Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Photo Teresa Tseng Kuang Yi
by Gianni Valente
Ulaanbaatar (Agenzia Fides) - "There is a specificity in the first proclamation of the Gospel. And when I reflect on the mission of the Church, I would like to defend this specificity ", which "should not be lost in generic speeches on mission".
October begins, and with it the month that the Church dedicates not only to the Rosary, but also to world mission. And Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, Consolata Missionary and Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, takes advantage of the opportunity to share with Fides his apostolic passion for missionary work.
As often happens, this year too "Missionary October" is interwined with the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome, in which Cardinal Marengo is also participating. This assembly is also called to deal with the missionary aspects of authentic ecclesial work, as the title indicates ("For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission").
Cardinal Marengo, is the missionary nature of the Church and the call to mission of all the baptized often not sufficiently emphasized?
CARDINAL GIORGIO MARENGO: The return to the call to be missionaries, which is inscribed in baptism, was in many ways a providence. But today the specificity of the missionary vocation, known as the mission “ad gentes,” seems to have been somewhat lost sight of.
It seems that in the age of globalization and the apparent reduction of geographical distances, there is no longer any room for this aspect of missionary work, which consists in going out and inserting oneself into human contexts that are different from one’s own.
In fact, I believe that, precisely in our time, it is worth recognizing the specificity of the first proclamation of the Gospel, the Gospel that is proclaimed to those who do not know what it is. This specificity must not be diluted, it must not be lost in an overly general discourse on mission. To be aware of this specificity and to always take it into account seems vital to me for in this period for the entire action of the Church in the world and for its journey through history.
Why is this specificity of the first proclamation so essential and crucial for the missionary dynamism of the Church?
MARENGO: If belonging to the Church means walking with Jesus and behind Jesus, the mission can be described and formulated as "making an encounter with Christ possible".
This encounter can always take place in ways unknown to us. But as a rule, contact with a human reality remains necessary. A human reality that facilitates and makes the encounter with Christ possible. Because this experience is always mediated by attraction and contact. And this dynamism manifests itself and is clearly perceived above all where the real possibilities of coming into contact with the person of Christ are objectively few. For example, in places where the Church does not yet exist or is in the process of being formed, as in the case of Mongolia.
You belong to a missionary Institute. In recent decades, the number of members of these institutes has fallen sharply.
MARENGO: Perhaps we will no longer need as many members as before, and we should not be outraged that the number of mission institutes will decrease. But even if the impact diminishes, the perpetual need for the proclamation of the Gospel that gave rise to these institutes remains alive.
The specificity of the "missio ad gentes" that you mentioned recalls the former "mission territories" that are now called the "South of the world" or the "Global South". Is this name still valid?
MARENGO: Rather than entering the treacherous terrain of formulations and socio-political definitions that refer, for example, to the "North" and the "South" of the world, it is better to stick to ecclesiastical criteria. This specificity has to do with the actual handling of the proclamation of the Gospel. It is a question of seeing whether in the various social contexts there is the possibility of actually coming into contact with the Gospel because the Gospel is being proclaimed effectively in some way in that context, or whether this does not happen, always taking into account all the particular situations and their differences.
What are the differences?
MARENGO: It is one thing to live in places where the Church is established with all the charisms and ministries, and quite another to have a Church with only one local priest, as is the case with us in Mongolia. It is one thing to live in societies that are extremely critical of Christianity because of the weight of history. And it is another matter to interact with societies that are not actually against the Church and are very critical of it, because their histories have never been intertwined.
In different contexts and situations, the mission of the first proclamation is one that nevertheless makes the novelty of the Christian faith tangible. Both when this happens in contexts that have not historically been confronted with the faith and when it is rediscovered as a novelty in places where it has shaped previous generations, but has now somehow disappeared from the social horizon.
What are the elementary and real characteristics of the mission of the first proclamation?
MARENGO: God our Father not only sent a message, but became flesh himself by sending us his only Son.
God deigned to enter into human existence. And by analogy, since then, the mission has also been called to submit to the laws of time and space, taking Jesus as its model.
If Christ's message were a mere message, a teaching of life, there would be no need to call men and women to go to the ends of the earth, as Jesus himself does in the Gospel.
Jesus became part of a particular people and a particular culture. Thirty years of hidden life, three years of explicit activity and three days of passion that lead to the resurrection. All those who follow him are called to let themselves be shaped by the Holy Spirit to live the same mystery. This is the mission.
Those who, in following Jesus, submit to the laws of space and time are free from abstractions and take on all the effort of a patient missionary work that may sometimes seem "futile" and "fruitless"...
MARENGO: Just think of the time spent learning difficult languages in order to immerse themselves deeply and respectfully in the cultures of the people with whom one lives. Everything presupposes understanding, friendly closeness, in order to build a relationship of trust. Much of the missionary effort is aimed precisely at identifying with the context and creating these conditions of mutual trust, in order to then share with others our treasure, what we hold dearest.
Is this “patience” of the long period of mission compatible with the rapid dynamics of the present?
MARENGO: Perhaps today some think that it is more effective to invest in communication in order to have a measurable impact on public opinion. But the Gospel is not communicated as an idea or as one of the options on a menu. This is marketing. Sometimes we tend to put forward theories about mission or organize strategies with social or humanitarian actions that we present as useful for what we call “proclamation”. To the point of creating the illusion of a Church that can function as “project work”.
How do you perceive the current urgencies of the Church’s missionary work from your point of view in Ulaanbaatar?
MARENGO: I am amazed by the growing interest of writers, journalists and ecclesiastical scholars in our small Church in Mongolia, where they see a missionary experience similar to that in the Acts of the Apostles. The Apostles bore witness to the Lord Jesus in conditions of absolute minority compared to the social and cultural contexts in which they moved. Their work had connotations of marginality and novelty. In Mongolia too there was the experience of first contact with the Gospel by people and social realities that had never been confronted with it before. Those who are interested in our Church sometimes tell me that our experience as a poor and small Church can also bring inspiration to situations in post-Christian societies, where even a vague reference to Christianity can no longer be taken for granted, as it was in the past.
In a recent conference you gave at the “Institut Catholique” in Paris, you also spoke of a certain “degree of discretion” that must always characterize missionary work. What are you referring to?
MARENGO: It is always his Holy Spirit who makes the encounter with Christ possible, and not our methods or precautions. But perhaps his action will encounter fewer obstacles if those who wish to serve the Gospel approach their brothers and sisters as they are, and act with all discretion in proclaiming the Resurrection of Christ. The Lazarist Father Joseph Gabet wrote to Propaganda Fide in 1840 after his first trip to Outer Mongolia: “The first appearance of Europeans among the Mongols and Tibetans is a very delicate undertaking, and the success of the proclamation among these peoples will depend for a long time on the degree of discretion”.
You took part in the Plenary of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for the first Evangelization and the new Particular Churches) dedicated to the Pontifical Urbaniana University. How do you see the present and the future of this university?
MARENGO: During the Mass in the Singapore stadium, Pope Francis recalled a letter from Saint Francis Xavier to his first Jesuit companions, in which the great missionary spoke of his desire “to go to all the universities in order to cry out like a madman … [to] those with more learning than charity so that they might feel compelled to become missionaries for the love of their brothers and sisters”. Perhaps in our times we also need a theological deepening of the mission, we need academic paths that help to recognize and re-establish the perpetual urgency of proclaiming the Gospel, especially in situations of first evangelization. Who knows, perhaps the Pontifical University, with its history, can realize the wish of Saint Francis Xavier in this way. (Agenzia Fides, 1/10/2024)
