2.2 Follow theologically the path traced by the Church and her Magisterium

The Church is a living body which is growing and is being renewed. The Spirit is, in fact, the principal agent in the life and mission of the Church. The changes in the Church are not a new radical beginning which wipes out everything of the life that has gone before. The things that are new are a part of her growth and are to be integrated into the life which already exists. The Church is growing in her life and in self awareness, even though the lines of that growth are not always straight. The missionary encyclical has attempted to bring together the new elements which concern the mission and integrate them in the living faith. Among these elements we may enumerate our understanding of salvation in Christ, of the Church and the Kingdom, of the mission and its activity, of the nature and role of consecrated life.

I) Salvation in Christ

The element which has proved most disturbing to missionary commitment has been the confusion with regard to the concept of salvation. Freedom of conscience, respect for persons, religions and cultures, dialogue and human promotion have, for many people, obscured the concept of salvation in Christ and the role of the Church in that salvation. It was for this reason that Pope John Paul II dealt with salvation in Christ in the first chapter of Redemptoris Missio. Christ the only saviour and mediator, the definitive and complete expression of revelation (cf. RM 4-6), presents a radical new way of life to all who wish to receive it (cf. RM 7) and at the same time he reaches out to every man and woman of goodwill and offers them his salvation (cf. RM 10). Therefore the Church and every disciple of Christ must feel it their duty to give witness to Christ's message (cf. RM 11), respecting the freedom of persons and the value of cultures (cf. RM 8).

II. Church and Kingdom

Reflection on the Church was at the core of the reflection of Vatican Council II. Suffice it to mention the two Constitutions Lumen Gentium and Gaudium et Spes which are the starting point for all the other conciliar documents. The Church is seen as mystery, as communion and as mission. Born of the Trinity, her vocation is to live this divine life and transmit it to the whole of humanity.

The Council laid the foundations for a deeper understanding of the links between Church and Kingdom which is the central element of the Good News of Christ. That is the theme to which Pope John Paul II devotes the second chapter of his encyclical. In this context the Kingdom of God is understood in its fivefold meaning or dimension: it is the Father's plan for the whole of humanity (cf. RM 12), it is the reality proclaimed by Jesus and which is fully realized in his person (cf. RM 13-16, 18), it is the reality which is made present in the Church but not identical with her (cf. RM 18), it may be present beyond the confines of the Church (cf. RM 19-20), its aim is to achieve eschatological fulness (cf. RM 20). The different dimensions are interconnected and "the temporal dimension of the Kingdom is incomplete unless it is related to the Kingdom of Christ present in the Church and straining towards eschatological fulness. The many dimensions of the Kingdom of God do not weaken the foundations and purposes of missionary activity, but rather strengthen and extend them. The Church is the sacrament of salvation for all humankind, and her activity is not limited only to those who accept her message" (RM 20). The Kingdom of God in its different dimensions is the horizon of mission.

Another essential element of the ecclesiology of Vatican II is its missionary character. The Church is by its very nature missionary, says the Council (LG 2; AG 2). That has been true right from the beginning as we are informed by the Acts of the Apostles (cf RM 26-27). "What was done at the beginning of Christianity to further its universal mission remains valid and urgent today. The Church is missionary by her very nature, for Christ's mandate is not something contingent or external, but reaches the very heart of the Church. It follows that the universal Church and each individual church is sent forth to the nations" (RM 62).

The internal communion of the local churches should not diminish their missionary thrust to the outside world (cf. RM 49, 62), but they should be aware that local churches do not exist everywhere (cf RM 37) and that the peoples and groups who have not been touched by the Gospel are still numerous (cf. RM 3, 40), and that missionary needs are immense (cf. RM 30, 35, 86).

III) The principal agent and the cooperators

The Holy Spirit is the principal agent of mission. This, which is the theme of the third chapter, does not in any way weaken the Church's missionary commitment but rather puts it in its true perspective. It is certainly the Spirit who is the driving force which activates the mandate of Christ (cf. RM 22-23) who guides the mission (cf. RM 24-25), who makes the whole ecclesial community missionary (cf. RM 26-27), who goes before the very activity of the Church because he is present and active in every time and place (cf. RM 28-29). He makes the Church his cooperator (cf. RM 9) and the missionaries likewise (cf. RM 23, 36). He also requires availability and holiness of life (cf. RM 87). "We are missionaries above all because of what we are even before we become missionaries in word or deed" (cf. RM 23) by following the example of Christ himself (cf RM 13). "The universal call to holiness is closely connected with the universal call to mission: every member of the faithful is called to holiness and to mission" (RM 90). "The real missionary is the saint" (ib). "Missionary cooperation is rooted and lived, above all, in personal union with Christ. Only if we are united to him as the branches to the vine can we produce good fruit" (RM 77). It is, of course, the Spirit who forms Christ in us (cf. RM87).

