Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - “From proclaiming among cultures to communion among peoples: in the footsteps of Saint Paul”, was the theme of a meeting held at the Pontifical Urban University on 28 November organised by the Scalabrini International Migration Institute and the Centro Studi Emigrazione, to mark the anniversary of the foundation of the Scalabrini or Missionaries of Saint Charles. The purpose of the meeting was to combine celebrations for the 2000th anniversary of the birth of the Apostle of the Nations, with the promotion of 'intercultural dialogue' the theme chosen by the European Union for 2008.
Europe has an estimated 28 million immigrant residents, of whom about 3.7 million live in Italy: the numbers raise the question of how the process of integration can be effective and in keeping with the times. The present situation, mediated by globalisation, is closely connected and therefore similar, to the daily life of Paul of Tarsus, and therefore his message and method offer a wealth of proposals for the Christian of the third millennium.
The meeting was organised in two sessions: the first, “Proclamation in a context of cultural pluralism” offered an opportunity to better understand the activity of Paul in the social and multicultural context of his day. Prof Lucio Troiani, lecturer at the University of Pavia, underlined the originality of the message and method of communication of Paul, a man of three cultures, able to move in different cultural contexts. Closely connected with Paul's missionary work was the presence of diaspora Jewish communities, from which he too stemmed, which guaranteed missionary preaching in every corner of the Mediterranean and which the Apostle of the Nations also addressed.
Prof. Rinaldo Fabris, lecturer at the Studio Teologico Interdiocesano in Gorizia, Trieste, Udine, illustrated how Paul valued the “inter” and “transculturality” of the Gospel: an intrinsic mark, which renders the Gospel a way for all human beings to encounter God.
The second session, “For communion among peoples” fostered reflection on the impact of Paul's message in the world today; on how to build communion; on reciprocal acceptance and assistance for migrants and with migrants. The Scalabrini charisma was inspired by Blessed Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, who lived and worked when a period of emigration from Italy en masse was just beginning. The then Bishop of Piacenza saw with farsightedness the importance the migratory phenomenon would have for the social and cultural fabric. His activity and that of the Congregation, founded in 1887, was fired by a desire to preserve the faith of those forced to emigrate. “To evangelise the children of poverty and labour ”: for Blessed Scalabrini the migratory phenomenon was a call to restore hope and strengthen faith. A commitment still vital today. (P.C.) (Agenzia Fides 1/12/2008)
