THE GOSPEL OF THE ROSE
Evangelization In Asia:
Mission as Witness of Jesus’
Compassion and Liberation
Second Revised Edition
Fr. Dr. ANTHONY GRUGNI P.I.M.E.
Let your life speak to us
even as the rose needs no speech,
but simply spreads its perfume.
Even the blind, who does not see
the rose, perceives its fragrance.
This is the secret of the gospel of the rose.
All I want them to do is to live Christian lives
not to annotate them.
I have come to this view after laborious and prayerful search.
(Mahatma Gandhi)
CONTENTS
FOREWORD………………………………………………….
INTRODUCTION................................................................
INTRODUCTION TO THE 2NDEDITION..........................
PART I......... MISSION AS WITNESS................................
Mission — Witness — Interview with Mahatma Gandhi — Deeds speak louder than words — To sum up
PART II HIGHLIGHTS FROM MY EXPERIENCE....
The first steps — The impact with India — A dispensary for the poor
— Institutionalization and proclamation — Evangelization: a concrete act of love — The missionary and the local Church — Lifestyle of the missionary
PART III CHURCH ANDMISSION..............................
Vatican II: Decree on the Church’s missionary activity (Ad Gentes) — Apostolic Exhortation ‘Evangelii Nuntiandi’ of Pope Paul VI — Encyclical Letter ‘Redemptoris Missio’ of Pope John Paul II — Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC) before and after Redemptoris Missio
PART IV CHURCH ANDKINGDOM OF GOD...........
Church and Kingdom — Church, Kingdom and the salvation of non-Christians (an alternative view point) — Salvation mediated through prayer and intercession of the Church — Evangelization in contemporary Asian Theological Reflection.
PART V WITNESS AND PROCLAMATION...............
Evangelization: theory and practice — Integral evangelization — A quest for harmony — A problem of language and communication — A pilgrimage language: sharing the Jesus experience —.
PART VI EMERGING TRENDS IN EVANGELIZATION……..
Ecclesia in Asia --- First Trend (In the footsteps of Jesus) ---Second trend (The challenge: Sharing the life of the poor) ---Third trend (Silence, Contemplation and Prayer) --- To sum up: The Paschal Mystery at the heart of Evangelization --- Reading the story of Jesus and the Paschal Mystery in the life ofAsia’s` poor---In conclusion --- The Prayer of a Missionary
ANNEX I A REPRESENTATION OF DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES IN EVANGELIZATION ……
ANNEX II ASIAN BISHOPS SPEAK
AT THE ASIAN SYNOD................................
Asian Catholics do not want a Western Catholicism — A gradual faith journey, not a mental introduction to Christianity — Inculturation
ANNEX III MARTYRDOM ININDIA: THE CALL OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM
FOREWORD

Fr (Dr) Anthony Grugni, PIME’s book ‘THE GOSPEL OF ROSE’-Evangelization in Asia: Mission as Witness of Jesus’ Compassion and Liberation, is timely and thought provoking. I sincerely congratulate Fr Anthony Grugni for his contribution to theological reflection on Evangelization inAsia and his own practical way of sharing the Good news with others, particularly with the poor and marginalized. His book should stir us to ask the question: Si iste ille cur non ego? If Fr Grugni could proclaim the Good News and bring people to Christ, why can’t we? The answer should be a definite YES .Jesus Christ is the Only Saviour for all ages and for all peoples. Every baptized Christian has the absolute obligation to bear witness to Jesus Christ.
Ever since the Second Vatican Council, there has been no theme in Catholics circles so much dealt with, studied, discussed and debated as the theme of evangelization .Meetings and seminars have been held on this subject on parish,diocesan,national and international levels . The conclusions have been unamious assertions of the necessity of evangelization, and strongly-worded exhortations to the people of God to do the best for the spread of Good News. But, unfortunately, instead of a new spring, a new impetus for evangelization, there has been much indifference and slackening. Heresies in new forms have contributed to the crisis in the work of evangelization. Religious, cultural and socio economical pluralism is a fact many think that every religion is only a means for its followers to obtain salvation, and what matters is not so much the truth but working for human dignity; that God’s kingdom is wider than Christ’s kingdom, that the Church is human and hence she has no right for any claim for superiority. These statements are half truths .They are dangerous than errors or open opposition. Besides these heresies, factors such as revival of ancient religions, which are now, purified by impact of Christianity, growing secularism or neo paganism in the once-Christian countries, the dwindling number of practicing Christians and the apparent poor results of missionary efforts have contributed to this slackening of missionary zeal.
In order to face this crisis in the field of evangelization on the one hand and to give the impetus to the mission of the Church on the other, Pope John Paul II wrote the Magna Carta of the missions –the Encyclical REDEMPTORIS MISSIO – on the PERMANENT VALIDITY OF THE CHURCH’S MISSIONARY MANDATE. At the very outset the Pope writes:”God is opening before the Church new horizons of a humanity more fully prepared for sowing of the Gospel. I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church’s engines to a new evangelization and to the mission and gentes: No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples (RM, n.3).”
While writing the encyclical the Pope had in mind what some people wonder: Is missionary work among non-Christians still relevant? Has it not been replaced religious dialogue? Is not human development an adequate goal of the Church’s mission? Does not respect for conscience and for freedom exclude all efforts at conversion? Is it not possible to attain salvation in any religion? Why ten should there be missionary activity?
Fr Grugni has insisted again and again on the absolute need of Christian life as the first and indispensible means for evangelization. This is precisely what Redemtoris Missio highlights in line with Ad Gentes (AG n, 11) and Evangelli Nuntiandi (EN n, 41). This is nothing but the reiteration of what Jesus told his disciples to be: the light and salt of the world (Mt 5: 13-16) and what St Paul exhorted the Philippians’ to be: stars lightning up the sky (Phil 2:15).
Lack of sincere witness of Christian life on the part of many Christians has turned away many non-Christian from embracing Christianity .Fr Grugni quotes Mahatma Gandhi at the very beginning of his book, and again on the back cover:
“Let your life speak to us Even as the rose needs no speech, but simply spreads its perfume. Even the blind who does not see the rose perceives its fragrance. This is the secret of the gospel of the rose .All I want them to do is to live Christian lives.”
The author is right when he points out the Church in India gives the people an image of power and prestige through some of her mighty structures. These are counter witnesses. Many centuries ago when Christianity was a mighty political power to be reckoned with, St Bernard told his disciple Pope Eugenius III: “When you come riding on a chariot drawn by many white horses , remember that you are not the disciple of St Peter but the successor of the first Christian Emperor Constantine”.
The GOSPEL OF ROSE challenges us to an introspection that should lead us to an authentic way of life, keeping in mind the Latin proverb: Verba movent sed exempla trahund (examples speak louder than words).
Finally, the stories of jaya, Mangamma, Ajay, Praveen and suresh in Chapter VI are touching examples of how the Good News is preached and lived in daily life. Dr Grugni who could have worked as an eminent cardiologist amassing money shows the way to be the “salt, the light and the shining star “In the work of evangelization .I exhort all missionaries –PIME members in particular –to read and promote The Gospel of Rose in order to spread fragrance of Christian life for the spread of Good News .The first edition of this book has sold out. I wish the same success for this new and revised edition as well.
Bishop Matthew Cheriankunnel,
PIME, Regional House
Eluru-534007 (A.P)
INDIA
INTRODUCTION
In the year 1992 I received an invitation from Fr Enzo Corba PIME, director of the Euntes Asian Centre, Zamboanga city (Mindanao Island) Philippines, to share my experience as a medical doctor and a missionary in India, with the participants in the Asian Missionary Formation Programme run by the Centre.
This was what Fr Corba wrote to me: “The theme you have to deal with is ‘Mission as Witness’. The idea you have to communicate is how a Christian becomes part of a community by sharing and practicing his/her profession, as anybody else, and while doing so he/she evangelizes. Evangelization without seeking, first of all, the support of big structures. So far we mainly evangelized by means of structures (schools, hospitals, institutions of all kind). Few, very few, walk side by side with other fellow humans, as one of them.”
These words reminded me of a poster showing two children walking on a road, hand in hand. The caption words were:
DON’T WALK AHEAD OF ME, I MAY NOT
BE ABLE TO FOLLOW YOU
DON’T FOLLOW ME, I MAY NOT
BE ABLE TO BE YOUR GUIDE
JUST WALK BY MY SIDE
AND BE MY FRIEND
From 1992 to 2000 I have been a resource person for the programmes of the Euntes Asian Centre and my notes put together at that time are the core of this book.
In my missionary life in India (where I came in 1976) I did not build hospitals, schools or churches and never tried to ‘convert’ anyone. “Then, what have you done? What kind of missionary are you? What is your commitment as a missionary?” I shall try to give an answer to these questions in the context of a wider reflection on the challenges of evangelization in Asia.
Put in simple words, my commitment is:
Sharing my life, faith, hopes and talents,
even with my limitations and failures,
MY EXPERIENCE OF GOD
In a dialogue and in cooperation with
my sisters and brothers in India,
respecting their faith, cultures and traditions,
THEIR EXPERIENCE OF GOD
Hand in hand,
Side by side
HUMILITY AND RESPECT
In this perspective, the primary purpose of missionary work is not the `conversion` of others, but rather the personal conversion of the missionary to the all-embracing love and compassion of God. Conversion is not turning away from transgressions, but rather turning towards God, to respond to his invitation to let Him into our life. God is in a hurry to love and forgive us more than we are to be loved and forgiven.
Real conversion is possible only if we can believe in and surrender ourselves to such a merciful love, real and actual, here and now, for all humanity.
“Why do you not preach repentance?” said the preacher.
“It’s the only thing I teach,” said the Master.
“But I never heard you speak on sorrow for sin.”
“Repentance isn’t sorrow for the past.
“The past is dead and isn’t worth a moment’s grief.
“Repentance is a change of mind; a radically different vision of reality.”
(A. de Mello, One Minute Nonsense, p.241)
The personal conversion of the missionary is the starting point of Christian witness and evangelization.
Reflecting on the evangelization of Asia, two thousand years have passed since Jesus Christ, who was born in the Middle East, preached the Good News of God’s Kingdom. The Gospel and the Church, that proclaims it, spread rapidly throughout the Roman Empire and reached Europe; subsequently Africa and later on the Americas.
Though an old tradition holds that St Thomas, one of the 12 apostles, reached the shores of Kerala in South India and preached the Gospel, the Asian continent has remained untouched by the Christian message. This not just because Christians are barely 1% of the Asian population, but because the Gospel values have not percolated into the mainstream of the life and cultures of the Asian people, though there has been no dearth of missionaries and martyrs; and we wonder why.
In the context of the multi-cultural, multi-religious societies of Asia and their conflicts and tensions related to socio-economic inequalities and injustice, what is the role of the Church? How can she become relevant and effective, especially from the perspective of evangelization? Every Christian is a missionary and the Church by nature is missionary, but what is the mission of the Church in Asia in the present context? Which ‘face’ of Christ should she present in order to touch the hearts of the Asian people?
Unfortunately, the institutional Church, dependent on the West theologically, liturgically, culturally and financially, is widely perceived as preaching a ‘foreign’ religion, supported by the powerful and rich Western nations, aiming at ‘converting’ people and undermining the Asian culture and way of life. The article of Dr Astrid Lobo Gajiwala in Annex III highlights this point.
Widening our reflection to the relationship between religion and spirituality, relevant in the Asian context, the following observations of Swami Agnivesh, a Hindu Swami (spiritual guru) and a social activist (Vidyajyoti Vol. 64, N.3, March 2000, p.165 and 170) which apply to India, may applied to the Asian situation as well.
“The hallmark of spirituality is responsiveness to the context. This is what distinguishes spirituality from religion in its common practice...The problem with us today is that we have too much of religion but little of spirituality.....It is important to take cognizance of the alarming signs of religious decay in our times. Our religiosity is not imbued with a passion to resist the forces of evil. It is not ablaze with compassion for our fellow human beings and for the rest of creation...Religion without spirituality, especially in its social dimension, tends to be a system of oppression and exploitation….. While religion can be the exclusive preserve of the religious, spirituality is under nobody’s monopoly. He who gives a glass of water to quench the thirst of another is spiritually more evolved than those who chant their scriptures with their eyes closed to the giant agony of our world.”
The same Swami, in an article appeared in ‘Communalism Combat’, December 1999, undertakes a ‘painful analysis of the Indian scenario’ upon which we have to reflect. Painful as this analysis may be, we cannot escape a dispassionate look at the present religious, spiritual and social scenario and work for a better tomorrow.
“As a religious person, a Swami, I have no hesitation in recognizing that religions have failed human beings in their struggle for meaning and dignity, for justice and equity. That is not all. They have inflicted non-healing wounds on our national psyche due to their adversarial attitude to each other. Besides, they have discredited themselves by their blindness to social realities...People expect no public good to come from religion. Escapist religiosity, however, now thrives more robustly than ever before!.Temples, gurudwaras, mosques and churches have become richer and more crowded. But they stand in leprous isolation from the burning issues of our times.”
I hope this book will help in a humble and prayerful search for new and effective ways of evangelization in the complex religious, cultural and social reality of Asia in the third Millennium. Part I and II serve as introduction and a sharing of the personal experience of the author. The teachings of Vatican Council II and the Popes, and the orientation of the Federation of the Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC) are presented in part III. Significant voices among the Asian Hierarchy are found in Annex II. The reflections of some prominent Asian Theologians are in part IV and V. Three main emerging trends in evangelization and some recent missionary experiences of the author among the poor and marginalized in South India are in part VI.






INTRODUCTION TO THE 2NDEDITION
One year after the publication of the first edition of this book, I would like to thank the missionaries who have given their valuable comments and suggestions.
Young missionaries have welcomed this book as they felt it will be useful during the formation years and at the beginning of ministry.
Many lay people have also expressed appreciation as they discovered topics and problems they were not aware about. They wondered why topics like evangelization, inculturation of the Gospel, inter religious dialogue or the Church’s option for the poor , etc., were hardly part of the Sunday sermons in their Parishes . committed Christians complained of a lack in missionary spirit among clergy religious.
In this second edition, some long quotations have been shortened and others deleted. Corrections and clarifications have been introduced.
Part VI, which expands the reflection on the emerging trends in evangelization, is a new addition to the content. I also present some recent missionary experiences in Andhra Pradesh that have helped me realize the evangelizing power of Christian witness among the poor and marginalized.
. The purpose of this book remain that of offering to clergy, religious and laity a stimulating reflection on the task of evangelization in the complex religious, cultural and social reality in Asia.

—Fr. Dr. Anthony Grugni P.I.M.E.








PART I
MISSION AS WITNESS
We Are Declaring to You
What We Have Seen and Heard
The meaning of words that are frequently used end up being taken for granted but eventually end up meaning different things to different people.
