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VI. MISSIONARY ANIMATION

IN THE PARTICULAR AND UNIVERSAL CHURCH

Summary: Introduction. - 1. The missionary nature of the particular or local

Church. - 2. Particular Church and permanent signs of evangelization: A)

Permanent signs of the implantation of the Church; B) Ministerial

priesthood; C) The laity; D) Consecrated life. - 3. The distribution of

apostolic forces. - 4. Promoters of the missionary spirit: A) Animation

and cooperation; B) Missionary Institutes; C) The Pontifical Missionary

Societies; D) Coordination of services for animation; E) The community's

missionary formation. - 5. Towards the missionary diocese. - 6. Bodies

for direction and coordination.

Introduction

Living the mission also means undertaking to make the Christian community

missionary, and especially the particular or local Church. The universal

Church's missionary dimension, or the missionary nature of the Church, finds

its concrete application in the ecclesial community called a diocese, and in

every Christian community.

So missionary spirituality means living the mission in its ecclesial

aspect. Being the Church means committing oneself to a universal and permanent

mission. The Church's missionary nature (AG 2 and 5) must be lived by every

Christian and by every ecclesial community. With Baptism we become part of the

Church which is the «universal sacrament of salvation» (AG 1 and LG 48).

This does not mean that there should be only the generous cooperation of

a few, but it means reorganizing all personal and community life in view of the

worldwide evangelization. It is the particular Church as such that is

missionary and not only individuals or single institutions.

Present-day evangelization will receive a new impulse when the local

Church or diocese is reorganized in a missionary perspective. In the

concluding discourse of the 1974 Synod of Bishops Paul VI said: «we greet with

paternal affection the local Churches, all of them engaged in evangelizing» (27

October 1974).

Before a new stage of evangelization, with new difficulties and great

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possibilities, the development of all the local Church's institutions in

relation to this new reality can prepare a new missionary revival.

Reorganizing the local Church in a missionary sense does not mean only,

or principally, making sure that one diocese helps another, but it means that

the whole diocese or Christian community must be oriented towards the whole

universal Church.

Nor is it a question of juridical competencies and relations between the

particular Church and missionary bodies. Every missionary institute and any

person who cooperates in missionary work must be conscious of belonging to the

particular Church: the one to which he belongs or in which he has been formed

as a Christian, and the particular Church or new Christian community that is

helped. The goal of missionary activity is to create «self-sufficient» local

Churches. The purpose of the missionary cooperation of the particular Churches

is to ensure that the whole Church, as such, gives this cooperation consciously

and responsibly.

Especially today the vitality of a particular Church has universal

repercussions.

1. The missionary nature of the particular or local Church

The particular Church is a concrete expression of the universal Church.

It is also called a diocese or a local Church since in it the universal Church

takes on concrete form in space and time and in it «the one, holy, catholic and

apostolic Church of Christ is truly present and active» (ChD 11).

The missionary nature of the particular Church comes from the this

condition of being an expression of the universal Church, which of its nature,

is missionary1.

1    ? Aa.Vv., Chiesa locale e inculturazione nella missione, Roma, Urbaniana University Press 1987; H. De Lubac, Les Eglises particulières dans l'Eglise universelle, Paris, Aubier-Montange 1971; G. Ghirlanda, Universal Church, Particular Church and Local Church at the second Vatican Council and in the New Code of Canon Law, in: Vatican II Assesment and Perspectives, twuenty Years after (1962-1987), vol. II, New York, Paulist Press 1989; L.E. Legazpi, The Theology of the Particular Church in the new Code, «Philippiniana Sacra» 21 (1986) 245-257; H.M. Legrand, Nature de l'Eglise particulière et rôle de l'Evêque dans l'Eglise, in: La Charge pastorale des Evêques, Paris 1969; J. Manathodath, The Inculturation of the Local Churches according to the Teaching of Pope Paul VI, Rome (Diss.) 1984; R. Rossignol, Vatican II and the Missionary Responsability of the Particular Church, «Indian Theological Studies» 17 (1980) 34-46; X. Seumois, Les Eglises particulières, in: L'activité missionnaire de l'Eglise, Paris 1967, 281-299; J.M.R. Tillard, Eglise d'Eglises, écclésiologie de communion, Paris, Cerf 1987; E. Sion, The charismatic nature of the local

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«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... In this essential bond between the universal Church and the

particular Churches the authentic and full missionary nature of the Church

finds practical expression» (RMi 62). «Each particular Church must be generous

and open to the needs of the other Churches. Cooperation between the Churches,

in an authentic reciprocity that prepares them both to give and to receive, is

a source of enrichment for all of them and touches the various spheres of

ecclesial life» (RMi 64).

As the local Church «must represent the universal Church as perfectly as

possible, it must remember that it has been sent to those... who do not believe

in Christ» (AG 20). The missionary nature of the universal Church is found in

the particular Church, since what is said of the former must by analogy be

found also in the latter2.

Every particular Church, with its own people and institutions, shares «in

solidum» in the common responsibility for universal evangelization. The

special charisms or graces of each Christian community belong to the whole

People of God3.

So it is not a question of a separate missionary contribution of each

person or institution, but of cooperation as members of a particular Church.

It is thus necessary to safeguard the principle of complementarity and leave a

margin for the initiative and responsibility of each person and institution.

The vitality of a particular Church is manifested in its co-

responsibility in worldwide evangelization. The graces received are preserved

if they serve for the good of the whole Church and all mankind4. «Receptivity

to the wealth of the individual Church corresponds to a special sensitivity of

modern man»5.

The missionary nature of the particular Church in its ecclesial reality

Church, «Africa Ecclesiastical Review» 18 (1976) 160-165; S.J. Ukpong, The local Church and missionary consciousness, in: Portare Cristo all'uomo, II, Rome, Pont. Univ. Urbaniana 1985, 559-578; M. Zago, Universal Church and Local Churches: Respective Tasks in the Encounter of the Gospel with Cultures, «Omnis Terra» 11 (1977) 197-207.

2    ? «Mystici Corporis Christi», AAS 35 (1943) 193-248.

3    ? LG 26; ChD 11.

4    ? AG 36-37; LG 13.

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is manifested as:

- an image of the universal Church

- a part or expression of the universal Church

- the presence or realization of the universal Church

- the incarnation of the universal Church6.

