VATICAN - The missionary catechist is not just a substitute in the field of evangelization

Tuesday, 11 May 2021

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - On the occasion of the publication of the Motu Proprio "Antiquum ministerium" (= AM) with which Pope Francis establishes the ministry of catechists, Agenzia Fides has asked Prof. D. Luciano Meddi, Ordinary of Missionary Catechesis at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, to outline the figure of the catechist with particular regard to his ecclesial service in the mission territories.

"The Motu Proprio" Antiquum ministerium "recognizes the dignity and importance of this figure for the mission of the Church. But it also recognizes the specific figure of the catechist-missionary. This recognition is an important moment for the missionary journey, because it makes the catechist a true missionary agent and not just a substitute. As of December 31, 2019, the number of catechists reached 3,074,034 (Statistical Yearbook of the Church). This is a very positive sign for the mission, because it concludes a long journey.
The Encyclical Maximum Illud (1919) by Benedict XV, while recognizing the important role played by religious, believed that «the diligent missionary does not entrust it to the catechists, but does it himself, in relation to the explanation of Christian doctrine it is regarded as the most important of its obligations». We will have to wait for Ad gentes to recognize them as true builders of the Church. In fact, the missionary decree says «worthy of praise are the ranks of men and women catechists, well deserving of missionary work to the nations... Imbued with the apostolic spirit, they labor much to make an outstanding and altogether necessary contribution to the spread of the Faith and of the Church» (AG 17). The Church has repeatedly called for this recognition over the past few decades. The last called for "new paths for ecclesial ministry" carried out by the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region (6-27 October 2019). This is not only due to the numerical crisis of priests, but as a manifestation of the baptismal principle that founds the co-responsibility of all believers in the task of proclaiming and building the Church. This is in fact taught by the Lumen Gentium in n. 35 (cf. also AA 2). On the other hand, Pope Francis has stated on several occasions that "each one of us is a mission in the world".
This recognition of the stability of lay figures in the various communities is a missionary strengthening of the communities themselves. The Pope makes the catechist an agent. Indeed, he recognizes that he already is; in fact, the mission is carried out by catechists: «the history of evangelization over the past two millennia clearly shows the effectiveness of the mission of catechists» (AM, n. 3).
The document, in fact, is well aware of the missionary dimensions of the catechist. The catechists of the missions are women and men appreciated for their witness in the community. They are often recognized as true leaders and community animators. «The Council Fathers repeatedly emphasized the great need for the lay faithful to be engaged directly, in the various ways their charism can be expressed, in the “plantatio Ecclesiae”» (AM, n. 4). And also: «In our days, when there are so few clerics to evangelize such great multitudes and to carry out the pastoral ministry, the role of catechists is of the highest importance». In fact, from the peripheries of the Church comes the model of small missionary communities inserted in daily life. In them «at the same time, every catechist must be a witness to the faith, a teacher and mystagogue, a companion and pedagogue, who teaches for the Church» (AM, n. 6).
The document entrusts the catechists with both the task of evangelization and first announcement, as well as that of accompanying the response of faith, and of witnessing the transformation of society through the «penetration of Christian values in the social, political and economic sectors» (EG n. 102). In many missionary contexts, in the villages and in the enormous and marginalized peripheries of the great capitals of the different southern hemispheres of the world, catechists as community animators carry out work of humanization, social action, healing, evangelization, formation of Christians, they guide prayer and preside over baptism, weddings and accompany those who suffer in their communities. Missionary catechists often offer their testimony in minority Christian contexts. For this reason, they experience firsthand the need for adaptation, interreligious dialogue, public defense or silent witness to the Gospel. They can do this because they entrust themselves to the Spirit who generated them for the mission; in fact, «the Spirit is calling men and women to set out and encounter all those who are waiting to discover the beauty, goodness, and truth of the Christian faith» (AM, n. 5). But the Pope knows that missionary catechists are, too often, martyrs in a century of martyrs: «the long line of blesseds, saints and martyrs who were catechists…represents a rich resource not only for catechesis but also for the entire history of Christian spirituality» (AM, n. 3). Just a few days ago, on April 23, we celebrated the beatification of the martyrs of Quiché: 3 missionary priests and 7 lay people, "faithful witnesses of God". But the list is tragically long. The task of evangelization is now reinforced with this recognition of the catechist as an instituted (stable) ministry in the communities. In the difficulty in which the ordained ministry of priests finds itself, the figure of the catechist will therefore be able to represent missionary stability in varying different situations". (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 11/5/2021)


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