Let us, therefore, begin our journey by reflecting upon the two key words: Mission and Witness.
MISSION
The Christian Mission (also called Evangelization) aims at bringing the Good News of God the Father into the whole world as his son Jesus commanded us (Mk 16:15). The understanding of Mission has undergone a paradigm shift after Vatican II. Forty years after the Council, we are just at the beginning of the discovery of the theological implications of evangelization.
“Christians are beginning to become conscious of the displacement to which they are invited, in faithfulness to their deepest identity, by the discovery of the surprising prodigality of the Holy Spirit who precedes them in the hearts of people and the abounding richness of other cultural and religious traditions (of course, these traditions are also marked by sin). It is an expression of the inexhaustible fecundity of divine love for humanity throughout history, cultures and religions. This is how the Church is invited to welcome this positive challenge, the diversity of religions and cultures... . In this dialogue, the Christian is a witness to Christ... by his way of listening to the other and of being engaged in a permanent.... conversion and by the love that pushes him to take into account... the hope that animates him (1Pt 3:15) and the Truth he believes. Karl Rahner expresses the way towards the Truth in this way:
‘God’s truth….is above all an overture towards the evident, and the beginning of infinity. The clearest and most precise formulations, the most venerated formula, the classic concentration of the work of the Church, praying, thinking, fighting, for centuries for the Mystery of God, all this is lived because it is a beginning and not an end, a means and not an objective, a truth that makes one free for the truth — always greater.’
“Is there not here an invitation to ally contemplation, dialogue and proclamation?” (Adapted from Bernard Ugeux in ‘Vatican II a Gift and a Task’, pp 151-152; 2006).
The following points will highlight the main shifts in the approach to Evangelization before and after Vatican II.
WITNESS
In a Court of Law, a witness is called to testify about an event he/she has seen happening or has personal knowledge about. He/she does not have to pay with one’s life in order to prove the truthfulness of the testimony. The Christian witness is a more profound experience of a person who has encountered Christ as Lord and Saviour. This faith one is ready to testify even at the cost of one’s life (Martyrdom).
The Holy Scripture will guide us in understanding the true meaning of Christian witness, starting from the universal love of God the Father to the faithful witness of his Son Jesus and his disciples.
INTERVIEW
WITH MAHATMA GANDHI
Mahatma Gandhi is one of the highest expressions of Asian spirituality, overflowing into the life and struggles of the people. A faith in God expressed in faithful witness of life up to the point of martyrdom. He felt deeply attracted by the Christian message, which became a source of inspiration for his non-violent struggle for the independence of India.
In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi tells how, in South Africa, he became deeply interested in the Bible. He felt especially inspired by the Sermon on the Mount. He became convinced that Christianity was the answer to the caste system that had plagued India for centuries and he seriously considered becoming a Christian. One day he went to a church to attend Mass and get instruction. He was stopped at the entrance and gently told that if he desired to attend Mass he was welcome to do so in a church reserved for blacks. He left and never returned.
Let us now interview this Great Soul (Mahatma) to be enlightened by his deep and prayerful spirituality and life experience.
Q) Which kind of work should missionaries do in India?
A) They should start working at the grassroot level. They should start from what is best in the life of the people and should do nothing against it... The missionary should go to the people not as a benefactor but as one of them: not to grant favours but to work among them.
(Young India, 14 July 1927)
Q) Do Christian missionaries have a place in the new India?
Which could be their contribution?
A) They should realize that India has a message to give to the world and that even Indian religions are true, though imperfect (as all religions) because they pass through imperfect human beings. In this way they will become friends who help us, friends who search with us and there will be a place for them here. But if they come as preachers of the ‘True Gospel’, to illumine a people who live in darkness, they cannot have a place with us, because they would deceive us.
(Harijan, 7th Jan 1939)
Q) Which is the right approach to missionary work?
A) Your ability is beyond doubt.... you should use this ability for a service that India would appreciate.... If you come to educate you should do that according to Indian standards. You should study with love our institutions and suggest modification. But you come here with pre-conceived ideas and try to destroy. ... I would like to ask for your scientific experience: your engineers and agriculturists to place their services at our disposal.
They should not come as bosses but as volunteers...
If you will do this kind of work with a religious spirit, you will spread the message of Jesus.
(Harijan, 12th Dec 1936)
Foreign missionaries would render a service to India if they limit themselves to humanitarian work, without the added incentive of converting to Christianity.... Independently from the missionaries and from ourselves, what is true in Hinduism will last and what is untrue will fall apart.
Each faith should have the power to rejuvenate itself if it wants to survive.
(Harijan, 28th Sept. 1935)
Q) Foreign missionaries come to speak of Christ to the people because they believe that he is the Son of God and reveals the knowledge of the truth. How would you compare Hinduism and Christianity?
A) If the foreign missionaries had refrained themselves from speaking about Christ to India and had tried to live the message of the Beatitudes, they would not have been looked upon with suspicion but appreciated for having come to live here. . . Regarding Hinduism I do not have anything to say. I do not believe one can speak about one’s faith to anybody, especially with the intention of converting him. Faith cannot be told; it should be experienced and then it spreads by itself.
(Young India, 20 Oct. 1927)
Jesus did not preach a new religion but a new life. He called men to repentance. He told: “Not the ones who say ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven but those who do the will of my Father in Heaven.”
(Harijan, 12 Jan. 1937)
Q) What do you expect from Christians in India?
A) “Let your life speak to us even as the rose needs no speech, but simply spreads its perfume. Even the blind who does not see the rose perceives its fragrance. That is the secret of the Gospel of the rose. . . Let us think of the bulk of your people who spread the perfume of their lives. That is to me the sole criterion. All I want them to do is to live Christian lives, not to annotate them. I have come to this view after laborious and prayerful search.” (Harijan, April 17, 1937)
DEEDS SPEAK
LOUDER THAN WORDS
Deeds speak louder than words. Here is the experience of Sr Josephine M.I.C., a participant of the 3rd Missionary Formation course at the Euntes Asian Centre.
“For a year I lived with two other sisters with a group of tribal Philipinos called Alangan Mangyans. Our main purpose was to respond to their request for a literacy programme for their tribe.
“We agreed that religion would not be involved.
“We lived a simple life-style in order to be closer to their way of life. As days passed, they asked us many questions: “‘Why did you come to live with us? Where are your husbands? Why do you prefer to live a poor life like us?”.
“I tried to answer them in a very simple way: ‘In my life I experienced how much my Lord Jesus loves me and so I want to share His life by living with you. If I had husband and children then I would not be able to come and live with you, like you. We are not rich, that’s why we live a poor life.’
“We continued our life with them, always starting our day with a prayer in the makeshift literacy room, where we conducted literacy classes for adults and children and we gave instructions on health and nutrition. Besides this, we assisted them in planting rice and joined them in their washing, fishing and recreation.
“One day, before starting our prayer, two men came to sit with us asking to be allowed to join our prayer. When asked why they wanted to do so, one of them replied: ‘We want to know more about your God and to thank him for sending you to us’. Immediately I changed our prayer into the language they understood and so we prayed together. After the Gospel reading, they asked me to explain it further.
“Afterwards, they too shared their reflections about it. I felt that the moment of explicit proclamation had come, as they felt the need. The following days our group grew in number and finally five full families joined us.
“With the Alangan Mangyans, our life seemed to them, at the beginning, like the life of a fool. Leaving our loved ones, choosing not to marry and living a life of poverty was something incomprehensible to them. But, in the long run, it opened their minds and hearts so much that they finally told us: ‘If your God loves you so much, then he loves us too’.”
Another simple and beautiful example is that of Miss Syvel Buhat of the Philippines, a participant in the 7th course of the Euntes.
“More than six years ago as a young woman who grew up in a poor family, my sole ambition was to work abroad, thinking that working abroad I could earn money easily to help my family, especially my mother who was very sick. Though I had a job at that time, my income was not enough to sustain our needs. Therefore, I went to Hong Kong in 1992 to work as a domestic helper to a Chinese family. As it was my first time to go abroad I was frightened and the only thing I had in my heart was to cling to the little faith I had.
“I was blessed to have good and kind hearted employers. They had 3 children of 12, 4 and 2 years of age. At first, I was afraid to put up an altar in my room, knowing that they were Buddhists but then, taking courage, I made a little altar. When they saw it they liked it, especially the eldest daughter. From that time my lady employer kept on asking me about my faith as a Catholic: why pray and say the rosary, read the Bible and why go to church every Sunday? Why don’t I go to the park or picnic since it is my holiday time to enjoy myself. I answered her that I enjoy more if I went to church and I need to pray for it is a source of strength.
“One night the eldest child, seeing me reading the Bible, asked me: ‘How is it Syvel, that until now you did not finish reading this brown book? You already finished reading many books but this book I saw you reading every night and yet you did not finish it.’ I told her that this book contains many stories about Jesus and I love to read them repeatedly. After some time her parents decided to send her to one of the Catholic schools run by the Canossian sisters.
“The second child was able to recite the ‘Angel of God’, which I asked him to pray every night. One night, he asked me why to pray Jesus? I answered him that it is Jesus who cares for children all over the world, which inspired him to pray every night. I believe that God sent me to this family to Evangelize through the way I live my faith, do my job, take care of the children and the way I relate to them.”
TO SUM UP
People today value experience and life rather than theories; want a message that should have meaning in their daily existence and struggles; want to see the example of authenticity and holiness.
The Church is called not merely to distribute Sacraments or hold on to a proclamation of a message but, without neglecting both, to be a true witnessing Church.
Only the lives of those who truly witness to Christ give meaning to the proclamation of the Word and to the Sacraments and make them understandable.
Committed Christians today are called to be large in vision and concern. The message of Jesus, as he proclaimed in Luke 4:18-19
“The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me. . .
He has sent me to bring good news to the poor,
To proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight,
To set the downtrodden free and to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.”
is for today and for all nations.
The basic Christian call to “love one another as I have loved you” has a global dimension. The words of the Indian poet and mystic Rabindranath Tagore apply for all of us:
“Leave this chanting and singing and telling of beads!
Whom do you worship in this lonely
and dark corner of a temple
with all doors shut?
Open your eyes and see your God is not before you!
He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground
and where the path maker is breaking stones.
He is with them in sun and in shower
and his garment is covered with dust.
Put off the holy mantle and even like him
come down on the dusty soil!
Deliverance? Where is this deliverance to be found?
Our master himself has joyfully taken upon himself
the bond of creation; he is bound with us all forever.
Come out or your meditations and leave aside
your flowers and incense!
What harm is there if your garments
become tattered and stained?
Meet him and stand by him in toil
and in sweat of your brow.”
— Geetanjali
Mission as a call to witness to the Gospel values is primarily to make it possible for any person of good will to experience Christ, through the living experience of his disciples, whose lives have already been transformed and filled with meaning and joy. Scripture gives us the best understanding of our theme:
Something that has existed since the beginning,
Which we have heard,
Which we have seen with our own eyes,
Which we have watched
And touched with our own hands,
The word of life—
This is our theme.
That life was made visible;
We saw it and are giving our testimony,
Declaring to you the eternal life
Which was present to the Father
And has been revealed to us.
We are declaring to you
What we have seen and heard,
So that you too may share our life.
Our life is shared with the Father
And with his Son Jesus Christ.
We are writing this to you so that your joy may be complete.
(1 Jn 1:1-4)
“Christ is the sign of communion, not of division and dissipation. Our faith in Jesus Christ as the fullest revelation of God possible for human beings (RM 6) is not so much a claim to be made at the expense of other religions but a mission, a commitment to live that revelation in our personal life. Thus our faith in the centrality of Jesus should not drive us to condemn others out of a sense of superiority but must move us to lose ourselves in service, to remind them (and ourselves) of the divine presence among human beings, to become conscious of the ‘God who dwells among us’ (Jn 1:14).
This type of mission is neither offensive nor distasteful to others. Our commitment to Christ does not involve that we save him from other religions or other saviours. Jesus Christ will take care of himself. What we are asked to do is to live his life, to follow him”. (Jacob Kavunkal,Ministry and Mission, Vidyajyoti Vol LVI, N. 12, pp 650-651)
PART II
HIGHLIGHTS FROM MY EXPERIENCE
Walking Side by Side
THE FIRST STEPS
My interest in the Third World and the Mission dates back to the years of my Medical College in Milan (Italy), where I graduated in 1966. That was the time when much was spoken about hunger and disease in the Third World (especially in Africa and India) and the need for human development.
I felt deeply touched by these problems and I started asking myself whether it was better to get personally involved rather than leading a comfortable and financially rewarding career as a cardiologist (I post-graduated in 1969).
I developed a friendship with a few missionaries of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) who further helped me to focus my life on love and service and link the work for development to evangelization.
It so happened that, after much thinking and praying, anxieties, sleepless nights and facing a stiff opposition from my family, I decided to make a choice purely based on faith: to dedicate my life and profession to the service of the poor in the Third World.
At the age of 35 I was sent to India, as a lay associate member to the PIME Society, along with some of the fathers who helped me mature in my missionary vocation.
THE IMPACT WITH INDIA
The impact of the contact with Indian society and culture made me change dramatically my way of life. Having to adjust to a new climate, language, culture, traditions, food (spicy!) and the experience of being part of a tiny Christian community in South India (Hyderabad city) surrounded by a Hindu and Muslim majority was very demanding on my body (I lost 8 kgs in a few months) and mind (babbling a new and difficult language at 35 was hurting my ego) but very enriching for my spirit.
Anyhow, I could overcome all the difficulties without much trauma, partly because that choice of life had been mine and I was prepared for the consequences and partly because the life around me was so new, beautiful and fascinating from many points of view: the warm and kind hospitality, the beauty and simplicity of the people, the joyful and colorful festivals and specially the spiritual approach to life of people of all faiths. Everything was so different from the West and in many ways very human and meaningful.
Of course, in due time I also discovered that every rose has its thorns, but nonetheless that was my honeymoon with India and I enjoyed it thoroughly!
I soon realized it was not going to be an infatuation but a life-long love affair.
A DISPENSARY FOR THE POOR
Among the many experiences of those first years in South India, one in particular comes back to my mind more often with joy and a sense of gratitude: that of a health structure, which was built through the effort and cooperation of many. A community based experience deeply rooted in faith.
Prestigious health institutions are not lacking in India and the Church runs many of them. Mostly started by religious congregations with foreign funds for helping the poor, they end up in becoming private clinics for the middle- upper class when the flow of foreign money stops and the management has to charge the patients high fees for their services. The poor have no other option but to queue up for hours in Municipal dispensaries and hospitals, often ill equipped and lacking basic facilities and medicines.
