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Inculturation of the Gospel message
(366)
109. The Word of God became
man, a concrete man, in space and time and rooted in a specific culture:
"Christ by his incarnation committed himself to the particular social and
cultural circumstances of the men among whom he lived". (367) This
is the original "inculturation" of the word of God and is the model
of all evangelization by the Church, "called to bring the power of the
Gospel into the very heart of culture and cultures". (368)
'Inculturation' (369) of the faith,
whereby in a wonderful exchange are comprised, "all the riches of the
nations which have been given to Christ as an inheritance", (370)
it is a profound and global process and a slow journey. (371) It is not
simply an external adaptation designed to make the Christian message more
attractive or superficially decorative. On the contrary, it means the
penetration of the deepest strata of persons and peoples by the Gospel which
touches them deeply, "going to the very centre and roots"
(372) of their cultures.
In this work of inculturation, however, the
Christian community must discern, on the one hand, which riches to
"take" (373) up as compatible with the faith; on the other,
it must seek to "purify" (374) and "transform"
(375) those criteria, modes of thought and lifestyles which are
contrary to the Kingdom of God. Such discernment is governed by two basic
principles: "compatibility with the Gospel and communion with the
universal Church". (376) All of the people of God must be involved
in this process which "...needs to take place gradually, in such a way
that it really is an expression of the community's Christian experience".
(377)
110. In this inculturation of
the faith, there are different concrete tasks for catechesis. Amongst these
mention must be made of:
– looking to the ecclesial community as the
principal factor of inculturation: an expression and efficient instrument of
this task is represented by the catechist who, with a profound religious sense,
also possesses a living social conscience and is well rooted in his cultural
environment; (378)
– drawing up local catechisms which respond
to the demands of different cultures (379) and which present the Gospel
in relation to the hopes, questions and problems which these cultures present;
– making the Catechumenate and catechetical
institutes into "centres of inculturation", incorporating, with
discernment, the language, symbols, and values of the cultures in which the
catechumens and those to be catechized live;
– presenting the Christian message in such a
way as to prepare those who are to proclaim the Gospel to be capable "of
giving reasons for their hope" (1 Pt 3,15) in cultures often pagan
or post-Christian: effective apologetics to assist the faith-culture dialogue
is indispensable today.
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