3. Perspectives.

From the criteria of effectiveness emerge some areas of reality (human phenomena, new subjects, challenges) towards which it would seem our attention should be directed in an effort to redesign our works and presence.

The first is poverty in its various forms. The contexts in which we are living are being modified under our very eyes. Economic, social and cultural factors are determining a new configuration of society and of the world.

The scenario is marked by the phenomenon of poverty. This is not just the condition of a certain number, but the drama of the whole of humanity, a drama which is spiritual before it is material. At world level it manifests tragic dimensions and its effects on individuals and whole peoples are devastating. One need think only of hunger, a scandal that has gone on for far too long, which compromises the present and future of a people and destroys life. Or of the exodus of thousands of refugees, victims of racial conflict, religious discrimination and deliberately organized rivalries. Or yet again the precarious urbanization without minimum conditions of employment, habitation, civil services and participation which constitute the phenomenon of marginalization.

To these can be added, immigration, the exploitation of many weak categories and juvenile labour, slavery of various kinds, racial discrimination, the situation of women in many contexts, defects in the family environment, scholastic failure for young people, unemployment, various forms of dependency, delinquency, and life on the streets. Nor must be undervalued the lack of reasons for living and the lack of human and spiritual perspectives which lead to well known phenomena of compensation and escapism.

This multiplicity of forms makes poverty a universal fact. Even wealthy and technologically progressive societies harbour it and develop it in their midst, not only because of immigration but also as a residue of their own system. You have only to walk along city streets to be struck by its manifestations.

There is an interrelationship between many forms of poverty and our style of life. The world is becoming interdependent in both good and evil. From an economic system which assigns second place to the value of the person as such flows the present unemployment, the impoverishment of many and the consequent reduction of educative possibilities. In the economic and cultural policies of one part of the world are born new tragedies which strike large groups in an almost anonymous manner in other parts of the planet.

There are plenty of examples ready to hand which confirm interdependence of this kind. It is not only a question of material goods, but of justice, solidarity, personal dignity the concept of life and of the world.

The love of the Church for the poor is part of its constant tradition. In contexts of the greatest destitution, from Christian communities have arisen charismatic persons who have faced up to widespread social scourges with opportune initiatives. Together they manage to look after almost every category of the poor of their time: the needy, the illiterate, the abandoned, the imprisoned and those reduced to slavery.

Several of them have founded communities equipped from a spiritual and practical aspect to meet the needs of the poor with far-reaching projects. They have gone down in history as great witnesses to the Gospel and as being among its most eloquent proclaimers.

Apart from the social question, a more critical view of society highlights the mechanisms which generate destitution. The Church denounced the models of economic, social and political organization which undervalue the worth of the person, and which deprive him of the right to goods necessary for a fully human life and increase want and marginalization.

The social magisterium has been more insistent after the Council, not only on account of the dimensions being taken by poverty and a by now unchallenged perception of its causes, but also on account of the new awareness maturing in the Church regarding its testimony and mission.

In the context of this general sensitization the expression "preferential option" for the poor has been gaining ground. It is not so much a recommendation for individual charity as a criterion for setting up the presence of Christ in our world.

It is particularly recommended to religious. They, in fact, because of the radical nature of their following of Christ, represent in a more direct manner the love of the Church and of Christ for the poor and have a rich tradition of initiatives in this regard: "The option for the poor is inherent in the very structure of love lived in Christ. All of Christ's disciples are therefore held to this option; but those who wish to follow the Lord more closely, imitating his attitudes, cannot but feel involved in a very special way. The sincerity of their response to Christ's love will lead them to live a life of poverty and to embrace the cause of the poor. For each Institute, according to its charism, this involves adopting a simple and austere way of life, both as individuals and as a community. Strengthened by this living witness and in ways consistent with their choice of life, and maintaining their independence vis-à-vis political ideologies, consecrated persons will be able to denounce the injustices committed against so many sons and daughters of God, and commit themselves to the promotion of justice in the society where they work"

At the opening of the phase of the new evangelization the option for the poor was endorsed in many different ways. It was emphasized that it opens the way to the proclamation of the Gospel, renders its meaning concrete, and from it receives light.