With these thoughts in mind, besides working in rural areas for a few days of the week in a development program run by the Diocese, I was looking out for someone with whom to find a new way of witnessing and serving the poor in the city in a way that does not become a barrier but a help in building up relationships with people of all faiths. The occasion presented itself when I encountered a group of college students and working youth from one parish. They wanted to revive a small dispensary, located in a dilapidated room donated by the parish, which had died long ago because of lack of interest in the community.
After analyzing the situation, we decided we wanted to help the poor to help themselves through a self-supporting health structure, close to the people and their needs, cheap and affordable even by the poorest among the poor.
A rapid survey conducted by the youth among slum dwellers and other poor people in the parish revealed that a structure of that kind was very much the need of the hour. Many people readily accepted to pay a small monthly membership fee per family which would have enabled them to get a free consultation anytime required and medical treatment, essential laboratory investigations and a specialist’s opinion, whenever needed, at nominal cost (or free of cost for those extremely poor).
In a few months 1000 families enrolled themselves in the dispensary which was reopened for 3 evenings a week.
The youth went around collecting samples of medicines from private practitioners, we engaged the free services of a few local doctors and specialists (I was working there as a cardiologist) and a few hospitals offered us discounted rates for investigations and consultations.
The response was so overwhelming that we soon had to keep the dispensary open every day during the week with a full-time MBBS doctor and specialists visiting in the evening.
With the regular income of the dispensary, we could put up a small clinical laboratory for the routine blood, urine and stool examinations and pay for a part time laboratory technician. We could also purchase essential drugs from the market.
A nearby convent offered the services of a religious sister (nurse). As the place had become totally inadequate for the increasing number of patients we decided to build a new small structure (4 rooms) on a piece of land donated by the parish, with funds donated in cash or kind by wealthy members of the community and small donations by poor people. A substantial donation came from a Muslim Charitable organization, through the good offices of the parish priest!
In one year, the structure was ready; the fruit of a community’s effort. It did not come up through foreign money, creating an impression of wealth and power, and perfectly responded to the needs of the local people.
My mission, in the early years, focused on the animation and empowerment of the laity. A friend who worked with them, not bossing over them.
INSTITUTIONALIZATION AND PROCLAMATION
Preoccupation with administration often diminishes the quality of Christian witness. Therefore, many Church Institutions appear to the public eye as centers of power, money and prestige. Institutionalization implies the danger that the personal, compassionate relationship of the missionary to the people is diminished. It also affects the image of the Church, which appears as a powerful organization with large resources of foreign funds, which are looked upon with suspicion.
“Dissatisfaction with the administrative style prevalent in the Institutional Church, with the concentration of power in the hierarchy and clergy and a lack of sufficient participation of the laity in the decision making process is growing. By and large it is a common observation that the greater the number of Church institutions in a given area the lesser the involvement in missionary activities and vice versa.”
(From the conclusions of the National Consultation on mission. CBCI commission for proclamation — Pune (India) January 1994)
Enriched by my previous experience, a few years later I went to Bombay to work for a voluntary organization, which operates largely in slum areas, municipal dispensaries and hospitals, with a minimum of visible structures, for the treatment and rehabilitation of leprosy patients, in close contact with their problems and sufferings.
.
EVANGELIZATION: A CONCRETE ACT OF LOVE
Particularly interesting and educative for me has been the experience in one of the largest and poorest slums of the metropolis. Faced with the problem of absenteeism from the leprosy clinics, run in the morning once a week, I realized that many patients (particularly males), being extremely poor, could not afford to lose their daily wages by coming to the clinic. They preferred to neglect their treatment rather than neglecting to feed their families. Therefore I decided to run a parallel clinic in the night, a more convenient time for the patients but less for me!.
I thought I would have faced many problems, as my staff could not come at that time to help, but to my surprise, (I am a man of little faith!), the local people came forward to help. Volunteers kept the place ready and tidy and helped in many ways. These were the smoothest clinics I ever ran.
The patients felt free to come forward not only with their medical problems but also with other difficulties and sorrows of their lives. The poor were again educating me on the fact that the deeper is the personal relationship with them trying to respond to their needs and problems, the more the community responds.
The questions, which sometimes people ask me, are “Why did you come here from your country to help us? Why did you come to stay with us?”
My identity as a Christian and a priest (I became a permanent member of P.I.M.E. and was ordained a priest 12 years after my coming to India) is well known to my staff and, through them, to my patients. To such questions, when asked, I do not hesitate to respond with my faith in my ‘guru’ and Lord Jesus Christ.
I felt encouraged to continue on this path when one night his mother brought a little child to me in the clinic, whom I never met before in that place. When I asked her for his name she told me: “His name is Jesus.” If even Jesus comes for treatment. . .
I read somewhere an intervention of Cardinal Sin of Manila at the Fourth Latin- American Missionary Congress in 1991, in which he affirmed, “Inter-religious dialogue, more than a theory, is a concrete act of love to Christ and humanity.” In other words, more than a mere intellectual exercise among monsignors of different religions, it is a matter of giving flesh and blood to concrete projects of love wherever human beings live in bondage, suffer and die (Mother Teresa teaches volumes!)
In India, the urban slum is such a place, a melting pot of religions, languages, cultures and traditions unique in its kind and therefore a congenial environment for dialogue and mission.
THE MISSIONARY AND THELOCAL CHURCH
Equally interesting and enriching has been, along the years, my experience of growing in and cooperating with the local Church.
“Mission is not bringing God to a place where he is not present, but helping people to discover and listen to God who is there, perhaps hidden, but who is calling them for a dialogue leading them to a fuller life. Only a local Church can best accomplish such mission. . . Each Church is on mission and is co-responsible for the mission all over the world. Therefore, instead of the more familiar concept of ‘foreign mission’ we will have to get accustomed to the concept of collaboration in mission. The local Church will welcome the ‘foreign missionary’ either because his/her help is needed or simply because he/she hears the call to go forth and be a sign of the catholicity of the Church. The foreign missionary on his/her part will acculturate himself/herself to the local Church in order to collaborate in his mission.”(M. Amaladoss, Mission Today, Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, 1989, page. 122)
Before my departure for India, I had the experience of working for the establishment and direction of the first Family Service Centre in my city. I found it therefore natural to extend my cooperation, whenever possible, to the Diocesan Family Service centre in Mumbai.
Faced with the problem of the high number of marriages breaking down, the Diocese has been engaged in an effort of prevention through counselling of couples before and after marriage, as well as through education of the youth to the realities of love and marriage, the values of family life, the civil and ecclesial implications and the sacredness of marriage.
For many years, I had the experience of counselling married couples, contributing in conducting marriage preparation courses and family life education programmes in schools, colleges and parishes.
The interaction with the director of the Centre and his team greatly enriched my experience and improved the quality of my cooperation.
The experience gained along the years resulted in the writing in a few books, which have also been translated in some Indian languages.
The first book was “Sex Education”, followed by “Preparing for Marriage”, “Planning a Happy Family” (Natural Family Planning), “Education to Love” and finally “Dear Youth Counsellor”.
LIFESTYLE OF THE MISSIONARY
Whatever the modality of evangelization (social uplift in the field of education or health, inter-religious dialogue, pastoral- spiritual approach, etc.) the missionary should possibly avoid assuming positions of command and managerial responsibility, particularly if he/she has to do so for a long time. Working with people of different background and culture, assuming such positions is often perceived as a desire to hold on to power over the ‘local’ people and lead to confrontation and misunderstanding.
As far as possible, the missionary should involve the local Christian community and its clergy in his activities and offer his contribution, when required, for the growth of the local Church. This implies that the missionary should be spiritually, culturally and professionally well prepared.
The use of money (especially foreign money!) should be very judicious and moderate in order to avoid the temptation of putting up (even with the best of intentions!) large and expensive structures which probably will never become self-sufficient and project an image of wealth and power on the Church.
A display of wealth would create greed among the poor and jealousy among other missionaries and in the local Church.
As the mission Asia is so difficult and challenging, missionaries should be open minded and courageous, always ready to try and experiment with new ways to witness and dialogue. The right path of the mission in Asia in the next millennium will slowly and painfully take shape from the experience, experimentation and even failures of many who took seriously the commandment of Jesus: “Go and proclaim the Good News”.
PART III
CHURCH AND MISSION
I: Vatican II
Decree on the Church’s Missionary
Activity - (AG) 1965
II: Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelli
Nuntiandi” (EN) of Pope Paul VI (1975)
III: Encyclical Letter “Redemptoris Missio” (RM)
of Pope John Paul II (December 1990)
IV: FABC - Before R.M.
After R.M.
We shall now turn to the authoritative teaching of the Second Vatican Council and of the Magisterium in order to understand the position of the Church regarding the priorities and methodology of its missionary work.
We must realize that in the 25 years from the closing of the Council to the promulgation of the Missionary Encyclical Redemptoris Missio of Pope John Paul II, a change in perspective has taken place, due to a deep concern of the Popes that the world wide vision of the Council was at times misunderstood and misinterpreted.
“Vatican II was the decisive event in the Church in the last century: a radical reflection on, and a re-orientation of the life and mission of the Church on the eve of a new millennium. Many new questions and serious problems are confronting us today. The Council, however, has not only tackled actual problems but opened a new vision of the Church and her mission in our world. This new vision is the frame in which also new problems must be faced.
Vatican II leads us back to Jesus‘vision and mission to be realized in our world; in accordance with this vision new emerging problems must be faced.
Jesus did not start another religion in addition to and in competition with other religions. He was a Jew and so were all his disciples . . . . . He lived and proclaimed a vision of human life and society which he called ‘Kingdom of God’ and entrusted this mission to his disciples. Lumen Gentium sums it up: “Christ poured out on his disciples the Spirit promised by the Father. Thenceforwards the Church. . . receives the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all nations the Kingdom of Christ and of God, and she is on earth the seed and the beginning of this Kingdom’ (LG 5).
Thus the Church is not God’s Kingdom but the medium to proclaim and establish it in human society in all its dimensions: spiritual, social, cultural, economic and political. To be able to fulfill this mission she must embody in herself its spirit as ‘seed and beginning’ of the Kingdom. Thus, the present need of the Church is not another Council, but that the orientation of Vatican II must guide us to face the ever new problems of our fast changing world.” (Joseph Neuner S.J.Vatican II — a Gift and a Task Pp 9-10) 2006.
AD GENTES
“The Conciliar Decree on Mission, Ad Gentes, gave for the first time in the Church’s history a theological basis to mission, bringing out the missionary nature of the Church and of the Christian vocation. Tracing mission in the ‘fountain-like’ love of God, Ad Gentes showed how mission, in its origin, is neither ecclesiological nor Christological, but Theological . . . . Ad Gentes defined mission as that activity whereby the heralds of the Gospel are sent by the Church to proclaim the Gospel and plant the Church among non-Christian regions (AG6) . . . What inspired this stress on the necessity of the Church for salvation was the request of the bishops form so-called mission countries. Their fear was that a reference to the possibility of salvation outside the Church, which the Council affirmed elsewhere, would endanger the cause of mission, as that would dampen the interest in mission in the home countries. . . . It is to the Pastoral Constitution of the Church, Gaudium et Spes(GS) that we must turn to find the Council’s description of the Church’s service to the world. . . In contrast to the normal practice of describing the human person beginning with the Christ event, GS starts off with humans created in God’s image (N. 12), emphasizing the goodness of humanity and of all creation with the underlying principle of communion and responsibility to creation” (adapted from Jacob Kavunkal,Vatican II — a Gift and a Task,pp 116 to 120) 2006.
I. AD GENTES (AG) 1965
UNIVERSAL PLAN OF GOD FOR SALVATION
I, 2 God in his great and merciful kindness freely creates us and graciously calls us to share in his life and glory.
Chapter II. The Missionary work of the Church should follow three progressive steps:
a) First is Christian Witness (No. 11-12)
All Christians, by the example of their lives and the witness of the word . . . have an obligation to manifest the new man which they put on in baptism...
In order to bear witness to Christ fruitfully, they should establish relationships of respect and love... and through the undertakings and affairs of human life they should share in their social and cultural life through sincere and patient dialogue.
Christian charity is extended to all without distinction of race, social condition or religion . . . especially with the poor and afflicted. . . .
Christians ... should apply themselves with special care to the education of children and young people....
The disciples of Christ, being in close contact with men through their life and work, hope to offer them an authentic Christian witness and work for their salvation, even in those places where they cannot preach Christ openly.
b) Second is preaching the Gospel and Assembling the people of God. . . . . in order that non-Christians ... might freely turn to the Lord. . . . . Conversion . . . . having been delivered from the power of darkness .. they are reborn to Christ in Baptism. (13) (14)
c) Third is forming the Christian Community (15) . . . . the Christian community will become a sign of God’s presence in the world.
Two Synods followed the Council, one in 1974 and the other in 1976, in which the theme of evangelization was developed.
Evangelli Nuntiandi, the Apostolic exhortation of Pope Paul VI following the 1974 Synod, described mission as a matter of “affecting and as it were upsetting, through the power of the Gospel, mankind’s criteria of judgment, determining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of life which are in contrast with the Word of God and the plan of salvation” (19).
II. EVANGELII NUNTIANDI (1975)
— Witness and Mission of Jesus (the first and greatest evangelizer)
How did Jesus evangelize?
1. “Christ first of all proclaims a kingdom, the Kingdom of God. . . everything else become “the rest” which is “given in addition”. Only the Kingdom “therefore is absolute.” (8)
2. As..... centre of his good News, Christ proclaims salvation..... which is liberation .... above all from sin and the Evil One. (9)
3. Christ accomplished this proclamation of the Kingdom of God through the untiring preaching...... (11)
4. But Christ also carries out this proclamation by innumerable signs. ..... : the sick are cured, water is changed into wine, bread is multiplied, the dead come back to life. And among all these signs there is one to which he attached great importance: the humble and the poor are evangelized. (12)
— Evangelizing activity of the Church (13-20)
— The content of evangelization
26) To evangelize is, in a simple and direct way, to proclaim the Good New of God revealed by Jesus Christ.....
(27) .... interplay of the Gospel and of man’s concrete life, both personal and social..... the rights and duties of every human being .... family life ... life in society .... international life, peace, justice and development ..... liberation.
(30) The Church.... has the duty to proclaim the liberation of millions of human beings.... the duty of assisting the birth of this liberation, of giving witness to it, of ensuring it is complete. This is not foreign to evangelization.
(34) Nevertheless she reaffirms the primacy of her spiritual vocation and refuses to replace the proclamation of the Kingdom by the proclamation of forms of human liberation. .... incomplete if she neglects to proclaim salvation in Jesus Christ.
— The methods of evangelization
(41) ... the first means of evangelization is the witness of an authentically Christian life ... Modern man listens more willingly to witness than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.... the witness of poverty and detachment, of freedom in the face of the powers of this world, in short, the witness of sanctity.