The whole Church, People of God, and every community in it is responsible for mission. (cf. RM 26-27). "At the beginning of the Church, the mission ad gentes, while it had missionaries dedicated for life by a special vocation, was in fact considered the normal outcome of Christian living, to which every believer was committed through the witness of personal conduct and through explicit proclamation whenever possible" (RM 27). The process was, as it were, one of osmosis ( cf. RM 26, 51). Among the many agents of mission (cf. RM ch. VI), primary responsibility for missionary activity is invested in the College of bishops (cf. RM 63). At the local level the bishop is the one responsible and is also the animator not only of Christians but also of the non-Christians in the territory (cf. RM 63-64).

Today the Institutes of consecrated life, and in particular the missionaries, cannot operate unless it is accepted in theory and in practice that each local church is missionary by its very nature both within and outside of its geographical confines as also in relation to the country, the continent and the whole world.

IV) Nature, purpose and urgency of the mission

One aspect which worries some missionaries is the very concept of the mission ad gentes. The Congregation for Evangelization, for example, is still defined according to territorial confines, a fact which the encyclical interprets in this way. "Within the territories entrusted to these churches... there remain vast regions still to be evangelized. In many nations entire peoples and cultural areas of great importance have not yet been reached by the proclamation of the Gospel and the presence of the local church" (RM 37a).

The key text, however, is in numbers 33-34 of the encyclical. There, from the point of view of evangelization, there is a distinction made between three situations: the pastoral situation of Christians, new evangelization for those who are no longer Christians, and a mission ad gentes for those who have never yet received the Gospel. "The boundaries are not clearly definable and it is unthinkable to create barriers between them". Although the one mission of the Church is different in the various situations, without the mission ad gentes the missionary dimension of the Church would itself be deprived of its basic meaning and of its exemplary activity. "In Christian countries too, communities and cultural groups are also forming which call for the mission ad gentes" (RM 82).

The purpose of the mission ad gentes is threefold: "It can be characterized as the work of proclaiming Christ and his Gospel, building up the local Church and promoting the values of the Kingdom" (RM 34). This threefold purpose is developed in the context of defining the Kingdom (cf. RM 17-20). The broadening of the purpose of mission has important consequences because it is really missionary even though all that it is possible to do is to promote the values of the Kingdom (cf. RM 20, 57).

Reminders of the urgency of mission recur throughout the encyclical: because of the newness of Christianity (RM 7), because the faith is strengthened by sharing it (cf. RM 2), because it influences the salvation of persons (cf. RM 33), because it is a primary duty of the Church (cf. RM 9). The task is immense (cf. RM 35, 37, 40), and consequently we cannot afford to be complacent (RM 86).

V) Complementary activities in the one mission

It is important for the understanding of mission that we recall the ways and activities through which the mission is fulfilled. Chapter V is devoted to that. "Mission is a single but complex reality, and it develops in a variety of ways. Among these ways some have particular importance in the present situation of the Church and of the world". (RM 41). The encyclical goes on to develop the themes of witness (cf. RM 42-43), of first proclamation (cf. RM 44-45), of conversion and of Baptism (cf. RM 46-47), of the formation of local churches (cf. RM 48-50), of ecclesial basic communities (cf. RM 51), of inculturation (cf. RM 52-54), of interreligious dialogue (cf. RM 55-57), of human promotion (cf. RM 58-59).

These different activities may be seen in relation to all three purposes of the mission. Each one of them is a part of the mission and can fully justify it in cases where the others are not possible. Religious liberty should permit them and pastoral planning should take them into account.