Speaking of the missionary dimension of the universal and particular

Church, we should avoid two extremes: «Each individual Church that would

voluntarily cut itself off from the universal Church would lose its

relationship to God's plan and would be impoverished in its ecclesial

dimension. But, at the same time, a Church toto orbe diffusa would become an

abstraction if she did not take body and life precisely through the individual

Churches»7.

Speaking of the missionary nature of the particular Church, we should

remember the already established Church (in a Christian country) and the Church

that is starting (in a mission land). The missionary nature of both is the

same. If the former should reorganize persons and institutions with a view to

helping the universal Church, the latter should be formed from the very

beginning in this same perspective. The vitality of both is measured by their

own basic missionary dimension; not necessarily by the total number of

personnel or financial means sent. The process that leads the new local Church

to be «self-sufficient» becomes more authentic and reaches its own maturity

when, from the very beginning, the Christian community gets used to giving and

giving itself to the universal Church (AG 6).

2. Particular Church and permanent signs of universal evangelization

A) Permanent signs of the implantation of the Church

The particular Church can be considered established when it permanently

possesses the signs of the Church: prophecy or service of the Word, the

Eucharist and the sacraments, pastoral care of souls and charitable services.

Only then is the ecclesial community a community of prayer or of charity.

Though they always share in the Church's pilgrim condition, these signs

are permanent when they are established by local people who have accepted

responsibility for every service, in keeping with their different vocations and

5    ? «Evangelii Nuntiandi» 62.

6    ? LG 23 and 26; ChD 11; «Evangelii Nuntiandi» 62; RMi 64.

7    ? «Evangelii Nuntiandi» 62.

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charisms. Moreover, every permanent sign of evangelization (word, sacrament,

apostolic-charitable activity) must be served by three states of life: lay,

consecrated life, priestly.

So «implanting the Church» means establishing the permanent signs of

evangelization in every human community. This is the goal of mission: «The

special end of this missionary activity is the evangelization and the

implanting of the Church among peoples or groups in which it has not yet taken

root» (AG 6).

In every particular Church, the permanent signs of evangelization are

ecclesial signs that bear the action of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, in

every human community, the Church becomes the universal «sacrament» of

salvation and of union with God and with all one's brothers and sisters8. In

this reality of the particular Church it is obvious that people and structures

are one aspect of the Church's sacramental and missionary nature, and of the

«signs» that announce and bear the presence and action of the Risen Christ.

The invisible action of the Spirit and of the risen Jesus become part of

the visible ecclesial signs, forming a unity within the pluralism of services

and charisms or graces. The permanent sign of the ministerial priesthood,

especially the episcopate, is the principle of unity in every particular

Church, just as the Pope is the principle of unity for the universal Church and

for the episcopal Collegiality (LG 23).

It can be said that the missionary dimension of the particular Church

depends to a great extent on the collaboration of everyone in the missionary

responsibility of their own bishop. He is the principle of unity in each

Church: but this unity exists and is vital if the whole community feels

missionary. Every member of the particular Church must feel united to this

missionary responsibility of their own bishop: «All bishops, as members of the

body of bishops which succeeds the college of the apostles, are consecrated not

for one diocese alone, but for the salvation of the whole world» (AG 38); «by

8    ? LG 1 and 48; AG 1. See: Y.M. Congar, Principes doctrinaux, in: L'activité missionnaire de l'Eglise, Paris, Cerf 1967, 185-221; P. Giglioni, The Church's Missionary Activity, in: Mission for the third Millennium, o.c., 169-212; R.E. Hedlund, The mission of the Church in the world: a Biblical theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House 1991; J. López Gay, Sentido misional del «edificar» la Iglesia en San Pablo, «Misiones Extranjeras» 60 (1968) 477-490; E. Nunnenmacher, The missionary nature of the Church, in: Mission for the third Millennium, 105-168; (Synodus Episcoporum), Ecclesia sub Verbo Dei mysteria Christi celebrans pro salute mundi, Relatio finalis, Lib. Edit. Vaticana 1985.

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divine institution and by virtue of their apostolic office, all of them jointly

are responsible for the Church» (ChD 6); «the task of announcing the Gospel in

the whole world belongs to the body of pastors» (LG 23). So bishop share «in

the solicitude of all the Churches, ... in communion with the Supreme Pontiff

and subject to his authority» (ChD 3)9.

Since every Christian is a member of a particular Church, he or she must

collaborate to make this Church a «sacrament» of worldwide unity. The purpose

of the permanent signs of evangelization, those in which all are engaged, is to

make the particular Church a communion: a communion among all the members of

this same Church, a communion among all the Churches, a communion in the

mission of evangelizing the whole human family.

It could be said that every particular Church becomes a «sacrament» of

the God of Love to the extent in which it lives this universal mission, namely,

if it lives this communion according to the three levels described. The

missionary nature of a particular Church is the measure of its ecclesial

sacramental nature and vitality.

B) Ministerial priesthood

The signs of prophecy, priesthood and kingship have a special tone when

they are a service of the ministerial priesthood or apostolic ministry. The

presence of this service to act in the name and person of Christ the Head is

essential in every particular Church (PO 2). In this case the prophetic

service is called «magisterium», the service for worship consists mainly in

making Christ the victim of the Eucharist present, the kingly service is

rendered by continuing the redeeming action of Christ the Good Shepherd, the

service of salvation is accomplished in making Christ's redeeming action

present in some sacraments, etc. This priestly service is so important that

generally a particular Church is considered mature when it has a sufficient

9    ? On the universal aspect of Collegiality, see: W. Bertrams, De Episcopis quoad universam Ecclesiam, «Periodica» 55 (1966) 153-169; M. Bonet, Solicitud pastoral de los obispos en su dimensión universal, in: La función pastoral de los obispos, Salamanca 1967; L'Episcopat et l'Eglise universelle, Unam Sanctam 39 (1962); H.M. Legrand, Nature de l'Eglise particulière et rôle de l'Evêque dans l'Eglise, en: La Charge pastorale des Evêques, Paris 1969; W. Onclin, Les évêques et l'Eglise universelle, in: La charge pastorale des Evêques, o.c., 87-101; J. Saraiva Martins, Il dovere missionario dei Pastori, en: Chiesa e missione (Roma, Pont. Univ. Urbaniana, 1990) 141-157. «Fidei Donum», AAS 49 (1957) 237. «Redemptor Hominis», n. 5: AAS 71 (1979) 257-324.

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number of priests or ministers10.