(46) ..... Side by side with the collective proclamation of the Gospel.... the person to person (form of transmission) remains valid and important.... In the long run, is there any other way of handing on the Gospel than by transmitting to another person one’s personal experience of faith?
(51) The Church carries out this first proclamation of Jesus Christ by a complex and diversified activity which is sometimes termed ‘Pre-evangelization’ but which is already evangelization in a true sense ..... An almost infinite range of means can be used for this purpose: explicit preaching of course, but also art, the scientific approach, philosophical research....
A deep concern
The mission documents of the Council were born in the midst of the joyful opening of the Church to the modern world: it is just this modern world which is in urgent need of the Gospel in its search for a meaning of human life.
The mission Decree Ad Gentes was born from this spirit. Therefore also the theological foundation of the Church’s mission is presented with the vision of God’s saving plan for all people “to dignify man with participation in his divine life” (AG 2). From this comprehensive vision the Decree proceeds to the realization of God’s plan in Jesus Christ “so that in the Son he might restore all things” (AG 3). The person of Jesus and his work are placed into the context of God’s all embracing love.
It was the deep concern already of Pope Paul VI (EN) and even more of Pope John Paul II, that the world-wide vision of the Council was, at times, misunderstood and misinterpreted. Beginning the exposition of our faith with God’s universal plan of salvation would include other religions also. In this way, the unique place of Jesus Christ might be lost. If God’s Kingdom includes also the concerns of our earthly life, the spiritual vigor of the Gospel might be somewhat lost. If the human conscience is the medium through which God’s will becomes binding for us, we may have people with their own belief and no longer feeling the urge to share the Gospel.
III. REDEMPTORIS MISSIO (RM)
DECEMBER, 1990
Introduction
New awareness that missionary activity is a matter for all Christians.... negative tendencies....missionary activity specially directed “to the nations” (Ad Gentes) appears to be waning.
Jesus Christ, the only Saviour
Some people wonder. “Is missionary work among non-Christians still relevant? Has it not been replaced by inter-religious dialogue? Is not human development an adequate goal of the Church’s mission? Does not respect for conscience and for freedom exclude all efforts at conversion? Is it not possible to attain salvation in any religion? Why then should there be missionary activity?” (4). If we go back to the beginning of the Church, we find a clear affirmation that Christ is the one Saviour of all, the only one able to reveal God and lead to God... . “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This statement, which was made to the Sanhedrin, has a universal value, since for all people — Jews and Gentiles alike — salvation can only come from Jesus Christ. (5)
The Kingdom of God
Nowadays the Kingdom is much spoken of , but not always in a way consonant with the thinking of the Church ...... The Kingdom tends to become something completely human and secularized..... There are also conceptions. .... ‘Kingdom-centered’. They stress the image of a Church which is not concerned about herself, but which is totally concerned with bearing witness to and serving the Kingdom.
These conceptions often reveal negative aspects ... First they are silent about Christ; the Kingdom of which they speak is ‘theocentrically’ based....
For the same reason they put great stress on the mystery of creation..... but they keep silent about the mystery of redemption....The Kingdom, as they understand it, ends up either leaving little room for the Church or undervaluing the Church.....
They consider the Church herself only as a sign, for that matter a sign not without ambiguity. (17)
The paths of mission
(90) The true missionary is the saint.
The call to mission derives, of its nature, from the call to holiness. A missionary is really such only if he commits himself to the way of holiness.
What is needed is the encouragement of a new “ardor for holiness” among missionaries and throughout the Christian community.
FROM THE COUNCIL TO RM : A CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE
The theological exposition of RM begins with the chapter on “Jesus Christ the only Saviour”. The centrality of Jesus’ person is the persistent concern of the document. The encyclical does not lose sight of the universality of God’s saving love, but the approach is different: the Council proceeds from the comprehensiveness of God’s saving love to its realization in Jesus Christ. The encyclical begins with the person of Jesus Christ in whom we find the full depth and breadth of human life and community.
Both approaches are legitimate, both have also their dangers. We have seen the dangers of the Council approach; however, one may ask whether it was necessary to change the presentation of the Council and to return to the approach of earlier theology: to begin with the person of Jesus, the only Saviour. This approach has its dangers too. For centuries the centrality of Christ has blinded many Christians to the treasures of wisdom and beauty bestowed by God on people of other cultures: it led many to a negative, often deeply offensive attitude towards other religions. It could bring about a sense of superiority in Christian nations, alien to the spirit of the Gospel.
We must be sensitive to the deep and near-universal trauma and distrust which these attitudes have created among non-Christians. Christians live today in a pluralistic society and must understand their faith in a perspective of Advent: we believers “who have received the first fruits of the spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons” (Rom 8 : 23)
We must live our faith in solidarity with the entire human family waiting for final salvation. Our faith, our message, consists in the assurance that this groaning for salvation has been answered by God in Jesus Christ.
If we live in solidarity with our world we may sense, with our brothers and sisters, the difficulty to understand the message of the “one mediator Jesus Christ” so that “no one can enter into communion with God except through the working of the Holy Spirit” (RM 5). Have their mystics not come close to God? …….The Council had been aware of the communion of Jesus Christ with the entire human family; at the same time it knew that the articulation of this relationship is beyond the reach of theology: “In a manner known to God the Holy Spirit offers to every man the possibility of being associated with the paschal mystery” (GS 22; RM 6).
Our question is pastoral: faith in Jesus Christ is the gift of God’s grace. We wish and pray that this gift becomes the life spring for many people who search God. How can this mystery of God’s love, coming to us in Jesus Christ, be offered to the modern world which no longer lives in a closed Christian atmosphere or has never known Christ? The Council has attempted to do this. RM found the approach too dangerous and returned to the earlier approach. Perhaps one could suggest that in the presentation of the Christian message to the modern world there could be closer collaboration with Churches which are struggling with the problems of a pluralistic society; we should never drift apart in an atmosphere of distrust and suspicion. We believe in the working of the Holy Spirit in all churches, especially in those which are still struggling and searching for the appropriate articulation of their faith in Jesus Christ”.
(Adapted from Mission Ad Gentes and in Redemptoris Missio J. Neuner, Vidyajyoti Vol 56, N 5, pp 238-241)
IV. FEDERATION OF ASIAN BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE (FABC)
The points that follow express the vision of the FABC on evangelization and Christian witness in Asia. The mission of the Church is clearly defined as: “the witness of Christians and Christian communities to the values of the Kingdom, a proclamation through Christ-like deeds.” Strong emphasis is placed on Spirituality and Prayer: “The overflowing manifestation of a deep spirituality and prayer life will itself have an evangelizing and witness value.”
After RM, the need is expressed of more dialogue within the Church itself (intra-religious dialogue), listening to the praxis of dialogue and evangelization of the Local Churches in Asia. It is advocated that theologians should be allowed more freedom to work with creativity on these problems.
FABC BEFORE RM
Second Plenary Assembly - 1978
20. The Christians and the Christian communities are made aware of God’s presence in and through prayer......
21. Authentic prayer has to engender in Christians a clear witness of service and charity, leading to the total gift of self to others... This self gift will be an eloquent witness to the presence of God in the world.... The overflowing manifestation of a deep spirituality and prayer life will itself have an evangelizing and witness value for others.
9. Like her Master and Lord Jesus Christ, a man of prayer, the Church must be in union with the Heavenly Father through continual prayer... She must be a praying.... worshipping ... serving community.... the servant Church.
10. In prayer the Church becomes a witness to the fullness of salvation in Christ.
11. The awareness of God’s presence in our prayer invites us to respond to His saving word in our everyday life by total self-gift... capable of creating a society of justice and love.
12. ..... Prayer has a value of witness, is recognized as meaningful to our life and becomes also a service to society.
Fifth plenary Assembly - July 1990
4.0 The mode of Mission in Asia.
4.1 Mission may find its greatest urgency in Asia: it also finds in our continent a distinctive mode. We affirm, together with others, that “the proclamation of Jesus Christ is the centre and primary element of evangelization.” But the proclamation of Jesus Christ in Asia means, first of all, the witness of Christians ... to the values of the Kingdom of God, a proclamation through Christ-like deeds.
For Christians in Asia, to proclaim Christ means above all to live like him, in the midst of our neighbors of other faiths and persuasions, and to do his deeds by the power of his grace. Proclamation through dialogue and deeds — this is the first call to the Churches in Asia.
4.3. But we shall not be timid when God opens the door for us to proclaim explicitly the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour....
SUMMARY VIEW OF THE FABC ON MISSION BEFORE RM
The mission of the Church is directed to the total situation ofAsia with all its challenges, with Jesus Christ as its motivating force. In such an understanding of mission, oral proclamation is not excluded, but it cannot be simply identified with mission. For the FABC there is a distinctive Asian mode of proclamation:
“The witness of Christians and of Christian communities to the value of the Kingdom of God, a proclamation through Christ-like deeds.”
These words are reminiscent of Gandhi’s words to the missionaries that, like the rose spreading its fragrance, it is their life and deeds which should proclaim the Gospel…
When evangelization takes place in this way, the fruits may not be immediately visible. It may take years and even centuries to assess the transformation which the life and message of Jesus and his vision of the Kingdom can bring about on the Asian soil. The future of evangelization seems to lie, by and large, along these lines. If there is something to complain about mission, it is not that there has not been enough oral proclamation but that one has not interacted with the Asian situation creatively enough.
Evangelization in Asia requires today a kenotic spirituality — a spirituality of renunciation and detachment that is very characteristic of the Asian tradition. Our spirituality needs to be a spirituality of the powerless, of the anawim. The Church is called upon to identify itself with the poor, the suffering and the oppressed.
This spirituality of the powerless has tremendous implications for the understanding of the praxis of mission.
Any work of mission which does not recognize what God has been doing with a people, with a country and continent and with their history, is simply and purely arrogance vis-a-vis God’s own bounteous gifts. Triumphalism and exclusivism of any kind are diametrically opposed to spirituality. They fail to recognize and appreciate the thousand flowers God has let grow, flourish and blossom in the garden of the World; they fail to acknowledge in practice the presence and working of the Spirit in the life and history of peoples. The spirituality of the powerless will make us learn from others even before we share with them our own experience and conversion.
(Adapted from Felix Wilfred, Fifth Plenary Assembly of FABC, Vidyajyoti Vol. 54 No 11. pp 588-590) 1990
FABC AFTER RM
.A plea for intra-religious dialogue.
a) Theological consultation of the evangelization office of FABC, (10 November 1991)
From the Conclusion
The documents of the Church from Vat II to the present times (RM, DA) have been a first prophetical attempt to formulate the crucial problem of the relationship between dialogue and proclamation. Nevertheless, they are not the last word.
As living the Truth comes before the formulation of the doctrine, the Churches inAsia should not wait for a theologically satisfactory answer before starting with determining the praxis of dialogue and proclamation.
It is in the systematic reflection on the existing praxis that we shall discover what God is telling the Churches. At the same time the theologians should be allowed the freedom to work with creativity on these problems, reflecting on the praxis of dialogue of the local Churches.
We are convinced that work speaks more than words. It is better to love than to preach on love, enter into a dialogue than write about it. Clearly both are necessary but love is the greatest gift, the only charism that will last till the end (1 Cor 13:13)
b) On the request of Archbishop H. De Souza of Calcutta (Secretary General of FABC) an article of Jacques Dupuis was published in September 1992 in Vidyajyothi, Vol 56, No. 9, pp 449-468
The motivation given by the Archbishop was: “In the light of several remarks about Asian theology, it may be helpful to advise your readers about the constant teaching of the Bishops of Asia and the FABC.” The paper analyses the teaching of the FABC with the papal documents.
Here are selected passages from the conclusion:
The recent encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio, ... while recognizing the “positive aspects” of the Reign of God perspective on mission, has drawn the attention to possible dangers and shortcomings....
The same encyclical considers the ‘inculturation’ of the Christian life and message a need which today is particularly urgent (52); it recognizes inter-religious dialogue as a “part” and an “expression” of the evangelizing mission of the Church (55), and the promotion of man and of all persons as “closely connected” with it (59). But it stresses “the central and irreplaceable role”, even “the permanent priority” of the proclamation of Jesus Christ (44).
The evidence put forward in these pages will have shown that the official documents of the FABC over the last two decades are on both counts in substantial agreement with the papal encyclical. There are, no doubt, between the one and the other, distinct shades of meaning and different emphasis... But these differences notwithstanding, the Reign of God perspective, which in recent years has received increased emphasis, has broadened and deepened the thrust of the FABC theology of mission. As for the “mission dialogue” with its threefold dimension (dialogue with religions, cultures and the poor), which the FABC documents have constantly stressed to be an urgent task of the Asian local Churches, it is affirmed, without prejudice to the irreplaceable role of proclamation of Christ in the Church’s evangelizing mission.
Pope Benedict XVI in the Encyclical letter DEUS CARITAS EST (34-35) writes:
My deep personal sharings in the needs and sufferings of others becomes a sharing of my very self with them: if my gift is not to prove a source of humiliation, I must give to others not only something that is my own ,but my very self; I must be personally present in my gift.
This proper way of serving others also lead to humility. The one who serves does not consider himself superior to the one served, however miserable his situation may be. Christ took the lowest place in the world –the Cross and by this radical humility he redeemed us and constantly comes to our aid. Those who are in position to help others will realize that in doing so they themselves receive help; being able to help others is no merit or achievement of their own. This duty is a grace. The more we do for others the more we understand and can appropriate the word of Christ : “we are useless servants”(Lk 17:10).
PART IV
CHURCH
AND
KINGDOM OF GOD
Evangelization in Contemporary
Asian Theological Reflection
CHURCH AND KINGDOM
In Redemptoris Missio (RM) and in the document ‘Dialogue and Proclamation’ (DP), a joint statement of the Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the distinction between Church and Kingdom of God is clearly made. Both documents assert that the Kingdom of God is a broader reality than the Church.
“RM and DP appear to be the first two documents of the recent central doctrinal authority to distinguish the pilgrim Church from the reality of the Reign of God in history; both documents profess that the Reign of God is a broader reality than the Church which is present and operative beyond her boundaries among the members of other religious traditions” (J. Dupuis Dialogue and Proclamation p. 150).
Equally significant is the fact that these documents not only clearly distinguish Church and Kingdom, recognizing that the one larger reality of the Kingdom cannot be encompassed by and contained within the Church, but the documents also unambiguously subordinate the Church to the Kingdom by affirming that the Church is meant to be a servant of the broader and more important Kingdom of God.
It is true that the Church is not an end unto herself, since she is ordered towards the Kingdom of God of which she is the seed, sign and instrument (RM 18). The Church is effectively and concretely at the service of the Kingdom (RM 20). The Church’s mission is to foster the “Kingdom of the Lord and his Christ” (Rev 11:15) at whose service she is placed (DP 35; see also 59).
