Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Madrid (Agenzia Fides) – Yesterday, at the Spanish Bishops' Conference's (CEE) headquarters, a presentation was held for the new Pastoral Instruction “The Present Situation of the Mission Ad Gentes in Spain,” by the Bishop of Jaen and President of the Bishops' Commission for the Missions, Bishop Ramon del Hoyo, and Secretary General of the CEE, Auxiliary Bishop Juan Antonio Martinez Camino of Madrid. It had been 30 years since Spanish bishops approved a document on the missions, however times have changed and thus it is necessary that a new reflection be offered in response to the many questions about the missionary role of the faithful that arise in parishes. The purpose of the document is “to strengthen the missionary responsibility of the faithful and promote the commitment of the Dioceses, parishes, and Church communities.” The text has also been published during this, the Year of St. Paul, on the 50th anniversary of the missionary encyclical of Pius XII “Fidei Donum,” 50th anniversary of Latin American Day, and the 5th anniversary of the National Missionary Congress.
The four main objectives of the text are: to reaffirm the theological dimension of the mission ad gentes in order to avoid the danger of reducing missionary activity to the cooperation of several “specialists” who go on a mission; to make an analysis of the pastoral ministry of the dioceses in relation to the missionary dimension presented in RCIA and Christian formation courses; to analyze the main problems facing the mission ad gentes, in relation to the leaders of pastoral ministry; open horizons in responding to the questions posed.
The instruction is structured in four main points. The first part is entitled “The mission in the life of the Church,” which addresses the fact that Spain has been blessed by numerous missionary vocation over the course of its history. Today, there is also motive to thank God for the nearly 17,000 missionaries across the world, vocations that are a sign of vitality in Christian communities.
The second part is entitled “The theological dimension of the mission,” which affirms that “the missionary activity of the Church springs forth from the mystery of the Trinity and is a response to the right of each person to know God and believe in Him. It is not only the fruit of the missionary mandate of Jesus, but also the reason behind the Church's existence and God's saving plan.”
The third part is on the “The present questions regarding the missions” and is an effort to respond to several questions such as “Why continue the mission ad gentes today? Has it not been substituted by human promotion, interreligious dialogue and respect for the conscience of the individual in living according to his own beliefs? The Instruction points out ten issues that present an urgent need for the Church's missionary action, both in the traditional mission territories as well as in the new frontiers and social and cultural situations.
Lastly, there is the part entitled “Areas of missionary responsibility,” in which they recall that “no baptized person is exempt from his missionary commitment,” because “some are called by vocation to a specific mission ad gentes, but all the baptized have the mission to be evangelizers.” The Instruction offers several “suggestions for taking action” in light of this responsibility, in order to avoid that it becomes merely a simple economic contribution on a given day or in the case of a natural disaster.
With this Instruction, the Plenary Assembly of the CEE seeks to clarify issues for the individual parishes and dioceses, and offer a service especially to those who dedicate their lives with such generosity, working as missionaries. They also wish to encourage all the faithful to be generous in responding to the mission, because it's everyone's mission. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 27/02/2009)