The gift received in priestly ordination has the universal mission of

Christ as its objective (PO 10; cf. AG 38-39; LG 28; PDV 18). The post-

conciliar documents stressed this missionary obligation of priests (EN 68; RMi

67-68; can. 529). «The priestly vocation is also missionary» (John Paul II,

Letter for Holy Thursday 1979).

Priestly life is a participation in the Good Shepherd's mission of

totality and universalism: «giving one's life», serving all without forgetting

the «other sheep» (Jn 10:1-18; 15:1-7). The conciliar documents of Vatican II,

which bring together the biblical and ecclesial tradition, present the

priesthood as a participation in the being, mission and life style of the Good

Shepherd. Priests are ontologically configured to Christ as «sharers in his

consecration and mission» (PO 2) so that they may be his «living instruments»

(PO 12).

The purpose of this priestly configuration to Christ is to «build up the

Body of Christ, the Church» (PO 12). Only in the light of this missionary

dimension can one fully understand the reality of «working in the name and

person» of Christ the Head and Good Shepherd (cf. PO 2-6).

The priest is the qualified animator of the ecclesial missionary

community, particularly starting from the local Church or diocese, always

within the perspective of the universal Church. The goal of the ministerial

service in the particular Church is to make it an echo and concrete expression

of the whole Church since «the local Church must represent the universal Church

as perfectly as possible» (AG 20). It is in her that «the one, catholic and

apostolic Church of Christ is truly present and active» (CD 11). The priest

helps the ecclesial community to reach the maturity of being an «implanted»

Church and thus responsible for the universal missionary dimension (cf. AG 6)11.

The priestly mission is exercised as cooperation with the episcopal order

10    ? PO 10; LG 28; AG 6,19-20,37; RMi 67-68.

11    ? On missionary spirituality of the priests, see chap. 3, note 13. C. Bertola, I have called you Friends, Sacramental, Theological and Existential Aspects of Priestly Fraternity, New York, Alba House 1989; J. Esquerda Bifet, Priestly Spirituality, Sign of Christ, Barrackpore, W.B., Morning Star Col. 1974; Idem, The priest's missionary spirituality and availability according to the Apostolic Exhortation «Pastores Dabo Vobis», «Omnis Terra» n.234 (1993) 24-29; J. Saraiva Martins, The Missionary Formation of Priests in the light of the 1990 Synod of Bishops and the «Pastores dabo vobis», in: Mission for the third Millennium, o.c., 335-361. See: Directory for the ministry and life of the priests (Congregation for the Clergy 1994).

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(cf. LG 28; AG 39) within the particular Church and within the brotherhood of

the Presbyterium. The Bishop, the diocese and the Presbyterium, by their very

nature, are prone to local and universal missionary activity.

The whole particular Church (diocese) must be «aware of being sent» to

all nations (AG 20; cf. AG 37; can. 782 and 291). The priestly ministry is a

privileged instrument for animating the whole ecclesial community for the

missions.

Due to the fact that they are the necessary cooperators of the Bishop and

of the episcopal order (LG 28; CD 28; AG 39), priests are called to fulfil the

missionary responsibility of the Bishop and the particular Church.

C) The laity

The service of the laity is carried out by introducing the signs of

prophecy, priesthood and kingship in human structures as from within and like

leaven (LG 31 and 36). It is not a service for replacing the priest. So a

particular Church cannot consider itself mature until there are lay people who

are permanently faithful to their own responsibility. «Lay people, whose

particular vocation places them in the midst of the world and in charge of the

most varied temporal tasks, must for this very reason exercise a very special

form of evangelization»12.

The specific nature of lay cooperation in the first proclamation (mission

«ad gentes») comes from the lay vocation itself: being an evangelical leaven in

human structures from within, within the Church's communion and responsibility.

The encyclical «Redemptoris Missio» speaks of this «specific contribution» on a

prophetic, priestly and kingly level, according to their «secular character»

and of the fact that they «are called to seek the Kingdom of God by engaging in

temporal affairs and ordering these in accordance with the will of God» (RMi

71). In fact the lay state is a particular participation in the Church's

evangelizing activity both in the field of proclamation (prophecy) and in that

of liturgical celebration (worship, priesthood), and also in the spread of the

Kingdom and in charitable social services (kingship or pastoral work). The

evangelizing responsibility is always one of proclamation, celebration and

communication of Christ's paschal mystery13.

12    ? EN 70; AG 41; RMi 71-72.

13    ? Cf. LG 31; GS 38; AA 2, 6, 13; EN 70-73; CFL, passim; can. 225. On missionary spirituality of the laity see chap. 3 note 19. J. Aumann, The role of the Laity in the Church and in the World, «Angelicum» 65 (1988) 157-169; J.

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The laity are essential for the mission «ad gentes» and for the

«plantatio Ecclesiae»: «The Church is not truly established and does not fully

live, nor is a perfect sign of Christ unless there is a genuine laity working

alongside the hierarchy» (AG 21). Consequently, the contribution of the lay

faithful to the mission «ad gentes» will be in «the younger Churches... an

essential and undeniable element in the plantatio Ecclesiae» (RMi 72).

The fields where the laity are present and active, also within the sphere

of the first evangelization, can be individuated both within the Church

(«services, functions, ministries and ways of promoting the Christian life»),

and within society (family, charitable services, youth, politics, economics,

secular work, culture, education, means of social communication...). It always

involves impregnating human realities with the «Gospel spirit» (cf. RMi 72; EN

70).

By its very nature this specific characteristic of the lay apostolate and

identity involves the insertion of the Gospel values (truth, justice, peace,

freedom, love...) in society. «The laity enjoy a principle role in the

universal fulfilment of this task» (LG 36). This is mainly because of Christ's

missionary command. But we must also consider that without the universalistic

perspective this lay work of the «incarnation» of Christian values in human

realities would not be possible. In fact, peace, justice and freedom have no

boundaries; with limits and reductions, these values would never be attainable.

D) Consecrated life

In order to reach maturity, every particular Church must possess the

permanent sign of eschatology and of the final restoration. This is the sign

of consecrated life or of the practice of the evangelical counsels. Without

this sign or without these vocations, which are awakened in the local Christian

community, the diocesan Church could not consider itself mature. So «religious

have a special importance in the context of the witness which... is of prime

importance in evangelization»14.