Having admitted the distinction, both RM and DP are worried that this vision may lead to two pitfalls. The Kingdom-centered approach seems to stress the Kingdom to such a degree as to leave out the Church almost entirely. Additionally, in so doing, it forgets to bind the Kingdom to Jesus Christ. These are clearly the worries the Pope voices in his Encyclical (RM 17-18).
One may not separate the Kingdom from the Church. It is true that the Church is not an end unto herself, since she is ordered towards the Kingdom of God of which she is the seed, sign and instrument. Yet, while remaining distinct from Christ and the Kingdom, the Church is indissolubly united with both (RM 18).
The same concern is also echoed in the document DP:
The Kingdom is inseparable from the Church because both are inseparable from the person and work of Jesus himself... It is therefore not possible to separate the Church from the Kingdom as if the first belonged exclusively to the imperfect reality of history, while the second would be the perfect eschatological fulfillment of the divine plan of salvation (DP 34)
Some theologians worry that with such strong statements the Magisterium actually nullifies what it clearly stated in the beginning, namely that the Kingdom is a broader reality than the Church. By stating strongly that the Kingdom is intrinsically bound up with the Church, and that the Church is his chosen instrument for the Kingdom, the whole argument seems to go so far as to say that you cannot promote the Kingdom unless you also promote the Church. They see here a subtle return to an ecclesiocentric approach to the Kingdom, which makes it impossible to develop a Kingdom-centered understanding of the Church. The danger is that the universality of the Kingdom is reduced to the particularity of the Church once again.
“Since certain trends in liberation theology and in the theology of religions seemed to highlight the reality of the Kingdom at the expense of the Church and to distance themselves from the Church, the reaction (of the official Church) has taken the form of barring any access to the Kingdom except through the Church. Or, to put it in another way, instead of understanding the Church in relation to the mystery of the Kingdom, this trend wants to understand the Kingdom of God in terms of the Church, and indeed turn the Church itself into the Kingdom (F. Wilfred, “Once again... Church and Kingdom” Vidyajyoti, Vol 57, N 1, p 10, 1993).
As these theologians see it, if such a trend was to gain the upper hand in Catholic theology today, one of the most powerful sources for the renewal of the Church and its theology could be seriously stifled. Only if we maintain the distinction between Church and Kingdom can such a symbol once again become the religious symbol of our time. It provides us, on the one hand, with a way to relate to this world and its destiny productively and, on the other hand, with a way to enter into a more open and creative dialogue with other religious traditions and ideologies.
THE CHURCH, GOD’S KINGDOM AND
THE SALVATION OF NON-CHRISTIANS
(AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW POINT)
Other theologians argue that in the main documents of Vatican II the Church is described as being, by its very essence, the universal sign of salvation. The description, which holds a prominent place in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (LG 48), is quoted both in the Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity (AG 1) and in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (GS 45). When speaking of Sacrament, the Council means a symbolic reality established by Christ, a sign that contains and confers the grace it signifies. The Church, therefore, is not merely a cognitive sign, making known something that already exists, but an efficacious sign that brings about the redemption to which it points. Since the Church is seen as a universal sacrament, i.e., as “an instrument for the redemption of all” (LG 9), we must assume that the salvation of all human beings does in some way depend on the Church. The Church is involved in the salvation of all who are saved (LG 16). Whatever faith or belief people may confess, we must assume that the grace, which saves them, is in amysterious way linked to the Church. They are, in the words of the Council, through this grace ordered to the Church. That means the saving grace they receive outside the Church gives the recipients a positive inclination towards the Church, so that all who live by God’s grace are, in a certain sense, affiliated with the Church” (Dulles, “Vatican II and the Church’s purpose”, pp. 344-345).
SALVATION MEDIATED THROUGH
PRAYER AND INTERCESSIONS
OF THE CHURCH
The question that now arises is: does the Church simply save by being the reality towards which people are oriented or does she act deliberately to bring about the salvation of all people? The perception of the Church as “a universal instrument” of salvation (LG 1) suggests that the Church is actively at work in the salvific process; however, it does not explain by what activities the Church accomplishes this result.
Francis Sullivan puts the question this way: “In what way can the Church be said to exercise an instrumental role in the salvation of all those people who apparently have no contact with the Church?” Referring to the encyclical Mystici Corporisof Pius XII, the teaching of the council (Constitution on the Liturgy) (SC 83) and the Eucharistic prayers, Sullivan sees the Church mediating salvation to non-Christians through prayer and intercession. Accordingly, the Church — at least by means of intercessions, especially during the Eucharist —, prays and offers Christ’s sacrifice for the salvation of all people. Thus her intercessory mediation extends to all who are being saved.
On the basis of the teaching of the Council and the Eucharistic prayers, which reflect this teaching, we have sound reason for affirming that because of the Church’s role as priestly people, offering to the Father with Christ the High Priest the sacrifice from which grace of salvation flows to the whole world, the Church is rightly termed the universal sacrament of salvation in the sense that it plays an instrumental role in the salvation of every person who is saved (Sullivan, The Church to Believe in, p. 128).
The orientation of the Church towards the Kingdom is most beautifully revealed in the central act of worship, the celebration of the Eucharist. Mark’s account of the Last Supper closes with Jesus’ words “Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God” (Mk 14:25). Thus the Eucharist is situated within the context of the eschatological Kingdom. In his handing on of the story of the origins of the Lord’s Supper, Paul also clearly sees its celebration within an eschatological context: “For as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1Cor 11:26).
But the link between Church and Kingdom in the Eucharist is still more profound. It is with his blood that Jesus establishes the new Covenant (Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25), the divine order of eschatological grace for the whole humanity. Only by virtue of the universal efficacy of the blood of this Covenant (Mk 14:24) it is possible for human beings to be saved. In the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, the Church is clearly presented as belonging to his Kingdom; she celebrated this Covenant, established by the blood which, according to the Lucan account, is poured out “for us” (22:20). The eschatological benefits of salvation are intended “for us”, which must be understood as including those believers in Christ who are actually celebrating the Eucharist. However, these benefits do not extend to Christians alone: they reach out to all human beings whose salvation is ultimately guaranteed through the death and resurrection of Christ (Henn, The Church and the Kingdom of God p. 130).
EVANGELIZATION IN CONTEMPORARY
ASIAN THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION
Following Paul (Col 1:15-17; 20. Ef 1:3-10) and John (Jn 1:1-14) some Asian theologians see in Christ the Word that existed since the beginning, through whom all things were created, the light that illumines everyone in search of the truth. At the appointed time, the Word came among us (incarnation) to reveal the fullness of God’s truth and love in the mystery of Redemption.
This divine Word, coexistent with God, did not remain indifferent and aloof, or even hostile, to the human quest to find in God a meaning to life, but is mysteriously present also in other Religions, though marked by the weaknesses and limitations of human nature.
The world Religions are manifestations of the same divine Word, as part of the mysterious plan of God in history. The incarnation of the Word in Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation, which is now proclaimed and witnessed by the community of His disciples (the Church).
Therefore, the centrality of Christ for salvation, rather than an obstacle in the dialogue with non-Christians, should become a challenge for Christians to proclaim it through a witness of love, compassion and service, especially towards the poor and oppressed.
Building the kingdom
Christ and his Good News have influenced many Indian Leaders of other religions to work for socio-political, religio-cultural reform though they did not become Christians. We have here a clear case of the positive impact of Christ and his Good News which falls short of the building up of the Church (as a visible community), but which transforms the culture and history of a people through making present effectively in their midst the values of the Kingdom. Such a transformation can certainly be an aim of evangelization.....: “bringing the Good News into all the strata of humanity from within and making it new” (EN. 18).
We need not be afraid that a change of the focus of evangelization from the local Church to the Kingdom will lead us to ignore the local Church. Building up the local Church as a witness to and the servant of the kingdom will be an important and essential, though not an exclusive element of this new focus. The Gospel can hardly transform society unless it is effectively made present by a community—the Church—that is committed to and involved in the historical process. It is precisely this involvement, leading inevitably to the threefold dialogue with the cultures, the religions and the poor of Asia that will build up the Church, a truly local Church.
Building up the Kingdom is not simply building up the Church. The Church is not the Kingdom. In the power of the Spirit, God is building up his Kingdom also in other ways through other peoples unknown to us, but which we are called to discern in dialogue. But the Church is aware of being the visibility in history (sacrament) of Jesus, his life, death and resurrection. It is aware that this very sacramentality is calling it to become a local Church everywhere.
For the Church, to be is to proclaim, to witness, not only to the Kingdom in general, but also to the Kingdom as it continues in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and as it continues in the community of his disciples. This is why to be baptized is to be challenged to a mission and not just to be given an opportunity for salvation...
Taken out of this context of the Kingdom and the need to be an actively witnessing community, a call to baptism may become mere proselytism. On the other hand, to consciously refrain from calling people to discipleship and to witness is to proclaim an abstract, rootless, a-historical kingdom. A true witness always respects the freedom and mystery of the spirit who calls and the freedom and mystery of the person who responds...
Building up the Kingdom is a wider cosmic reality. In the power of the Spirit, all are called to it in various ways known to God alone. In this constructive task, some may be challenged more particularly by Jesus and his Gospel without, however, hearing the call to discipleship and community (e.g., Mahatma Gandhi). But one who has heard this call and who has responded in faith cannot witness to the Kingdom without witnessing to the community, the Church. One does not, however, identify them or make them coextensive, because one realizes that other believers are promoting the same Kingdom through their faith commitments. The demand to dialogue with them and to collaborate in building up the Kingdom does not in any way reduce the responsibility to witness to one’s faith.... A pluralistic context supposes not only respect for the identity and freedom of the other, but also loyalty to and affirmation of one’s own identity. Otherwise, the dialogue will be inauthentic.
Such a broadening of our vision and goal would free us to think and to plan many and more creative ways of proclaiming and realizing the Kingdom. It will make evangelization an unambiguously outward looking project. Inculturation, inter religious dialogue and liberation would acquire a new relevance and a more open thrust.
(Adapted from M. Amaladoss,Evangelization in Asia : A New Focus? Vidyajyoti, Vol. 51, No.1, pp 14-16, 1987)
Methodology
1. Just as the foundation and motivation for mission have changed, the methodology of doing mission also has to change. The Church in Asiacan no longer do mission as in the past.
Doing mission in the next millennium in Asia will have to shed all sense of superiority. It will be by way of humility, respect, dialogue and acceptance, sharing and communicating what is lived and experienced by the missioner.
Christian mission of the future will have to walk new paths of dialogue, of inculturation, of mutual enrichment, of shared God-experience and communicating the ‘Kingdom’ in Jesus Christ.
The Asian Church will have to become a praying Church if it is to turn crisis of mission into an opportunity for the growth of God’s ‘Kingdom’, God’s reign in the hearts of Asian peoples.
Christian mission is as much a matter of proclaiming as of silence and prayer. (Sebastian Karotemprel, Trends in Evangelization in Asia, Indian Missiological Review, Vol 11, No. 1, pp 11-12; 13-14, 1989)
2. Witnessing to the Gospel values by a transformed life and service to reveal God’s love in action to the people has become a major way of living the missionary commitment. With a change in mission theology, naturally a change in attitude and methods in the missionaries is evident.
Mission will become the overflow of this inner experience. God is building his Kingdom through us ... and through history (AG 9, 22).
(Augustine Kanjamala,Emerging Trends in Evangelization in India, Indian Missiological Review, Vol 11, No. 1, p 72 and 77, 1989)
3. History teaches that there is no best method in mission. The best component of any method is the missionary; without apostles there is no mission, no method. Evangelization is not a propaganda campaign but a witnessing experience and therefore its methodology is not mastered by learning tricks and props, but by following examples.
The method to be used today must be very sensitive to culture. Modern studies of folk-religion show that the existential aspect of religiosity is most responsible for the growth of a religion. And so, a common point all religious movements perceive is that people are more receptive when one shows goodness than when one teaches truth, they do not need so much convincing reasons as a healing presence. As an Asian theologian says, mission is a sharing in God’s vulnerability; because of love it is a divine ‘love-affair’ not a ‘truth-affair’. (Felipe Gomes, Mission: Lessons from the History of the Church, Indian Missiological Review, Vol 11, No. 1 pp 45-47, 1989)
4. In the past, mission theology had its deductive methodology which started ‘from above’. Today the mission theology is characterized by an inductive methodology starting ‘from below’. Today the starting point in theologizing is the consideration of the created cosmos, humanity, the current socio-political situation of the time and place and history. A change in emphasis also includes certain changes in the identity of the mission and in methods of evangelization. A Third World theology, a new phenomenon, is seen by some as a challenge and a threat to the traditional European theology. After a prolonged experience of confrontation, obstacles and failures, the major method of evangelization is now Christian witnessing. An authentic and radical following of the Gospel is itself a challenge both to missionaries and to the people among whom they live and work.
The appreciation shown for missionaries working with the poor is a clear sign that Christianity will continue to make special impact through its option for the poor. The international recognition and the awards bestowed upon Mother Teresa speak volumes for the orientation the mission should take. More and more missionaries will be working for the liberation and the humanization of the poor during the coming decades. At the same time, missionaries should become aware that too much action without proper reflection and contemplation might end up in frustration. (Augustine Kanjamala, The future of the Mission in the Hindi Belt, Vidyajyothi, vol. 56, N. 5,. pp 268, 1992)
5. In the midst of injustice and oppression condemning millions to a dehumanized existence, God, as we have experienced in Jesus Christ, is not thinking of the embellishments of the liturgy or the niceties of the doctrinal formulations, but the elimination of the inhuman conditions in which the poor are entrenched. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus tells us how the rich man ended up in hell due to his utter insensibility to the poor man at his doorstep (Lk 16:19ff). Theology must express itself in a humanology grappling with the human problems that we face today... When some of the Western Churches, especially in Europe, experience an alarming decline, manifested through the ever tapering percentage of church attendance, the Church in these places, as elsewhere, may have to leave the ivory towers of superiority and triumphalism, the armor of Goliath and vest itself, like David, with the simple vest of service and compassion, the fragrance of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 2:15).
(Jacob Kavunkal, Vatican II — a Gift and a Task, p. 127, 2006)
PART V
WITNESS
AND PROCLAMATION
Fragrance of the Same Rose
EVANGELIZATION : THEORY AND PRACTICE
The proclamation of Christ in Asia should keep into consideration:
A) The context of the Asian Societies (multi-cultural, multi-religious, massive poverty, etc.)
B) The problem of language and communication
A. The Context
In the largely de-Christianized Western societies, a spiritual vacuum has been created which cannot be filled in by consumerism, luxuries and sexual freedom. Yet the foundation and roots of those societies are undoubtedly Christian. The masterpieces of literature, art, architecture and music, etc., bear the mark of Christianity, but this is just like a shell, a coating around the inner spiritual vacuum. The most urgent task of the Church there is to bring back the faith in Christ where it belongs through an uncompromising and explicit proclamation of Christ.