There are two important principles in the presentation of missionary activity. The first has to do with their hierarchical order, at least in theory and it gives priority to proclamation. "All forms of missionary activity are directed to proclamation which reveals and gives access to the mystery hidden for ages and made known in Christ, the mystery that lies at the heart of the Church's mission and life, as the hinge on which all evangelization turns. In the complex reality of mission, initial proclamation has a central and irreplaceable role, since it introduces man into the mystery of the love of God who invites him to enter into a personal relationship with himself in Christ and opens the way to conversion. Faith is born of preaching and every ecclesial community draws its origin and life from the personal response of each believer to that preaching. Just as the whole economy of salvation has its center in Christ, so too all missionary activity is directed to the proclamation of his mystery" (RM 44).

The second principle is the criterion of charity which concludes the chapter on the ways of mission. "It is charity which has been and remains the driving force of mission, and is also the sole criterion for judging what is to be done or not done, changed or not changed. It is the principle which must direct every action, and the end to which that action must be directed, When we act with a view to charity, or are inspired by charity, nothing is unseemly and everything is good" (RM 60).

VI) Consecrated life in the Church

The Synods of the past ten years have thrown new light on the different states of the People of God: the laity, priests, consecrated people. Although sharing in the same ecclesial body, they have different and complementary tasks to perform both within the Church and beyond its confines.

The theology of communion was acknowledged by the extraordinary Synod of 1985 as the base line of the Council and it is from it that we have the reality of the charisma. They may be institutionalized as in the hierarchy or the priesthood, they may be personal or communitarian. The charisma is one of the criteria which best defines the consecrated life.

Consecrated life as a whole is a charisma in the Church, a way of being which is inspired by the Spirit at the service of the People of God. Also, each Institute of consecrated life has its own charisma, bestowed by the Spirit and which is expressed in different ways of spirituality, mission, fraternal life, organization.

The specific and complementary charisma which are proper to consecrated life influence missionary integration. The encyclical emphasizes this view. "From the inexhaustible and manifold richness of the Spirit come the vocations of the Institutes of Consecrated Life... The Church needs to make known the great Gospel values of which she is the bearer. No one witnesses more effectively to these than those who profess the consecrated life in chastity, poverty and obedience, in a total gift of self to God and in complete readiness to serve humanity and society after the example of Christ" (RM 69).

Obviously the specific contribution of the charisma is better acknowledged in the apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata. "The consecrated life is at the very heart of the Church, as a decisive element in her mission" (VC 3). Every form of consecrated life has a missionary dimension (cf. VC 72). There are three constitutive elements in the consecrated life: consecration (cf. VC 18, 25, 26-27), specific mission (cf. VC 72), fraternal life in common (cf. VC 21, 50-51). It is integrated in the particular church by providing its own specific contribution. "The identity of each Institute is bound up with a particular spirituality and apostolate, which takes shape in a specific tradition marked by objective elements" (VC 48). The charisma is certainly not something static. "Institutes of consecrated life are invited to propose anew the enterprising initiative, creativity and holiness of their founders in response to the signs of the times emerging in today's world. This invitation is first of all a call to perseverance on the path of holiness in the midst of the material and spiritual difficulties of daily life. But it is also a call to pursue competence in personal work and to develop dynamic fidelity to their mission, adapting forms if need be to new situations and different needs in complete openness to God's inspiration and to the Church's discernment" (VC 37). Discernment for the signs of the times is emphasized (cf VC 73, 79, 81). It is the Spirit who "calls upon consecrated life to work out new answers to the new problems in the world of today" (VC 73).

Consecrated life has a specific contribution to make to the mission ad gentes and is in turn strengthened by it (cf. VC 78). Contemplative life has a special role (cf. RM 69; VC 78). The services of the Gospel are opened up to all Institutes in responding to contemporary challenges which constitute the areopaghi of today (cf. VC 96-103; RM 37-38). In the concrete choices which they make, the Institutes must take account of today's challenges and respond, through a process of discernment to them, according to their particular charisma (cf. VC 73, 81).

All consecrated persons, both men and women, who are called upon to live their charisma in a new context must become inculturated and make special contribution to that culture as a result of their particular charisma (VC 80). This is not just a personal process. Inculturation also concerns the Institutes, especially in their provincial subdivisions. Administrative units such as Provinces should not merely be in Africa or Asia but should become African or Asian with respect for equality among all the members.

By way of conclusion to this part, I would say that effective missionary cooperation in the churches requires that the members of the Institutes of consecrated life and the Bishops and priests must have a solid missiological outlook.