One of the fundamental signs of evangelization is prayer life, especially

Anderson, E. Jones, Ministry of the Laity, New York 1986; Y.M. Congar, Priest and Layman, London, Darton 1967; L. Doohan, Laity's Mission in the Local Church: Setting a new Direction, San Francisco, Harper and Row 1986; J. Esquerda Bifet, The missionary spirituality of the Laity, «Omnis terra» n.173 (1987) 48-58; P. Giglioni, Lay Ministries and Services for the Mission, «Omnis Terra» 21 (1987) 266-284; D. Spada, The Laity and their Mission in the Development of Modern Theology, in: Elements for a Theology of the Laity, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis 1979, 19-56.

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liturgical and contemplative prayer. There will be the due maturity in the

particular Church to the extent in which there are, as a sign and incentive,

communities of prayer and vocations to contemplative life. «In this

perspective one perceives the role played in evangelization by religious men

and women consecrated to prayer, silence, penance and sacrifice»15.

Institutes of «consecrated life» have a special responsibility for the

universal mission «ad gentes». The history of evangelization «ad gentes» gives

us some unforgettable witnesses to this responsibility. There are three

principal facts that have encouraged mission: the grace of baptism brought to

the expression of consecrated life, the grace of consecration through the

permanent practice of the evangelical counsels, the specific charism of each

Institute. The encyclical «Redemptoris Missio» repeats the doctrine of the new

Code: members of Institutes of Consecrated Life, «because of the dedication to

the service of the Church deriving from their very consecration, have an

obligation to play a special part in missionary activity, in a manner

appropriate to their Institute» (can. 783; RMi 69).

Mission derives from consecration as a participation in Jesus'

consecration and mission (Lk 4:18; cf. can. 758). The «sequela Christi» would

be inconceivable without the responsibility to bear witness to the Gospel

beyond one's own limits of geography, race and culture and also beyond the

limits of one's own local Church. «The Church needs to make known the great

Gospel values of which she is the bearer. No one witnesses more effectively to

these values 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 man and society after the example of Christ» (RMi 69).

«Ad Gentes» and «Evangelii Nuntiandi» give a good summary of the

missionary dimension of (contemplative and active) consecrated life. They

«have up to this time played, and still play, the greatest part in the

evangelization of the world» (AG 40). «Religious... find in their consecrated

life a privileged means of effective evangelization. At the deepest level of

their being they are caught up in the dynamism of the Church's life, which is

thirsty for the divine Absolute... They embody the Church in her desire to

give herself completely to the radical demands of the beatitudes. By their

lives they are a sign of total availability to God, the Church and the

14    ? EN 69; AG 40; RMi 69-70.

15    ? EN 69.

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brethren. As such they have a special importance in the context of the witness

which, as we have said, is of prime importance in evangelization. At the same

time as being a challenge to the world and to the Church herself, this silent

witness of poverty and abnegation, of purity and sincerity, of self-sacrifice

in obedience, can become an eloquent witness» (EN 69). The «hidden apostolic

fruitfulness» of contemplative life (PC 7) is explained by «Ad Gentes»:

«Institutes of the contemplative life, by their prayers, penances and trials,

are of the greatest importance in the conversion of souls since it is in prayer

that God sends workers into his harvest, opens the minds of non-Christians to

hear the Gospel and makes fruitful the word of salvation in their hearts» (AG

40).

Among the apostolic values of consecrated life the theme of «virginity

for the sake of the Kingdom» emerges, which «is transformed into a motherhood

in the spirit that is rich and fruitful. It is precisely the mission ad gentes

that offers them vast scope for "the gift of self with love in a total and

undivided manner"» (RMi 70)16.

3. The distribution of apostolic forces

The Second Vatican Council indicated the need for a greater distribution

of apostolic forces. All members of the ecclesial community are involved in

this problem: Bishops, priests, religious, laity (cf. CD 6,22-23; PO 10; AA

2,10; PC 20; AG 35-41; PDV 74).

Immediately after the celebration of Vatican II the Motu Proprio

Ecclesiae Sanctae (6-8-66) gave instructions that «a special council shall be

instituted at the Apostolic See to lay down general principles to secure,

taking account of the needs of the various Churches, a more suitable

distribution of clergy» (Ecclesiae Sanctae 1,1).

The «norms» of the Congregation for the Clergy (Postquam Apostoli, 25-4-

80) give doctrinal and practical guidelines for apostolic help to the younger

or more needy Churches. The title of this document is a real programme: «Norms

for cooperation among local Churches and for a better distribution of the

clergy». The encyclical «Redemptoris Missio» insists on these guidelines (RMi

64).

16    ? On missionary spirituality of consecrated life see chap. 3 note 20. M. Azevedo, Vocation for Mission: the Challenge of Religious Life Today, New York, Paulist Press 1988; J. Garcia Martin, The missionary duty of Institutes of Consacrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, «Omnis Terra» n. 226 (1992) 120-125.

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It is not sufficient to indicate some theological principles for the

missionary responsibility of every vocation, but is it necessary also to

indicate concrete ways and obligations. The document on the distribution of

clergy insists on studies of reality, on the revision of life and on the

concrete planning of the missionary apostolate.

There are two basic errors that slow down the process of evangelization

and at the same time ruin the vitality of the particular Church and the

Christian communities: the lack of availability for the universal mission and

the wrong distribution of apostolic forces. The lack of availability is the

main reason for the second error.

If one lives missionary spirituality and one carries out an adequate

missionary activity in the particular Church, a missionary conscience is

awakened that is then manifested in a fair distribution of apostles and

apostolic means.

The number of vocations is an indication of vitality, but it is also the

fruit of a previous sowing. This same index decreases when the missionary

spirit decreases. The charisms of each particular Church are preserved if they

are placed at the disposal of the universal Church.

The purpose of the distribution of apostolic forces is to share the gifts

received with other sister Churches so that every Christian community may be

«self-sufficient» and help others (AG 16). But the distribution of these

forces is not directed only to mission countries, but to every diocese, to

every region and nation. In fact, in every age, and particularly in our own

age, socio-economic changes produce a situation of inequality. Migration, the

change from the agrarian society to the industrial society, wars, centres of

interests, etc., create new situations and bring together enormous masses of

people (sometimes, baptised) which lack even the most elementary religious

assistance. The missionary nature of the Church helps us to discover our

mutual responsibility in these common problems.

In spite of this, the distribution of apostolic workers cannot be made

either through simple statistics or obligatory dispositions. An awareness of a

missionary responsibility that goes far beyond the boundaries of one's own

ecclesial community must be created. Above all one must rely on the generosity

of many people who will be ready for overall pastoral work or for missionary

cooperation.

