whatever is new. They accept any change without even asking themselves whether it is in accord with our identity;
"there are also those who do not see themselves in any of the above, and simply suffer
in silence and retreat into themselves, generating pockets of isolation, indifference
and mediocrity that weigh negatively on the community.
Concrete high-speed change in our days invades all sectors of interest for us: Our way of living, community mode of life, as well as our inner and cultural world. To deny, or not to perceive this, means not to acknowledge what is clear and evident, and excludes us from the possibility of evangelizing it. Even Pope John Paul II proposes that we look at Jubilee 2,000 as a key to interpret the changes that we are living: "In the history of the Church, the 'old' and the 'new' are closely interwoven. The 'new' grows out of the 'old', and the 'old' finds a fuller expression in the 'new'"(TMA 18).
Notwithstanding these acts of resistance and its own weaknesses, our Institute has the strength and the capacity to challenge the problems presented by today's world. This strength and capacity come from its charism, from its passion for the Mission, from its century-old history and from the inspiration of its Founder who points to us how to concretely answer God's call to collaborate in his universal salvific plan.