Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Brasilia (Agenzia Fides) - The meeting of the National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) of the American continent took place on a virtual platform: the works were inaugurated by Msgr. Giampietro Dal Toso, president of the PMS, who reflected on the charism of the Societies, identifying some lines of work for the participants.
The President began his speech by mentioning the imminent celebrations of the bicentennial of the Societies: "In my opinion, this is a great opportunity to ask ourselves two questions, which also apply to you in your respective positions: where are we born? What is our role today in the Church? Our future as Pontifical Mission Societies depends on the answer to these two questions". It is necessary, in the words of the president, to do internal work to rediscover the roots of the activity in order to be effective today: "Any authentic reform does not consist so much in changing the structures as in reviving the spirit that animates them" and this can be translated in a work of clarification on the nature of the Societies, also with their diocesan directors.
Msgr. Dal Toso, when analyzing the charism of the Societies, spoke of a "unique charism" declined in four different forms, and formulated two reflections: "The charism is not ours, but rather we have received it ... The fact that it is a reality which is not mine, but has been given to us, in addition to generating gratitude, it should encourage us to preserve this gift, to appreciate it, to deepen it" and also "the charism is not ours, but it is for us, that is, for our benefit for the good of the whole Church. And since it is a charism for us, we can ask ourselves what it says today for the life of the Church. And what is more important, why is it useful for the Church today". The President of the PMS defined the charism stating: "The charism of the PMS is to form and develop in each baptized person a missionary spirit, rooted in prayer, sacrifice and charity, at the service of the Holy Father in his ministry of fostering the missio ad gentes and support for all the Churches".
This definition tries to hold together three fundamental elements that help to understand what the charism is and on which one can reflect in order to apply it today: faith, the missio ad gentes and universality.
Msgr. Dal Toso then explained: "Faith is the starting point and the arrival point of the Societies" because it is baptism that allows the mission to be carried out "but the mission is born from the relationship with Christ, that is, of the experience of knowing that Christ saves. Therefore, faith in Christ is also the point of arrival of the Societies". In addition, he recalled the phrase of Saint John Paul II "faith is strengthened by giving it".
Regarding the missio ad gentes, the Archbishop underlined that this marks a dividing line, already in the Old Testament, between faith and non-faith: "In the Pope's Message for Mission Sunday 2022 he reaffirms that the missio ad gentes remains valid also today. And here I see a great task for us: to keep this missionary sense alive in the Church, precisely in the meaning of an announcement of the Gospel that should never be thought of as concluded".
Recovering the enthusiasm for this missionary impulse through animation for the mission is a challenge that deeply belongs to the Pontifical Mission Societies. Finally, there is universality: "Universal openness, that is, a gaze without borders, towards the whole world and towards all the people who await the gift of faith, is a characteristic of the PMS that has been given to us for the good of all mankind". Of the four founding elements of the charism of the PMS, its application can be extracted in: prayer, charity, formation and information.
Msgr. Dal Toso concluded his speech by highlighting five aspects of the works carried out by the directors of the PMS in the American continent: the opportunity to continue promoting the experience of missionary families; the invitation to use the CAM, American Missionary Congress, whose next edition will be in Puerto Rico in 2023, not only as a moment of celebration, but also as a moment in which to identify one or two activities that can be concretely proposed to the dioceses. He then underlined the urgency - in the preparation phase of CAM6 - to give theological reflection on mission a worthy theological level, which is not reduced to the repetition of ecclesiastical slogans, but is built on a well-founded discourse, coherent and doctrinally anchored. He exhorted to continue the presence in the mass media, even with few activities or channels, but which have concrete impact among the faithful; and to strengthen the commitment in the field of missionary charity. Msgr. Dal Toso indicated the time that precedes the General Assembly as an opportunity to focus and then present the points that the Directors of the American continent find most interesting for the Societies. The meeting of the PMS National Directors of the American continent gave space, during the works, to the conclusions of the First Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean and hosted a speech by the coordination team of CAM6 which then continued on the final day of the meeting. At the conclusion of the works, Father Dinh Anh Nhue Nguyen OFM Conv, Secretary General of the Pontifical Missionary Union, shared a reflection on the Pope's Message for World Mission Day 2022. (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 18/2/2022)
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