A numerical distribution or territorial distribution is not sufficient.

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It is necessary to concentrate on the quality of the people prepared for a

specialized mission. And it is also necessary to concentrate on the crucial

points of our society with a view to the future. Successes in the field of

evangelization have always been prepared through a previous work and through

the sacrifices of many.

The distribution is necessary both in rich Churches and in poor Churches.

The former in order to reorganize their scope and services, eliminating what is

less urgent. The latter to make use of the forces that are sent to them so

that they may create their own evangelizing forces within certain time limits.

From the very beginning the ecclesial community that receives must create

within itself an awareness of having to give something of its own resources to

the universal Church. There is no Church so rich that it does not need to

receive; nor is there a Church so poor that it cannot give to others.

A specialization by apostles would strengthen the available forces and so

would influence the more needy sectors and those with greater repercussions:

liturgy, catechesis, means of social communication, centres of formation,

youth, etc.

The vitality of a particular Church is the wellspring for an equitable

distribution of apostles. So, rather than concentrating directly on

distribution, the particular Church must be «animated» so that it will awaken

an effective awareness of the worldwide mission.

In the concrete plan of distribution, the doctrinal or pastoral formation

of apostles must be guaranteed as well as their deep spiritual formation,

accompanied by great availability. When suitable means are available, fewer

personnel are needed. And the same can be said when there is harmony among the

various apostles (laity, religious, priestly ministers), each in accordance

with his or her own vocation and charism.

Fewer personnel are needed when there is pastoral planning on a diocesan,

interdiocesan, national and international level.

The specialization of services and centres of formation strengthens the

personnel and avoids useless sacrifices. Moreover, many organisms work better

when they are at the common service of various dioceses: centres for doctrinal

and pastoral formation, organisms for interecclesial service, etc.

Within this whole problem we must also consider the present effectiveness

of common work or overall pastoral work. We see an indication of this in the

tendency for unity that is seen in our society.

14

The main reason for the distribution of apostles always remains the

nature of the Church which requires a Christian communication also in what

regards apostolic resources17.

4. Promoters of the missionary Spirit

A) Animation and cooperation

Missionary «animation» denotes a pastoral activity that allows people,

institutions and Christian communities to really live the universal missionary

spirituality and responsibility. So it means reorganizing personal and

community life with a view to mission.

This pastoral activity should be carried out mainly in the particular

Church since, as we have already seen, it is missionary of its very nature.

All those who have some responsibility in this pastoral activity have their own

specific form of participation, according to their own vocation.

Particular attention must be paid above all to the missionary dimension

of children and young people, of centres for formation, of prayer and

contemplation centres, of people who suffer, of apostolic lay movements, of

consecrated life (institutes of perfection) and of priestly life.

It is not only a matter of an occasional, more or less generous,

cooperation in the missionary field, but it means orienting the whole of life

and all institutes to the missions from the very beginning, since the Church's

nature is missionary. Spirituality, prayer life and the life of the

apostolate, the vocational field, liturgical life, etc., of their very nature

need a profound missionary orientation.

Also institutions and structures should be planned according to the

missionary spirit. This will be manifested both in financial and educational

plans, and in statutes or rules of life and programmes in general. The

structures that need to be influenced may be local (parish, small community,

diocese...), regional, national or international. Everything should bear the

17    ? Aa.Vv., Chiesa locale e cooperazione tra le Chiese, Bologna, EMI 1973; Aa.Vv., The world is my parish, Rome, Congregation for the Clergy 1971. J. Esquerda Bifet, La distribución del clero, teología, pastoral, derecho, Burgos 1972; Idem, Cooperación entre Iglesias particulares y distribución de efectivos apostólicos, «Euntes Docete» 34 (1981) 427-454; R. Zecchin, I sacerdoti fidei donum, una maturazione storica ed ecclesiale della misionarietà della Chiesa, Roma, Pont. Opere Missionarie 1990. See the document of the Congregation for the Clergy on the distribution of apostles: Notae directivae de mutua Ecclesiarum particularium cooperatione promovenda ac praesertim de aptiore cleri distributione, «Postquam Apostoli» (25.3.80): AAS 72 (1980) 343-364 (EV 7, 232-281).

15

imprint of universal evangelization. The vitality of people and structures are

measured by the extent in which they live and feel the missionary vocation.

The means of cooperation are the normal means indicated by the missionary

encyclicals: prayer, sacrifice, suffering, vocations, economic aid, missionary

formation, coordination by the Pontifical Missionary Societies... In spite of

this there are new aspects among which the following emerge: the organization

of the sick («the sick themselves become missionaries», RMi 78), the importance

of specific missionary vocations («a full and lifelong commitment to the work

of the missions», RMi 79), the meaning of help (giving generously and knowing

how to receive other Christian values), new forms of cooperation (tourism,

migration, missionary returnees, cultural groups), the teaching of missionary

theology, the evangelical task of animation and cooperation («the poor are

hungry for God», RMi 83).

The concrete goals of missionary animation can be reduced to the

following:

- to create a mentality, presenting the Church's doctrine (Gospel,

teaching, theology...) (AG 29, 36-39; RMi 83);

- to arouse spiritual cooperation: prayer, sacrifice, personal dedication

to the missionary cause... (AG 36; RMi 78);

- to promote missionary vocations, especially lifelong missionary

vocations (missionary Institutes, missionary origin of the particular

Church...) (AG 23, 27; RMi 32, 65-66, 79);

- to encourage a fair distribution of apostolic forces (LG 23; ChD 6; RMi

68);

- to contribute financially to the needs of particular communities and

especially to cooperate with the whole universal Church through the services of

the Pontifical Missionary Societies and the Congregation for the Evangelization

of Peoples (AG 38);

- to coordinate efforts for animation and cooperation through the Roman

Dicastery, the Episcopal Conferences and the Pontifical Missionary Societies,

according to cases and jurisdictions (AG 29)18.