In Eastern societies, such a spiritual vacuum does not exist (though the process of westernization, especially in large cities, may slowly bring it in). The great world religions are well established for centuries and do not show signs of being seriously in crisis. Christianity cannot be conceived as filling a spiritual vacuum but rather as a partner in an ongoing dialogue in the search of the truth.
If one starts with defining proclamation and dialogue, then the two are formally different with different objectives and methods and they can be put together only by subordinating one to the other or at the least, by putting them on parallel lines. But when we are living with other believers, such neat divisions are difficult to make. One does not proclaim at one moment and dialogue at the other.
Both proclamation (of Christ as the only Saviour) and dialogue(witness of life) become elements of one living relationship. They can be formally abstracted and analyzed but in life they are found together.
One’s proclamation is dialogical because even while announcing the Good News of Jesus Christ one has to take into account the activity of the Spirit in the other, the other’s liberty and life situation. One’s dialogue, when it reaches the point of mutual witness and challenge (prophecy), involves witnessing to one’s deep faith convictions, which is proclamation
In Asia, we do not think of proclamation or dialogue, or of one being detrimental to the other. We rather see them as dialectical poles in one complex experience of a relationship of life with other believers. We do not oppose the Reign of God to the Church. We rather see the goal of evangelization as the promotion of the Reign of God and of the Church as its sacrament and servant. We are not in an either/or scheme, but in a both/and one.
(Michael Amaladoss,Proclaiming the Gospel,Vidyajyoti. Vol 57, No. 1, Pp. 29-31; 1993)
Sensitivity to the context of multi-cultural and multi-religious societies in Asia should make us humble witnesses even in our proclamation, not only in imitation of Jesus who came with weakness and humility, but also because we are aware of our own weakness and unworthiness. We speak of inculturation, but we still have a foreign lifestyle and image; we claim to opt for the poor but our institutions seem to have inexhaustible resources; we appear as teachers and social workers rather than as sharers of a deep God experience.
In countries where religious fundamentalism and communalism are divisive forces, even leading to violent conflicts, people are sensitive to anything that might seem aggressive. This does not mean that we should not proclaim Jesus and his Good News, but that we should do so in a dialogical manner.
INTEGRAL EVANGELIZATION
Evangelization can be understood and practiced as integral only if we move, as Vatican II did, from looking on evangelization as Church extension to contemplating it as God’s own mission in the world, with which we are called to collaborate, in particular as disciples of Jesus. The Church’s mission has its origin in the mission of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In accordance with His plan for the whole universe, God “generously pours out, and never ceases to pour out, his divine goodness, so that He who is Creator of all things might at last become “all in all” (1 Cor 15:28). Salvation is not just individual, but social and cosmic and embraces all dimensions of the human (Rom 8). The mission of the Son and of the Spirit and the mission of the Church are in furtherance and at the service of this mission. God’s own mission is ongoing everywhere and at all times and embraces all aspects of reality, transforming them and leading them to the fullness that has been destined for them (Eph 1:10)
Jesus proclaimed the good news of liberation against the oppressive force of mammon. He sided with the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized, the sinners and the publicans. He challenged the love of power and money and a false and hypocritical religion. He presented the Church as a counter cultural movement.
Following Jesus, we have to engage in a conflict with mammon in our proclamation of the Gospel. In this struggle, the other religions are allies, not enemies. We seek to collaborate with them in the promotion of human and spiritual values and not to vanquish them. As John Paul II has said, what unites the different religions is deeper and more divine than what separates them.
A QUEST FOR HARMONY
Asian theologians project a vision of Harmony:
“The community of Christ’s disciples, as tiny minority amongst the teeming millions ofAsia, as a ‘little flock’ (pusillus grex), will never be able to do it alone. They are, with an open mind and a humble heart, to recognize in all sisters and brothers, of whatever faith conviction and cultures, fellow wayfarers to God’s Reign. It is through a triple dialogue with cultures, with religions and with the poor (FABC I), through a mutually enriching interchange in its various modes and at various levels, not the least in the dialogue of life with people of other faiths and religious traditions, that Asian Christianity is to strive for human and cosmic harmony in Jesus Christ.
(M. Amaladoss, Integral Evangelization : Presynodal Reflections, VidyaJyoti, Vol 61, No. 4 pp 230 - 232.)
“Mission should not appear as a crusade against other religions, with an aggressive proclamation and with claims of exclusivism, but it has to be an effective solidarity with the suffering. It is a participation in the brokenness of people, in their hopes, disappointments and anxieties. Instead of an imposing and dominating attitude, we should have the spirit of fellow-pilgrims. As we stand in common origin and common destiny with the rest of humankind (NA 1) in this pilgrimage of solidarity we manifest our God-experience in Jesus Christ. This in turn becomes an attraction, an invitation, a sharing in the form of story telling, leaving the decision to the listener. That is the type of proclamation that the modern world is ready to listen to.
Jesus was interested in people and their problems . He backed his preaching with deeds of compassion and acceptance. He promoted the Jubilee spirit of equality, sharing, participation and reconciliation. Similarly, we are invited to lay emphasis on God-experience and the living of the same experience. True, there in a danger that the God- experience can tend to remain on the vertical level. It is precisely here that Christianity can make its contribution: the true path to God is through neighbour. Thus, mission becomes a process of mutual complementarity and harmony(Ecclesia in Asia 6), which acknowledges the fact of religious pluralism and admits the possibility for the Church to be enriched by other religions. The people of Asia pride in their religious and cultural values, but they are open to mutual enrichment in the midst of the plurality of religions.
We require a greater sense for the individual. Modern massification of people tends to anonymity, leaving little room for the individual. As opposed to mass movements and mega projects, the Church must remind itself how Jesus‘ approach was personal, directed to the individual. The Church seeks this concern for the individual, laying its emphasis on the dignity of the person, created in the divine image and in covenantal relationship with God.” (Jacob Kavunkal, in “Vatican II — a Gift and a Task” p. 125, 2006)
A PROBLEM OF LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION
While in the West one tends to start with clear definitions—abstracted from reality—and then proceed to a logical explicitation of the thing defined, the Asians tend to start with their experiences and stay with the complexity that it often involves, though seeking for clarity and system in that complexity. This starting point makes their reflection not abstract, but context-sensitive. If the experiential base it not noted, this might easily seem relativistic. Thirdly, Asian reflection tends to be wholistic, not easily dichotomizing elements into an either/or scheme, but trying to hold things together into a complex, dialectic totality of both/ and in the pattern of the yin-yang.
We want to proclaim the specificity and uniqueness of Christ, but how to do this? How to make my partner in dialogue stay and listen to all that I want to say without offending him, making him feel inferior? We should find a language of proclamation that should not sound as an encounter between a superior and an inferior, between a rich and a poor partner: “Our faith is supernatural, yours is natural; ours is full truth, yours is partial; ours is the ordinary way of salvation, yours is extraordinary.”
Proclamation is much more than just repeating certain belief assertions of a particular religion overlooking the limits of the different faith languages involved, the limits of different visions of world, time and history.
The centrality of Christ in the history of our salvation is crucial in Christian faith. For the Christians, all is centered on the person of Christ, the Son of God. ,From Him, with Him and in Him we experience and perceive God’s loving plan of salvation for all mankind, the world, the cosmos. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end of everything and everyone.
The proclamation “Christ is the only Saviour” from this particular centralized view of world, time and history is all inclusive, because it embraces all the God experiences of humanity, drawing everything to Himself. But people who hear my faith proclamation from within another vision of reality, time and history may take offence to my assertion, labelling it as exclusive, arrogant and monopolistic.
What is meant to be all-inclusive sounds exclusive from another viewpoint. The problem, therefore, is one of communication.
A PILGRIMAGE LANGUAGE: SHARING THE JESUS EXPERIENCE
Perhaps we should switch over to a witnessing, pilgrimage language: who Christ is to me, to us.
WHO CHRIST IS : BELIEF, PROCLAMATION OF THE FULL TRUTH, COMPARISON WITH OTHER RELIGIONS (POSSIBLE CONFLICTS)
WHO CHRIST IS TO ME, TO US: WITNESS OF LIFE, PILGRIMAGE LANGUAGE, DIALOGUE AND RESPECT.
Unless and until a missionary has found his identity in and through his faith experience of Jesus Christ as Saviour and can say with St Paul that “I bear the marks of Jesus Christ on my body”, he will not have made a correct starting point in an evangelization understood as sharing Jesus Christ with others. His task consists exclusively of witnessing to Jesus of Nazareth and not of arguing out a case in his defense or in defense of any structure that seeks to enshrine Him, in the manner of an advocate in the court.
PART VI
EMERGING TRENDS IN EVANGELIZATION
ECCLESIA IN ASIA
Ecclesia in Asia (EA), the Apostolic Exhortation of 1999 after the Synod for Asia, begins with the realization of “a great challenge for evangelization (in Asia)....It is indeed a mystery why the Saviour of the world, born in Asia, has until now remained largely unknown to the people of the continent.”
(2). “According to the Synod Fathers, the difficulty (of proclaiming Jesus as the only Saviour) is compounded by the fact that is often perceived as foreign to Asia….An influence of the Western culture has been unavoidable in the history of evangelization…” (20). EA further stresses the need for inculturation of the Christian faith: “This engagement with cultures....has a special urgency today in the multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural situation of Asia where Christianity is still too often seen as foreign” (21).
In this situation and in this moment of history the Apostolic Exhortation continues with a call to the Church in Asia to “discern....the Spirit’s call to witness to Jesus the Saviour in new and effective ways” (18). In other words, the Church, in the third millennium, will have to accomplish her mission, in obedience to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, by discovering and experimenting ‘new’ and ‘effective’ ways in which the face of Jesus can be presented to the Asian people not in a ‘foreign’ but in an ‘Asian’ way by a truly inculturated local Church. The ‘mystery’ of the present situation calls for prophesy and a return to the simple ways of Jesus in proclaiming the Kingdom of God to the people of Asia. He is the first and greatest evangelizer.
In N. 20 the Pope proposes a pedagogy in presenting Christ as the only Saviour. There should be an ”Initial proclamation…The proclamation of Jesus Christ can most effectively be made by narrating his story, as the Gospels do….Discovering the new and surprising ways in which the face of Jesus might be presented in Asia….Subsequent catechesis…using stories, parables and symbols so characteristic of Asia’s methodology in teaching”. This is a call to the Church in Asia to be bold in pastoral research and experimentation.
THE PASCHAL MYSTERY AT THE HEART OF THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
Two months after the publication of Tertio Millennio Adveniente , speaking to the Sixth Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops` Conferences in Manila, Philippines, Pope John Paul II reminded the Bishops: ”If the Church in Asia is to fulfill its providential destiny, evangelization as the joyful, patient and progressive preaching of the saving Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ must be your absolute priority”.
Placing the Paschal Mystery at the heart of her Mission, as the early Church did, the Church of today is reminded that her new impact with the Asian reality has to start by presenting the image of a humble and praying community of disciples who follow a vulnerable and suffering Saviour. He achieved his triumph and glory through the Cross and God raised him from the dead in fulfillment of his promise of salvation. A rich, powerful and inward looking (mainly concerned with self-building) Church may be well organized and do excellent social work but will not be the evangelizing Church of Jesus Christ.
The First Asian Mission Congress, held in Thailand in October 2006, following the message of Ecclesia in Asia, affirms the need of evangelizing in Asia by “sharing the story of our life of faith”(Christian witness) and concludes with these words:” The Asian Mission Congress….has provided new perspectives for our task of dialoguing with the peoples (especially the poor), the religions and the cultures of Asia (cf. FABC V: 3.1.2.). The stories of Asia’s poor today (beggars, people living with AIDS, migrants and outcasts) must be read within Jesus` story and his Paschal Mystery.Asia’s many venerable religions may be seen within God’s universal design of salvation –that all would be saved (1 Tim 2:4)…..Mission means keeping the story of Jesus alive, forming community, showing compassion, befriending the “other”, carrying the Cross, witnessing to the living person of Jesus”.
Reading the story of Jesus and the Pascal Mystery in the suffering of the poor is possible only if the relationship with them is personal and compassionate, as Jesus did.
From the teachings of the Magisterium, the experience of the local Churches and the theological reflection, three main trends in Evangelization seem to emerge as a priority. From a courageous and prophetic application of these trends in her pastoral and evangelizing mission, the Church may joyfully “discover the new and surprising ways in which the face of Jesus might be presented in Asia” (20).
The first trend: WITNESSING TO THE LIVING PERSON OF JESUS
The second trend: THE OPTION FOR THE POOR
The third trend: SILENCE, CONTEMPLATION AND PRAYER


FIRST TREND
(WITNESSING TO THE LIVING PERSON OF JESUS)
Jesus, the humble carpenter from an insignificant village called Nazareth (“Can anything good come from that place?” Jn 1:46) was an itinerant prophet, inviting people to encounter God and his Kingdom through simple, down-to-earth stories (parables), his compassionate miracles of healing as well as through sharing his life (“Come and see...So they went with him and saw where he lived and spent the rest of the day with him”. Jn 1:39). His encounter with people and their needs was always personal.
“ He was close to the poor, the forgotten and the lowly, declaring that they were truly blessed, for God was with them……Touching the unclean and allowing them to touch him, he let them know the nearness of God. He wept for a dead friend, he welcomed children and he washed the feet of his disciples. Divine compassion had never been so immediately accessible: (EA 21).
Jesus substitutes the solemn rituality of the temple with simple human gestures of compassion, which liberate and transform the life of people. He is the new sacrament of the encounter with God.
“The ministry of Jesus himself clearly shows the value of personal contact, which requires that the evangelizer gets personally and deeply involved in the situation of the listener”. EA 58
In a Church which tends to get more and more institutionalized, the danger is that the personal and compassionate `touch` of Jesus, which his disciples (priests and religious in the first place) are supposed to use in approaching the poor and marginalized may be lost or reduced. Besides, these mighty structures and powerful institutions remain inaccessible to the lower classes and the marginalized. Institutionalization often reduces the personal relationship of the missionary with the people; it also affects the image of the Church, which appears as a powerful organization, rich with foreign funds that are looked upon with suspicion.
We speak of inculturation, but we still have a foreign lifestyle and image; we claim to opt for the poor but our institutions seem to have inexhaustible resources; we appear as teachers and social workers rather than as sharers of a deep God experience. In Asia people, now as at the time of Jesus, are more receptive to the one who shares goodness than to the one who teaches truth. A healing presence counts more than convincing reasons
“The institutions which were established primarily for the sake of catering to the needs of the downtrodden have now become business centers, fetching enormous amount of income to parishes, dioceses and religious congregations. They create an impression that the Church is aligned with the rich and the powerful rather than in solidarity with the poorest of the poor, offering its committed services to them. Moreover, these institutions always remain an obstacle to the prophetic mission that Jesus carried out for the liberation of the marginalized.
