Missionary duty and the spirit of initiative

19. A clear missionary obligation, rooted in their very ministry and charism, emerges for bishops and religious. This obligation becomes more pressing each day as present cultural conditions evolve in the form of two principal trends, namely materialism, which is invading the masses even in regions Christian by tradition, and the increase in international communications, whereby all peoples including non-Christians can readily be united one with the other. Moreover, the deep upheavals of situations, the growth of human values, and the manifold needs of the world today (cf. GS 43-44), press ever more insistently on the one hand for the renewal of many traditional pastoral forms of activity, and on the other for the search for new forms of apostolic presence. In such a situation a certain apostolic diligence is urgently necessary in order to devise new, ingenious, and courageous ecclesial experiments under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who is by His very nature Creator. A responsiveness rich in creative initiative (cf. n. 12) is eminently compatible with the charismatic nature of the religious life. In fact, the Holy Father Pope Paul VI himself affirmed this: "thanks to their religious consecration, [religious] are above all free and can spontaneously leave everything and go to announce the Gospel even to the ends of the earth. They are prompt in acting; and their apostolate frequently excels because of the ingeniousness of their projects and undertakings, which evoke admiration in all who observe them" (Evang. nunt. 69).

Coordinating pastoral activity

20. The Church was not established to be an organization for activity, but rather to give witness as the living Body of Christ. Nevertheless the Church necessarily carries on the concrete work of planning and of coordinating the manifold offices and services, so that together they may merge into one unified pastoral action in which the choices to be made and the apostolic engagements to be given preference are decided (cf. CD 11; 30; 35, 5; AG 22; 29). Today, in fact, it is necessary to set in motion on the various levels of ecclesial life a fitting system of research and action, so that the mission of evangelizing may be carried out in the way most consonant with the different situations.

There are three principal operative centers for such desirable coordination: the Holy See, the diocese (cf. CD 11) and successively, in its own proper sphere, the Episcopal Conference (cf. CD 38). In addition to these centers, then, other organs of cooperation are set up according to ecclesial and regional needs.