18    ? See the theme in the pontifical missionary documents: «Maximum illud», part three; «Rerum Ecclesiae», part two; «Saeculo Exeunte», n. 170; «Evangelii Praecones», part three. Also in chapter VI of «Ad Gentes» and in chapter VII of «Redemptoris Missio». Aa.Vv., Missione ad gentes, Chiesa locale, Istituti Missionari, Bologna, Emi 1985; M. Bianchi, The Missionary Animation of ecclesial communities, in: Mission for the third Millennium, Rome (Bangalore), PUM 1933, 241-172; J. Esquerda Bifet, Pastoral for a missionary Church, Rome, Pont. Univ. Urbaniana 1993 (chap. 11); B. Jacqueline, L'organisation de la

16

Animators born of the missionary spirit are parents, priests, educators,

rectors of Seminaries and houses of formation, spiritual directors, novice

masters, leaders of apostolic movements, etc. But the most normal means for a

comprehensive animation are those that exist in those particular Churches that

have a pastoral plan (Pastoral Council, Vicariates for pastoral work, Diocesan

Secretariats or Centres for the missions, etc.).

B) Missionary Institutes

People who have received the specific missionary vocation, especially if

they have already acquired a vast experience of missionary service «ad gentes»

have a privileged place in this missionary animation of the particular Church.

As well as being aimed at their own missionary Institute, their work of

animation must above all have as its goal a more universal animation and

cooperation, i.e. they must strive to animate institutions of the universal

Church and the particular Church. Missionary Institutes were created for

direct cooperation in the missions, not for missionary promotion in itself;

members of these Institutes will be people who are very well prepared for

missionary promotion if they work in the dimension of the particular and

universal Church.

«While acknowledging the validity of various ways of being involved in

missionary activity, it is necessary at the same time to reaffirm that a full

and lifelong commitment to the work of the missions hold pride of place,

especially in missionary Institutes and Congregations. Promoting such

vocations is at the heart of missionary cooperation... In some countries,

while monetary contributions are on the increase, missionary vocations... are

in danger of disappearing» (RMi 79).

C) The Pontifical Missionary Societies

Some institutions for missionary promotion started through private

initiatives and have remained on the same level; they have the advantage of

spontaneity. Others were created or adopted from more or less official

institutions; they have the advantage of an organization and some backing. Some

institutions give concrete and specialized services. Others organize and

coordinate all the missionary promotion in the Christian community. Among the

coopération missionnaire après le concile oecuménique Vatican II, «L'Année Canonique» 18 (1974) 125-140; A. Jousten, Animation missionnaire ou animation d'une Eglise missionnaire, «Eglise et Mission» n.199 (1975) 43-48. See note 19.

17

latter the Pontifical Missionary Societies hold pride of place for the fact

that they are the organ of animation used by the Congregation for the

Evangelization of Peoples and the Episcopal Conferences (in the respective

Episcopal Commissions and their Diocesan Secretariats)19.

Each of the Pontifical Missionary Societies is responsible for a definite

and fundamental field of missionary promotion. One of the aims of the Society

for the Propagation of the Faith is «to awaken an interest in worldwide

evangelization in all sectors of the People of God - families, basic

communities, parishes, schools, movements, associations - so that each Diocese

may become aware, at all levels, of its worldwide missionary vocation»20. The

Society of St. Peter Apostle is a service «to awaken Christian peoples to the

problem of training local clergy in the mission Churches»21. The Society of the

Holy Childhood «is at the service of the local Churches, to help educators to

awaken progressively a missionary awareness in children (and young people), so

as to lead them to a sharing of spiritual and material resources with children

in regions and Churches that are less well-off in this regard»22. The

Pontifical Missionary Union is at the special service of the Pontifical

Missionary Societies; its purpose is «to stimulate growth in mission awareness

among priests, men and women religious.. among candidates to the priestly and

to the religious life, as well as among persons engaged in the pastoral

ministry of the Church. Briefly, the Union addresses itself to those who are

called to animate the People of God»23.

19    ? «Regimini Ecclesiae Universae» 85; AG 29, 38; «Ecclesiae Sanctae» III, 7, 11, 13; can. 791; RMi 84. See studies on cooperation in the previous note. O. Degrijse, Les Oeuvres Pontificales Missionnaires et l'évangelisation, «Eglise et Mission» 4 (1983) 2-14; Progetto missione, Progetto educativo per l'animazione e la cooperazione missionaria delle Pontificie Opere Missionarie, Roma 1990. Relationship with missionary Institutes: Aa.Vv., Missione ad gentes, Chiesa locale, Istituti missionari, Bologna, EMI 1985.

20    ? Statutes, art. II, 9a. (Published by the PMS). Cf. Vademecum, Rome, International Secretariat Pontifical Missionary Union 1963.

21    ? Ibidem, art. II, II-15.

22    ? Ibidem. art. II, III,17.

23    ? Ibidem, art. II, IV, 23. See: Graves et Increscentes» AAS 58 (1966) 750-756. On the missionary formation of priests, consult the document of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, in: Guida delle missioni cattoliche, 1975. The Pope has entrusted a new task to the Pontifical Missionary Societies: «Another purpose of the Missionary Societies is the fostering of lifelong vocations ad gentes, in both the older and younger

18

D) Coordination in services for animation

All these services should operate: 1) in keeping with their own charism

and special characteristics; 2) in harmony and coordination; in a universal

missionary dimension. Coordinating these services presupposes a reference

point, which, in the particular Church can be no one but the successor of the

Apostles, the bishop, as the principle of unity for guaranteeing the specific

nature of each Institution (LG 23; CD 11; can. 369).

Every service for missionary promotion must strive above all to ensure

that the local Church recovers its missionary dimension. Apart from

cooperation among sister Churches, pastoral services on a diocesan level seek

coordination that will safeguard the autonomy and specific fields of each

service. Apart from the help they can give to diocesan services and the

Pontifical Societies, the specific purpose of Missionary Institutes (lay,

religious, priestly) is to encourage aid and vocations for their own Institute

and their own missions. The Pontifical Missionary Societies have a prime role

in forming a missionary awareness among the whole community and also in

encouraging financial aid and vocations for all the missions.

E) The community's missionary formation

Cooperation is stressed particularly also with regard to the missionary

formation of the Christian community: «Activities aimed at promoting interest

in the missions must always be geared to these specific goals: namely,

informing and forming the People of God to share in the Church's universal

mission, promoting vocations ad gentes and encouraging cooperation in the work

of evangelization» (RMi 83). But this formation requires specific preparation

in formation leaders: «Such formation is entrusted to priests and their

associates, to educators and teachers, and to theologians, particularly those

who teach in seminaries and centres for the laity. Theological training cannot

and should not ignore the Church's universal mission, ecumenism, the study of

the great religions and missiology. I recommend that such studies be

undertaken especially in seminaries and in houses of formation for men and

women Religious, ensuring that some priests or other students specialize in the

different fields of missiology» (RMi 83).