The heart of the new evangelization is the Gospel of charity which takes up human problems and situations which have need of the transforming power of love. It is a charity which is expressed in meeting immediate needs, but is above all committed to a long and vast social and cultural project, in which the individual is always considered according to his vocation and dignity, in the light of what has been revealed to us in Christ.

At the risk of over-emphasis, I do not want to omit recalling how the option for the poor integrates the ecclesial program for the year 2000. "From this point of view, if we recall that Jesus came to ‘preach the good news to the poor’ (Mt 11:5; Lk 7:22), how can we fail to lay greater emphasis on the Church's preferential option for the poor and the outcast? Indeed, it has to be said that a commitment to justice and peace in a world like ours, marked by so many conflicts and intolerable social and economic inequalities, is a necessary condition for the preparation and celebration of the Jubilee. Thus, in the spirit of the Book of Leviticus (25:8-12), Christians will have to raise their voice on behalf of all the poor of the world"

The lengthy process of reflection has also had the effect of clarifying the sense of the preferential option for the poor. It does not imply any exclusion or lack of attention to anyone, but expresses the involvement of the whole Church at this moment of history through which the world is passing at the present time. It is neither parallel with nor juxtaposed to evangelization, which will always remain the first and most original task of the Church; but it is understood as taking place within the proclamation of Christ in line with the explanation of Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi It does not consist only in immediate services, but in the evangelization of culture and change in the structures and models of life.

It is not the prerogative of only certain persons, but is assumed by the Church in communion and carried out through the complementarity of gifts, services and projects. It is to be hoped therefore that all religious will be for the poor, that many of them will be with and for the poor, and that those who feel so inclined will live as do the poorest of the poor.

The different levels at which the preferential option can be expressed require a renewed mentality in facing the question; but they allow for many different kinds of service: immediate assistance (which must not be undervalued), influence on structures and the mechanisms which generate them, and the creation of a culture of solidarity.

A second perspective in conformity with which presence and works must be reshaped is the response to the thirst for spirituality, the support for religious experience, the sustaining of the search for God, the first and further evangelization of new areas, both geographical and human (areopagi), the seeking of meaning in life.

This is frequently put forward in Vita Consecrata as a specific task of religious in no matter what environment they carry out their service.

Spirituality is not only a personal choice; it is also objective and contained in their mission. They are invited to become guides and to multiply initiatives which have the purpose of "inspiring in all the faithful a true longing for holiness, a deep desire for conversion and personal renewal in a context of ever more intense prayer and of solidarity with one’s neighbour, especially the most needy".

It is a matter not of an individual commitment but of a community project and an institutional objective: "Every Institute and community should be a school of true evangelical spirituality".

Service to the spiritual dimension extends beyond the confines of the Christian community and is an accompaniment and support for all who are looking for orientation. "Because of the very nature of their choice, all who embrace the consecrated life, men and women alike, become privileged partners in the search for God which has always stirred the human heart and has led to the different forms of asceticism and spirituality".

The spreading of practical atheism, secularism, a widespread but vague religious sense, the desire to deepen their Christian identity on the part of believers, the present ecclesial tendency towards greater evangelical authenticity, the spaces open to evangelization, are all an indication to us to take up the transcendent dimension of life which many people are concerned about.

This is one of the most serious risks we face, if not the most serious, in recent years. We are aware that we have carried out a process of renewal of mentality, that we have rethought the content and methods of our pastoral work, and that we have updated the structures of community life and government. It now seems urgent that we should speak of the life and heart of man with respect to what constitutes the crisis of culture: the meaning and foundation of values and hopes in which we trust.

Since in a process of this kind the lead is given by someone who has had the relevant experience and by a group able to become involved, religious are asked for their personal experience of God, of which they have become conscious, have sought after and given deeper study, and in which they are able to initiate others, young and adult. Initiatives, structures, subjects and processes are multiple and provide space for a great variety of charisms.

A third perspective for the reshaping of our presence and work is the mission of communion which is entrusted to consecrated persons, not only by silent witness but through specific activity.

This includes communion in the Church, union between Christians (the ecumenical movement), interreligious dialogue, reconciliation and peace and concord among men, the overcoming of discrimination, the ability to live together in the same area with mutual acceptance.