In this connection, the Asian bishops observe:
`The Churches should no longer be largely dependent upon their institutions wherever they are hindering their prophetic function. Often enough the Church is afraid to take a stand in defense of the poor because of a vested interest in her institutions. Like David, the Church cannot move, she is weighed down with the armour of Saul. We have to assume the consequences of the prophetic function of the Church, imitating Jesus himself. We need to create not powerful but flexible service structures. Thus we would free ourselves from the chains of money and power and experience evangelical freedom. We would become a self-reliant Church with a simple lifestyle`. (FABC Office of Evangelization, “Conclusions of the Theological Consultation” in FAPA, 1, 339.)”
(S. Devaraj, ` Dialogue with the Poor in the FABC Documents` VJTR 71 (2007) 658)
The evangelizing power of Christian witness
IN THE LIFE OF ASIA`S POOR
Serving as Director of Sarva Prema Welfare Society (SPWS) [Sarva means Universal and Prema means Love] in Andhra Pradesh (India), I have experienced the power of these trends in missionary activity. Working among the poorest of the poor for the medical treatment and socio-economic rehabilitation of patients affected by leprosy, TB, HIV/AIDS and for the health of poor children, I have experienced the evangelizing power of Christian witness and learnt the story of Jesus and the Pascal Mystery in their life.
The story of Jaya
(Reading the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus and of the Asia’s poor)
Jaya was a Hindu widow of 35 years of age, HIV positive and suffering from pulmonary TB. Her husband, who infected her with the AIDS virus, died of the same disease three years earlier, leaving her with 2 children. The elder son, aged 12 at that time, left the school and found a small job in order to support his debilitated mother and his younger brother. Due to the stigma attached to the disease, their neighbours were avoiding and rejecting them. Utter poverty, fear and humiliation marked their life.
[“He was despised and rejected by men” Is. 53; 2-3]
I met Jaya during a visit to assess the living conditions of our patients and to supervise the taking of anti TB drugs. The crumbling hut where she was living and her malnourishment and that of her children prompted us to start supplying food and to plan the construction of a small house. The elder son joined an Industrial Training Institute for learning a trade, while the younger son went to school with the help of a scholarship.
[“I was hungry…thirsty…I was naked…sick…in prison, and you came to visit me” Mt. 25: 35-36.]
Jaya was very happy and grateful for the unexpected help she was receiving, bur her health conditions were getting worse. She needed medical care and daily injections for which we got her admitted in a hospital specialized in the treatment of AIDS patients. After a few weeks she experienced an improvement of her conditions to the point that, on her own initiative, she started visiting a nearby Church to pray and she also got a copy of the Gospel in her language, which she started reading. After being discharged from the hospital, she could enjoy for a few months the comfort of her new home and the love of her children, but it did not last long: AIDS was at an advanced stage. She began loosing weight until finally she could not eat, drink or even speak. Jaya wanted to live but she was dying, without deserving it.
[“Father…let this cup pass away from me” Mk 14, 36]
I began visiting her every day to administer intravenous fluids and to give moral support to her children, as nobody else wanted to enter that house. Jaya was dying alone on her cross as Jesus did on his own.
[“My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” Mk 15; 34]
I noticed that whenever I entered her house she looked intensely at me and subsequently to her children. I understood she wanted to be reassured about their future. I promised her that I would take proper care of them. That very night she passed away, the book of the Gospel tightly grasped in her hands.
[“Jesus wept” Jn 11; 35, as He did at the death of Lazarus]
In the encounter with Jesus and in the life of her children Jaya experienced the hope of the Resurrection. When I went to her house on the next day to plan the disposal of the body I noticed some local leaders assembled and I came to know that she had given instruction that her body be buried (as Christians do) rather than cremated (as Hindus do). They agreed to her desire and allotted a small place for her burial.
I have no doubt that Jaya died a Christian, having received the baptism of desire. Her children regularly go to pray in the Church were their mother encountered Jesus.
The story of Mangamma
(The openness of non-Christians to Jesus’ compassion and forgiveness. How the poor evangelize the evangelizers)
Mangamma is a Hindu woman of 34 years of age. Leprosy has paralyzed and contracted both her hands and she cannot do any work. Abandoned by her husband as soon as she manifested the signs of the disease, she was left alone with her son. I found them in a slum of a city, begging and living in a miserable hut. As SPWS also deals with the rehabilitation of leprosy patients, we began the necessary treatment and an intensive course of physiotherapy in preparation for an intervention of reconstructive surgery. Mangamma expressed the desire of having a small home, which we built. She also expressed the desire that her son be sent to school; for this purpose a scholarship is regularly given to her.
One day, after a physiotherapy session, Mangamma turned toward us weeping and asked:” Why are you doing so much for me? Nobody ever took interest in my son and me. I thought there was no hope in our lives”. Before we could `proclaim` Jesus to her, she turned towards a picture of the Sacred Heart, touched it and looked intensely at the face of Jesus for a few moments. We all fell silent while a secret and sublime dialogue was taking place between them. Perhaps Jesus told her:
[“Woman, great is your faith” (Mt 15; 28) and granted her heart’s desires].
After a few months, Mangamma told us that her husband had come to see her with his second wife and their child and asked for temporary accommodation in case of need. I asked what her reaction had been to such a request (thinking she might have refused it) but she replied with a smile: “I have forgiven him, and now I am taking care of their son whenever they are far away for work”. I felt touched by such an example of generous forgiveness and told her that this was one of the most important teachings of Jesus. She was very happy.
[“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” (Mt 6; 12]
I realized that, as a Catholic priest, I read and preach the Gospel but sometimes do not practice it, while she, who is a non-Christian, had given me a powerful and unforgettable example of the Gospel in action.
The poor help the `conversion` of the evangelizers by living the Gospel in humility...

SECOND TREND
THE OPTION FOR THE POOR
(THE CHALLENGE: NOT DISPENSING BENEFITS BUT SHARING THE LIFE OF THE POOR)
“Solidarity with the poor becomes more credible if Christians themselves live simply, following the example of Jesus. Simplicity of life, deep faith and unfeigned love for all, especially the poor and the outcast, are luminous signs of the Gospel in action. The Synod fathers called on Asian Catholics to adopt a lifestyle consonant with the teaching of the Gospel, so that they better serve the Church’s mission and so that the Church herself may become a Church of the poor and for the poor” (EA 34).
A Gospel preached by the rich to the poor is not credible, even if accompanied by generous donations or putting up prestigious institutions, because it is perceived as an offer from a superior (who remains rich) to an inferior (who remains poor).In order to be relevant and effective, the Church is called not just to dispense benefits, but also to identify herself with the poor, the suffering and oppressed. The spirituality of the powerless has tremendous implications for the understanding of the praxis of mission in Asia. If we believe in a provident God (“Give us today our daily bread”) we should be able to approach the needs of the poor and empower them with viable and proportionate means. God will have a chance to do the rest. In this perspective, much we can learn from the experience of the Grameen Bank, founded by the 2006 Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh, in the field of micro credit.
Jesus was rich but made himself poor so that he could approach the needs of the people not as a rich benefactor who grants favours but as one of them, identifying himself with them.
The challenge, therefore, is not that of working among the poor (because financial resources are available) but that of sharing the life and struggles of the poor, which requires a change of mentality and attitudes. “The Church in Asia has a record of being with the poor. It has engaged in developmental activities of all kind like education, health and projects for economic betterment. However, can the Church claim to be poor? The Church-as-people in Asia is largely poor, but the Church-as-institution is certainly rich and seems to have, in the eyes of others, inexhaustible sources of income. One sometimes has the impression that the Church hesitates to be prophetic in order to protect its institutions or its sources of income. Can the Church claim to be for the poor, fighting on their side?” (M. Amaladoss, “Expectations from the Synod for Asia” VJTR 62 (1998) 149)
“Vatican II draws our attention to the fact that the Church in its saving mission should follow the example of Jesus who became poor for our sake. The Kenosis (self-emptying) of Jesus should be our model. Hence, the local Church, true to its vocation and mission, has to give up its reliance on material wealth. This is highly significant in the context of Asia, where voluntary poverty is considered to be a sign of true religiosity…..An important point to be noted in this connection is that the bishops have not come out with statements strongly condemning the growing tendency among some clergy and religious for leading an affluent lifestyle and siding with the rich and the powerful. …..It is important that they (too), as part of their efforts to build a Church of the poor, come forward to change their present living …style, comfort and securities. Thus the Church in Asia could become really a living and dynamic sign of the Kingdom of God for which the poor are anxiously and hopefully awaiting.” (S. Devaraj, “Dialogue with the Poor in the FABC Documents” VJTR 71 (2007) 662)

Pope Benedict XVI in the Encyclical letter DEUS CARITAS EST (34-35) writes:
My deep personal sharing in the needs and suffering of others become a sharing of my very self with them :if my gift is not to prove a source of humiliation ,I must give to others that is not only something that is my own, but my very self; I must be personally present in my gift. This proper way of serving others also leads to humility. The one who serves does not consider himself superior to the one served, however miserable his situation at the moment may be. Christ took the lowest place in world –the Cross—and by this radical humility he redeemed us and constantly comes to our aid. Those who are in position to help others will realize that in doing so they themselves receive help; being able to help others is no merit or achievement of their own. This duty is grace. The more we do for others, the more we understand and can appropriate words of Christ: “We are useless servants “(LK 17:10).
I came closer to the understanding of the real meaning of the option for the poor from the story of Ajay, given below.
The story of Ajay
(A meditation on the healing touch of Jesus. How the poor teach us the true meaning of `The option for the poor`)
Ajay is a Hindu teenager residing in a boarding school for poor children. During a health survey conducted by the staff of SPWS, we found him affected by a serious form of leprosy, fortunately still without deformities. We immediately started the necessary treatment, which Ajay took for one year.
“A leper came to Jesus and begged him…”If you are willing, you can make me clean”. Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean”. Mk 1; 40-41
Subsequently, he told us his painful story and revealed his deep inner wounds. Ajay, the only son of his parents, remembers his alcoholic, violent father, who used to come home drunk in the night, beat, and abuse him and his mother. One night, when he was about 8 year old, his father poured Kerosene over his wife and burnt her to death.
“With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last” Mk 15; 37
Ajay painfully remembers that terrible event which changed his life. After committing the crime, his father ran away and never came back. Ajay was now alone. When, the next day, the neighbours came around commenting and shouting, Ajay remembers that only one person was looking at him with compassion and weeping for him: a poor Catholic woman, mother of five children. Without hesitation, she took him in her home; one more mouth to feed.
“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother….Dear woman, here is your son….Here is your mother” Jn 19; 25-27
Knowing poverty and helplessness, she reached out with true Christian love to the pain of this child. This has helped me understand the meaning of `option for the poor`.
After a few years, as she could not pay for his education, she succeeded in getting him admitted free of cost in a boarding school. There we found him.
I continue to take personal care of Ajay and his education. I meet him regularly and give him a feeling of security and belonging. He tells me:” You are my family”. He expressed the desire to be baptized and now is a fervent Christian, studying in a degree College.
The story of Praveen and his family
(The kingdom of God is among you)
Jesus came to proclaim the Good News to the poor and that, in Him, the Kingdom of God is at hand. Significantly, Jesus added: “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed….For behold, the kingdom of God is among you” (Lk 17; 20-21)
I came to understand the meaning of these words of Jesus on the coming of the Kingdom of God and the praxis of inter-religious dialogue, based on sharing of life, while dealing with a child named Praveen and his family.
Praveen is a 12 year old boy living with his mother and 3 younger brothers in an urban slum. Leprosy has paralyzed and contracted his left hand. His father died one year ago in a train accident and now his mother is alone to take care of the family. Working on daily wages, she does not earn enough to feed and educate her children. Besides, the hut were they were living was in danger of collapsing. Their neighbours were concerned, but they could not do much as they too were very poor.
During a follow up visit of SPWS to our leprosy patients, we came to know about this painful situation and we decided to help. A small house was planned for them and a scholarship given to the two elder children, to guarantee their education and an income to the family.
When the construction of the house was in progress, I went to supervise the work. As I arrived, many of Praveen’s neighbours came around to watch and comment. I felt touched when I overheard this conversation among some of them:” What are they doing?”The reply was: “They are doing the work of God!”
While leaving the place, a large group of people followed me. I thought they wanted some help for their families so I turned back and asked: “What do you want?” There was no reply, except that an old woman, who came first, took my right hand and placed it over her head. All those who followed, of different religions and caste, did the same in silence.
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Lk 6; 20)
They wanted to share the blessing of God’s love. The poor remind us that the Kingdom of God is really and powerfully in us and among us whenever God’s love is experienced. They do not need learned explanations but Jesus` compassionate presence.
THIRD TREND
(SILENCE, CONTEMPLATION AND PRAYER)
“In the evangelization of Asia, the priority of silence, contemplation and prayer have not been given due importance. The evangelizing manifestation of a deep spirituality and prayer life will itself have an evangelizing effect and witness value. Faith spreads by itself if imbued with humble, compassionate service and deep spirituality” (EA 23)
This is what Mahatma Gandhi called: the secret of the Gospel of the rose.
Reflection and experience point in the direction of Christian witness of prayer, service and compassion, sometimes a silent witness, a person to person communication of faith, as the best method of evangelization in Asia. “In the long run, is there any other way of handing on the Gospel than by transmitting to another person one’s personal experience of faith?” (EN 46). The Pope continues:
“Let us now consider the very persons of the evangelizers. It is often said nowadays that the present century thirsts for authenticity. Especially in regard to young people it is said that they have a horror of the artificial or false and that they are searching above all for truth and honesty. ...... Either tacitly or aloud — but always forcefully — we are being asked: Do you live what you believe? Do you practice what you preach? The witness of life has become more than ever an essential condition for real effectiveness in preaching.
The world, which, paradoxically, despite innumerable signs of the denial of God is nevertheless searching for Him in unexpected ways ... the world, is calling for evangelizers to speak to it of a God whom the evangelists themselves should know and be familiar with as if they could see the invisible. The world calls and expects from us simplicity of life, the spirit of prayer, charity towards all, especially towards the lowly and the poor, obedience and humility, detachment and self-sacrifice. Without the mark of holiness, our world will have difficulty in touching the heart of modern man. It risks being vain and sterile”. (EN 76)
Pope Benedict XVI in the Encyclical letter DEUS CARITAS EST (36-37) writes:
Prayer, as a means of drawing ever new strength from Christ, is concretely and urgently needed. People who pray are not wasting their time, even though the situation appears desperate and seems for action alone. Piety does not undermine the struggle against the poverty of our neighbour, however extreme. In the example of blessed Teresa of Calcutta we have a clear illustration of the fact that time devoted to God in prayer not only does not detract from effective and loving service to our neighbour but is in fact the inexhaustible source of that service. In her letter for Lent 1996, Blessed Teresa wrote to her lay co-workers “we need this deep connection with God in our daily life. Now we can obtain it? By prayer”.