When the Church deepens her «maternal» nature in the light of Mary, she

Churches. I earnestly recommend that their promotional work be increasingly directed to this goal» (RMi 84).

19

rediscovers her missionary nature. «The Church, therefore, in her apostolic

work too, rightly looks to her who gave birth to Christ, who was thus conceived

of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, in order that through the Church he

could be born and increase in the hearts of the faithful. In her life the

Virgin has been a model of that motherly love with which all who join in the

Church's apostolic mission for the regeneration of mankind should be animated»

(LG 65)24.

There will be a generous response to missionary cooperation when

ecclesial communities are able to come together as brothers in the Upper Room

with Mary, to listen to the word, to pray, celebrate the Eucharist, share their

resources so as to receive new graces from the Spirit in order to evangelize

the modern world (RMi 51). «Like the Apostles after Christ's Ascension, the

Church must gather in the Upper Room "together with Mary the Mother of Jesus"

(Acts 1:14), in order to pray for the Spirit and to gain strength and courage

to carry out the missionary mandate. We too, like the Apostles, need to be

transformed and guided by the Spirit» (RMi 92).

5. Towards the missionary diocese

One of the aims of pastoral activity is to make every diocese truly

missionary. The person primarily responsible for this is the Bishop: «By

arousing, fostering and directing missionary work in his own diocese, with

which he is one, the bishop makes present and, as it were, visible the

missionary spirit and zeal of the people of God, so that the whole diocese

becomes missionary» (AG 38)25.

24    ? Aa.Vv., De aspectu missionali in sacerd. form., «Seminarium» (1973), n.4; Aa.Vv., La formazione del missionario oggi, Roma, Pont. Univ. Urbaniana 1978; Aa.Vv., De aspectu missionali in sacerdotibus formando, «Seminarium» (1973) n. 4; P. Chiocchetta, La formazione allo spirito missionario, «Seminarium» (1979) 573-595; J. Esquerda Bifet, Pastoral for vocations and missionary formation, in: Pastoral for a Missionary Church, o.c., chap. XII; Idem, Spiritualità, vocazione e formazione missionaria, in: Chiesa e Missione, Roma, Pont. Univ. Urbaniana 1990, 199-225; A. Nicolas, Formation and spirituality for mission, «Est Asian Pastoral Review» 17 (1980) 104-116.142; J. Saraiva Martins, The Missionary Formation of Priests in the light of the 1990 Synod of Bishops and the «Pastores dabo vobis», in: Mission for the third Millennium, o.c., 335-361. See also: Pastoral Guide for Diocesan Priests in Churches dependent on the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Rome, 1989; (Pont. Council for Laity), The formation of the Laity, Vatican City 1987; (S.C. for Cath. Education), The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School: Guidelines for Reflection and Renewal, Rome 1988.

25    ? See: Instructio «De ordinanda cooperatione missionali Episcoporum» AAS

20

Reaching this reality of ecclesial maturity involves a pastoral process

in which all members of the particular Church are involved. At the beginning

of this chapter, we indicated the fundamental bases of the missionary nature of

the diocese. Now we must briefly analyze the evolutionary aspects that bring

us to make this necessity a concrete reality.

It is not simply a question of the fact that helpers set out with the

label of the particular Church that sends them, but it means thoroughly

reorganizing the whole diocese and all its possibilities. This missionary

projection will lead to the discovery of new possibilities for evangelization

and local apostolate.

If those sent and missionary institutions work together as a local Church

that sends, new responsibilities arise, among which we must remember the

sending itself and assistance for the apostolic personnel who are sent.

The need to reorganize the particular Church in the missionary sense

involves an entire evolutive process that affects its very heart. The shortage

of missionary vocations, for example, can mean that those that already exist

become stronger, thanks to a better pastoral coordination. This coordination

itself is a source of new vocations.

If we wish to help other Christian communities or particular Churches

(mission Churches) in their process of maturation, this help must be an

expression of the work undertaken together by all the institutions and people

who offer their help. So mission aid is an incentive to carry out pastoral

work, together, in the particular Church that sends. In this way the diocese

that sends is enriched, strengthening and coordinating all its possibilities.

The particular Church is reorganized in view of an «apostolic life» that

mainly includes three aspects:

- life of communion, in order to create responsible communities of prayer

and charity;

- evangelical generosity, in order to awaken permanent signs of Christian

perfection in the dynamics of the beatitudes;

- universal availability for missionary activity among all people and

institutions.

This does not mean that only some people and some institutions should

generously approach the missionary problem, but it must be the whole particular

Church that does so. Therefore the missionary perspective must enlighten all

61 (1969) 276-281; PDV 31-32, 65, 74.

21

the diocese's Christian and pastoral planning. A reorganization in this

missionary perspective gives the local Church missionary benefits since it

gives new vitality to its forces, and keeps them available for a worldwide

service that solves many of its internal or local problems.

Apart from sending personnel with a specific vocation to the permanent

mission, above all today, specialized people must be sent for a limited time

and for a precise service. With the ease of travelling, this possibility of

sending specialized helpers can enrich both Churches: the one that sends and

the one that receives. In spite of this, this new help means that specialized

people must be available and there must be separation from the particular

Church so that the time of these personnel is not occupied in other work.

Also the apostolic and spiritual movements that exist within the

particular Church must be reorganized in this missionary sense. In fact, it is

these that give tone to the apostolic activity of the diocese. Their very

missionary dimension will allow them to escape from the «impasse» in which they

find themselves because of their immediate social and economic problems.

The apostolate of these movements will recover its vitality when it

discovers that the Church's universal mission is the responsibility of the

diocese and all its institutions.

The missionary hour of the diocese is not accomplished everywhere at the

same time, even though their missionary nature is always the same. In spite of

this, we can speak of a revival of the missionary spirit and responsibility.

We can also speak of the missionary hour in the sense of a renewal and of some

new providential possibilities. This is what happened in history. This

diocesan missionary hour occurs only after suffering, persecution,

difficulties, and after a long period of trial and spiritual and doctrinal

formation.

Each diocese may also have an influence on social sectors that have

interdiocesan and international repercussions: means of social communication,

institutions and worldwide bodies for social aid, migration, cultural and

commercial exchanges, etc.