Strong in the personal experience of fellowship which is a gift of God, consecrated persons, as individuals and communities, are called upon to extend, strengthen or re-create communion: they become "experts in communion", the leaven of unity, workers of reconciliation.

We may skip, as being already well known, the role of communion to which religious are called in the universal Church and in those particular Churches where there may be new expressions in a more visible insertion through specialized services, and in accentuating the sense of universality which is well suited to religious institutes.

The mission of communion refers to relationships between consecrated persons themselves. "Mindful of the spiritual friendship which often united founders and foundresses during their lives, consecrated persons, while remaining faithful to the character of their own Institute, are called to practise a fraternity which is exemplary and which will serve to encourage the other members of the Church in the daily task of bearing witness to the Gospel".

New practical examples of insistence in this matter are not hard to find. To the active participation in the organisms of animation, communication and coordination, "in trying to discern God’s plan in this troubled moment of history in order better to respond to it with appropriate works of the apostolate", there is also the possibility of establishing systematic forms of collaboration between different institutes for deciding on initiatives which require a convergence of competence and resources. This has already been tried out with study centres. The complexity of the present context and the new demands of evangelization lead not only to agreement on aims and methods but also to the development of certain initiatives in collaboration.

Still within the notion of ecclesial communion, but going further still, religious are invited to start up extensive "movements", "aggregations" or "families" of and with the laity. The motivating factor could be the desire to participate in the spirit and mission of the Institute in the case of "those close to it or associates", a common cultural or social interest (peace, ecology, human rights, volunteer work, etc.), or a concrete initiative in which all work together. In such aggregations religious take part sincerely in activities in favour of just causes, make a specific contribution of reflection and bear witness to solidarity.

In the human community or locality, considered in either strict or broader terms (neighbourhood, town, country, world) the need emerges to remake social relationships against anonymity and the ghetto mentality, aspirations for peace, the desire for reconciliation and for worthy and reassuring coexistence. To the old kinds of strife now present in new forms (family, social and political) can be added others typical of our time, such as cultural extraneity, marginalization, fundamentalism of various kinds, multiplicity of opposing opinions, and manifestations of racism. They often end up in real or psychological watertight compartments, rejection and negligence. Similar tendencies are found all over the world but are concentrated in certain places.

To designate our presence as that of craftsmen and experts in communion means that we know how to create times and motives for aggregation, to mediate in daily conflicts, to foster civilizing structures and circumstances, to be peacemakers in the strong sense of the word, to concentrate on the quality of relationships, to work for the elimination of social or ethnic prejudice, to become ever more capable of dialogue with different mentalities and to encourage initiatives in this sense even on a large scale.

For this purpose it is hoped that some will be moved to set up communities of an international or intercultural nature which, as they gather experience, will become workshops for the acceptance and exploitation of different situations and points of view.

The Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata has seen religious life as a privileged place for dialogue between the great religions, because at its origin there is an option which, in general terms, is shared by all deeply religious persons. This therefore is a mentality to be acquired, a practice to be given effect wherever religious find themselves, and a setting for communities with specific objectives.

As a final perspective we may include active presence in the elaboration of culture. This can be expressed in other ways to make the meaning clear: education of conscience, humanization, quality of life. At the root of many of the evils of our time are to be found characteristics of current culture, and in particular those stemming from the means of social communication and the new ideologies. Recent encyclicals denounce a split between conscience and ethical sense, between the concept of life and truth, between the possession of goods and solidarity. It is a matter of thinking and realizing life and civilization from the perspective of the ultimate sense, which is that of the Gospel, and intervening in the processes of history.

Various indications lead in this direction: the problem of truth and ethics touched on in three Letters of John Paul II (Evangelium Vitae, Veritatis Splendor, Ratio et Fides), the areopagi indicated in Vita Consecrata (education, social communication), the frequent references to a culture of peace, of life, of nature, of solidarity, of male and female complementarity.

To me seems eloquent the reminder of Vita Consecrata of a sustained cultural commitment on the part of religious, not only as qualified specialists at a high-level but as evangelical observers of habits and mentality, willing and prepared to enter into dialogue, "educators" of the person. That could be a constant element in the shaping of every new work, and could also provide space for specialized initiatives.