The personnel sent by a particular Church always belong in some way to

the diocese or Christian community of origin. Promoting exchange will be a

good thing for everyone: for the missionaries who are assisted, encouraged,

received, etc. and for the original diocese that will receive experience and

help for missionary promotion, especially when there is a temporary or

22

definitive return of its missionaries. In organizing assistance before, during

and after the mission of these people, the diocese enriches itself, making

itself available for service to the universal Church.

This collective consciousness as a missionary diocese will ensure that

the local Churches that help develop with a greater missionary vision, i.e.,

with the prospect that the Christian communities helped may become «self-

sufficient» and collaborate, in their turn and from the beginning, with the

universal Church (AG 19). When there is not this missionary conscience in the

Church that sends, a large part of its help becomes a new colonialism. To

avoid this extreme, it is necessary that people and missionary institutions are

able to appreciate the reality of the particular Church (of the Church that

sends and the Church that receives) above and beyond its own institution and

missionary work.

One of the means for making the local Church missionary are missionary

Institutes (RMi 66). Their work is certainly essential for evangelization «ad

gentes»; and due to the fact that they «carry out this work in the name of the

Church» (AG 27), they can collaborate effectively in reawakening the missionary

conscience of the particular Church as such.

The missionary responsibility of the Episcopal College and individual

Bishops cannot be reduced to giving just any help and «letting» some vocations

depart, but it must direct the whole Episcopal College's and individual

Bishops' way of thinking and acting. The conciliar decree cited in the

encyclical indicated both Christ's command and the reality of sacramental

consecration: «The task of announcing the Gospel in the whole world belongs to

the body of pastors, to whom, as a group, Christ gave a general injunction and

imposed a general obligation» (LG 23). «All bishops, as members of the body of

bishops which succeeds the college of the apostles, are consecrated not for one

diocese alone, but for the salvation of the whole world» (AG 38)26.

26    ? As well as the bibliography of note 1, see: Chiesa locale e cooperazione tra le Chiese (Week of missionary studies, Assisi 1973), Bologna, Emi 1973; G. Ghirlanda, Universal Church, Particular Church and Local Church at the second Vatican Council and in the New Code of Canon Law, in: Vatican II Assesment and Perspectives, twenty Years after (1962-1987), vol. II, New York, Paulist Press 1989; L.E. Legazpi, The Theology of the Particular Church in the new Code, «Philippiniana Sacra» 21 (1986) 245-257; H. de Lubac, Les églises particulières dans l'Eglise universelle, Paris, Aubier-Montagne 1971; M. Mariotti, Apostolicità e missione nella Chiesa particolare, Roma 1965; M. de Membro, Inserimento dell'attività missionaria della Chiesa universale nelle Chiese particolari, «Euntes Docete» 24 (1971) 291-328; R. Rossignol, Vatican II and the Missionary Responsability of the Particular Church, «Indian Theological

23

6. Bodies for direction and coordination

Missionary activity is always carried out starting from ecclesial

communion. The variety of leaders and workers in missionary activity finds its

strength in the unity desired by Christ, as a reflection of the unity and

communion of the Trinity (cf. Jn 17:21; LG 4). «Leaders and agents of

missionary pastoral activity should sense their unity within the communion

which characterizes the Mystical Body... The fruitfulness of missionary

activity is to be found in this communion» (RMi 75). A visible sign of this

communion, on a universal level, is the missionary Congregation, as a service

of the charism of the successor of Peter who «presides over charity»27.

The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (formerly «Propaganda

Fide») is responsible for coordination and supreme direction in the missionary

field «ad gentes»: «There should be only one competent congregation for all

missions and missionary activity, namely that of the "Propagation of the

Faith", which would direct and coordinate missionary work and missionary

cooperation throughout the world» (AG 29). «In order to re-launch the mission

ad gentes, a centre of outreach, direction and coordination is needed, namely,

the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples» (RMi 75).

It is the responsibility of the missionary Dicastery to «direct and

coordinate throughout the world the work of evangelizing peoples and of

missionary cooperation» (Pastor Bonus 85; AG 29). The encyclical «Redemptoris

Missio» summarizes the tasks of the Congregation: «to recruit missionaries and

distribute them in accordance with the more urgent needs of various regions...

draw up an ordered plan of action, issue norms and directives, as well as

principles which are appropriate for the work of evangelization, and assist in

the initial stages of their work... The same Congregation, which has behind it

Studies» 17 (1980) 34-46; I. Ting Pong Lee, Dioecesuum pro missionibus incepta, «Commentarium pro religiosis et missionariis» 59 (1978) 125-137; 238-247; 345-347; S.J. Ukpong, The local Church and missionary consciousness, in: Portare Cristo all'uomo, II, Rome, Pont. Univ. Urbaniana 1985, 559-578.

27    ? St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Romanos: PG 5, 685. The encyclical «Redemptoris Missio» clearly mentions this ecclesiology of communion: «In an ecclesiology of communion in which the entire Church is missionary, but in which specific vocations and institutions for missionary work ad gentes remain indispensable, the guiding and coordinating role of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples remains very important in order to ensure a united effort in confronting great questions of common concern, with due regard for the competence proper to each authority and structure» (RMi 75).

24

a long and illustrious history, is called to play a role of primary importance

with regard to reflection and programmes of action which the Church needs in

order to be more decisively oriented towards the mission in its various forms»

(RMi 75; cf. Pastor Bonus 86)28.

Episcopal Conferences (with their various groupings) and major Superiors

(of Orders, Congregations or Institutes) in full collaboration with the

missionary Congregation, have their own sphere of activity. Episcopal

Conferences coordinate missionary activity on a national and regional level,

particularly in dealing with «more important questions and urgent problems,

without, however, overlooking local differences, and... the complex issue of

inculturation» (RMi 76; cf. AG 31 and 38).

Leaders of missionary bodies, but particularly Conferences of Major

Superiors should coordinate «forces and initiatives... maintaining contact with

Episcopal Conferences in accordance with established directives and norms» (RMi

76; cf. AG 32-33).

28    ? The Apost. Const. «Pastor Bonus», art. 86-88, also specifies «research on missionary theology, spirituality and pastoral work» (art. 86), «the missionary spirit» (art. 87), «missionary vocations» (art. 88). For the history of the Congregation: J. Metzler, Sacrae Congregationis di Propaganda Fide Memoria Rerum, 5 vols. 1622-1972, Roma, Herder 1971-1976.