It is the time to reaffirm the importance of prayer in the face of the activism and the growing secularism of many Christians engaged in charitable work. Clear.
In my experience, silence and prayer play an important part in ministering among my poor patients, particularly those affected by HIV/AIDS, as the following story will highlight.
The story of Suresh
(The parable of the prodigal son (Lk 15; 11-32) in the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India. The role of silence and prayer)
I found Suresh one evening on a platform of a busy railway station. A heap of skin and bones crouched near a food stall looking for some leftovers and some alms. An advanced form of AIDS and pulmonary TB affected him.
Suresh is a Hindu boy of 20 years of age. For the last eight years he was living as a street boy in various places in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
The staff of SPWS got him admitted in an AIDS Care Centre for urgent treatment.
I began meeting him regularly, sitting at his bedside, praying in silence, as he was too weak to talk. Suresh was always sad and depressed. One day he told me:” Father, help me. I have forgotten how to smile”. Eventually, he confided his painful story
.
When he was 12 year old, his parents parted ways. His mother left the family and went to live with another man, while his father took another woman. The elder brother of Suresh managed to get along with the new situation, while Suresh, more independent and mischievous, could not get along with his stepmother. Quarrels and beatings became the order of the day until he could not bear it any longer and, one night, after stealing some money from the house, he ran away, never to return.
“After a few day, the younger son….left home with the money” Lk 15; 13.
Along with other street children, he began a life of wild freedom, stealing and begging, mostly at railway stations. A few years later, someone introduced him to sex with prostitutes and he contracted the HIV virus. .
“He went …far away and he wasted his money in reckless living”( Lk 15; 13)
Because of his weakened immunity, he became victim to the TB infection. He was prescribed treatment for TB, which he neglected. When we met him, death was not far away.
We started monitored the regular taking of TB and anti retroviral treatment for AIDS. One day, feeling better, he told me:” Now I can smile again. Father, please teach me to pray”. I promised to do so and pointed to a picture of Jesus the Divine Mercy stuck on the wall behind his bed. He told me he had noticed it and wanted to know more about Him. Suresh began learning about Jesus and prayer. He was surprised and happy of the great consolation and peace he experienced.
In moments of prayer, Suresh began remembering his father and expressed the desire to see him and, if possible, go back to his village.
“At last he came to his senses and said…I will get up and go to my father” Lk 15; 17-18
We managed to trace his father in a village and informed him about his son. His father went immediately to meet him, hugged and kissed him, tears rolling down his cheeks.
“…when his father saw him his heart was filled with pity…threw his arms around his son and kissed him” Lk 15; 20
The elder brother of Suresh did not want to see him, as he had become a disgrace for the family.
“The older brother was so angry that he would not go into the house” Lk 15; 28
Suresh spoke for a long time with his father, who explained to him that his return to the village was impossible. Some people came to know about this disease and, due to ignorance and superstition, were afraid of the infection. They would not allow him and his family to live there.
He assured Suresh that he never lost a place in his heart and he will come frequently to meet him and help him. He also promised to convince his elder brother to come to him.
“Your brother was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found” Lk 15; 32
Suresh understood the situation. It was enough for him to know he still had a place in his father’s heart.
Unfortunately, in spite of the treatment, his health condition deteriorated further and he came close to death. On the day of his death, I received his last words: “Father, let me go. I am going home”. He was ready and willing to go and meet Jesus in God’s Kingdom.
Beyond social work
These experiences have convinced me that the best method of evangelization is a humble and loving presence, sharing the problems and sufferings of the poor, as Jesus did. The poor want that we speak and listen to them and be close as friends. They perceive that God is present wherever there is love, compassion and sharing of life, at personal cost. In this way, the kingdom of God can be experienced among us.
Even in an institutional set up, the disciples of Jesus should never fail to apply his `touch` in dealing with the pain and suffering of the poor, lest they fail to witness and evangelize. If this does happen, the institution may even become a counter-witness.
In this connection, the words of Pope Benedict XVI in the Encyclical letter DEUS CARITAS EST (31, a) are enlightening:
While professional competence is a fundamental requirement, it is not itself sufficient .We are dealing with human beings, and human beings always need something more than technically proper care. They need humanity. They need heartfelt concern. Those who work for church’s charitable organizations must be distinguished by the fact that they do not merely meet the needs of the moment, but they dedicate themselves to others with heartfelt concern, enabling them to experience the richness of their humanity. Consequently ,in addition to their necessary professional training ,these charity workers need a “formation of the heart”:they need to be led to that encounter with god in Christ which awakens their love and opens their spirits to other .As a result ,love of neighbor will no longer be for them a commandment imposed ,so to speak ,from without ,but a consequence deriving from their faith, a faith which becomes active through love(cf Gal 5:6).
Again at the point 33, the Pope writes:
With regard to personnel who carry out the church’s charitable activity on the practical level, the essential has already been said: they must not be inspired by ideologies aimed at improving the world, but should rather be guided by the faith, which works through love (cf Gal 5:6). Consequently, more than anything, they must be persons moved by Christ’s love, persons whose hearts Christ has conquered with his love, awakening within them a love of neighbour. The criterion inspiring their act should be Saint Paul’s statement in the Second letter to the Corinthians:”the love of Christ urges us on” (5:14). The consciousness that ,in Christ, God has given himself for us, even unto death, must inspire us to live no longer for ourselves but for him, and with him, for others.

IN CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we can say that the final coming of the Kingdom does not depend on our successful missionary efforts or clever Church strategies; it remains God’s work. Our task is to witness to its presence, faithfully and untiringly, especially among the poor, the outcast, the helpless and hopeless in this world.
When Mother Teresa was asked how she could face the overwhelming odds against her work in Calcutta, where the people she cared for were just a tiny fraction of those dying in the streets, she replied: “The good Lord did not send me into the streets of Calcutta in order to be successful in what I do, but to be faithful in witnessing to his love present in the midst of human suffering.”
These beautiful words of Mother Teresa should help give a direction to our missionary work and help us correct our ways when, out of human weakness and timidity, we fail to be faithful.
To be a faithful witness of Jesus in Asia in the third millennium, the Church will have to shed all sense of superiority and move among the people in humility, respect and dialogue. She should be ready not only to teach but also to learn from a closer relationship with the poor and other experiences of faith. Mission is sharing a divine ‘love-affair’ not just proclaiming a one sided ‘truth affair’. The right path of mission in Asia will slowly and painfully take shape from the experience, trials and prayers of individuals and communities who have taken seriously the commandment of Jesus to go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News (Mk 16:15).
THE PRAYER OF A MISSIONARY
Lord, you asked for my hands
That you might use them for your purpose,
I gave them for a moment, then withdrew them
For the work was hard.
You asked for my mouth
To speak against injustice.
I gave you a whisper that I might not be accused
of being a rebel and a troublemaker.
You asked for my eyes
to see the pain of poverty.
I closed them for their sight was disturbing me
and I could not sleep.
You asked for my life
that you might use it for your purpose.
I gave you a small part
that I might not get too involved.
Lord, forgive my calculated efforts to serve you
only when it is convenient for me to do so,
only in those places where it is safe to do so
and only with those who make it easy to do so.
Lord, forgive me,
renew me
send me out
as a usable instrument
that I might take seriously
the meaning of your Cross.
ANNEX I
A REPRESENTATION
OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
IN EVANGELIZATION
Vatican II confirmed the presence of the life of grace not only among Catholic faithful, but also among non-Catholic Christians (UR 3) and the non-Christians who sincerely seek God and those who have not yet come to the knowledge of him (LG 16).
The teaching that grace is available to all people of any faith and culture makes it clear that the Church has no monopoly over God’s grace and his Kingdom. The leaders of the Church do not own or control grace. Describing the old, institutional model of the Church, Avery Dulles points out: “The pope and the bishops, assisted by priests and deacons, are described somewhat as if they were engineers opening and shutting the valves of grace.”
Rejecting such a view, Vatican II has declared that God freely bestows his grace on all people according to his will.
ANNEX II
ASIAN BISHOPS SPEAK
AT THE ASIAN SYNOD
ASIAN CATHOLICS DO NOT WANT A WESTERN CATHOLICISM
The Catholic faith will not be intelligible or attractive to the peoples of Asia if it continues to be a carbon copy of the Catholic Church in the West, said Taiwan Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-Hsi.
Outlining the topics for the Synod of Bishops for Asia, Cardinal Shan said that the Church’s mission of love and service must begin with “a genuine regard and respect for all the peoples of Asia, their religions and cultures”.
The mission of Jesus Christ is to give the fullness of life to all peoples, he said. But most Asians will not appreciate the message unless they see how it fits into their already deep cultural and religious values.
Asia is home to nearly all the great religions of the world, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, he said.
If the Catholic Church truly believes that the Spirit of God is at work in the world, Cardinal Shan said, then it must “recognize the profound rays of truth and grace” present in other religions and be a living witness to “the fullness of revelation in Jesus Christ”.
Through dialogue, the Catholic Church will discover the values it shares with other religions and philosophies. For example, the centrality of the will of God with Islam, with Hindus the practice of meditation, contemplation, renunciation of one’s will and the spirit of non-violence, with Buddhists detachment and compassion; with Confucianism filial piety , with Taoists, simplicity and humility; and with traditional religion, reverence and respect for nature.
Presenting Jesus Christ as the unique and universal Saviour is problematic in a context permeated by great religions; “it requires of everyone time and patience,” he said.
“The inculturation of Christology in Asia is an urgent need, but it cannot be done at the expense of the integrity of Christian faith,” he said.
“Integrity of faith, however, does not mean that we cannot present Jesus Christ by initially emphasizing those aspects which are more appealing to Asians, then complementing them with further doctrinal points.” Cardinal Shan said.
Missionaries in Asia, he said, must keep in mind the cultural context that places much more emphasis on an experience of the divine than on intellectual explanations and doctrinal formulations.
An essential part of the Church’s mission, he said, is witnessing to the personal transformation that comes with conversion to Christ, especially as seen in solidarity with the poor and defense of the human rights of all.
“While in full union with the universal Church, we are to become Asian in our way of thinking, living and sharing our own Christ experience... with those still seeking the face of God in his Son, the Saviour of all.”
“In concrete, this means proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ, above all by living like him, amidst our neighbours of other faiths, and particularly with the poor, as Jesus did.”
“It means proclaiming the Gospel not so much in words, but through respect, dialogue, empathy, deeds and shared life, in keeping with the Asian appreciation of compassion and harmony,” the Taiwan cardinal said.
A GRADUAL FAITH JOURNEY,
NOT A MENTAL INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIANITY
Evangelization in Asia will be based more on personal witness than words, with greater leeway given to local Churches and less uniformity imposed by the Vatican.
Archbishop Leo J. Lkenaga of Osaka, Japan was the first to address the Synod, and he told the 252 participants that evangelization in Asia had taken only “a few small steps” over the centuries. Baptisms are few, he said, and more importantly, Christian thinking has not entered into the mainstream of Asian Society.
One reason is that Western Christianity, nurtured in Europe, has been preaching too masculine a God and emphasizing a division between God and the universe, he said. The Asian Church needs to stress the more “maternal traits” of God, so that Christianity can take on “a warmer, more approachable face,” he said. Archbishop Lkenaga said that while the Church traditionally preaches dogma and the catechism, Asians would be receptive to the more “practical” approach which Jesus himself took ... such as healing the sick.
Bishop Bernard T. Oshikawa of Naha, Japan told the synod: “the norm for Christian life, for Church discipline, for liturgical expression and theological orthodoxy continues to be that of the Western Church. That may be good for the West, he said, but for places like Japan it unfortunately becomes a very effective block to pastoral development.
“In spite of the valiant efforts of both local and foreign agents of the Gospel, the ingrained Westernization of the language of our theology, the rhythm and structure of our liturgies and the programmes of our catechesis fail to touch the hearts of those who come searching,” he said. He recommended that in evangelizing, the Church use the model of a gradual faith journey, not a “mental ‘Introduction to Christianity’, as is often the case.” This should take place under the guidance of Asian bishops, making sure that “no imposition of any kind hinders the work of the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Bishop Oshikawa said this approach also implies a re-defined role for the Holy See, which should mediate Church affairs with prudence, flexibility, trust and courage, he said. “This will mean moving away from a single and uniform abstract norm that stifles genuine spirituality, moving towards truly Asian liturgical expressions, earnest Asian theological search and real growth in maturity,” he said.
Bishop Augustinus J. Nomura of Nagoya, Japan said the Church ought to present Christ to Asian people as a “Spiritual master”, as a guide who becomes the way. The Church needs a spirituality that is rooted in Asia and emphasizes witnessing over teaching, he said. “A Gospel that is embodied in our own lives carries much more credibility and power of conviction than a Gospel that has only been wrapped up in beautiful words, teachings and moral injunctions,” he said.
According to Cardinal Peter S. Shirayanagi of Tokyo, many Christians in Asia have failed to identify with their own people. “The main reason why Christianity has been viewed as alien is because the local Churches in the countries of Asia have, by and large, kept themselves aloof from the mainstream of the life the people, their history, struggle and dreams,” he said. He said one promising development has been an inter-religious “dialogue of action” on social issues, nourished by theological and spiritual exchanges.
Vietnamese Bishop Paul Nguyen Van Hoa of Nha Trang said that, while the Church holds that Christ is the unique Saviour, “it seems to us that an exclusive Christo-centrism is not capable of explaining the positive contribution of other founders of religions to the spiritual life of humanity and does not favour the atmosphere of dialogue between religions.”
Cardinal Dario Castillon Hoyos, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy, offered a different perspective. Speaking of formation programmes for priests and other pastoral workers, he said the Church must emphasize the “awareness of the absolute necessity of Jesus Christ, the unique Saviour” and the missionary nature of the Church’s work. He warned of the spread of syncretism, of the mixing of religious beliefs, which he said was undermining basic Church doctrines, and proposed that the widespread distribution of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” was one good remedy.
Cardinal D. Simon Lourdusamy and Archbishop Henry S.D’ Souza spoke on related themes. Cardinal Lourdusamy, a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples said that if Christianity is to take root in Asia, it must be inculturated and meaningful to local people. “The Gospel cannot be proclaimed in a vacuum. Being the Word of Life, it addresses real life situations” such as poverty, disease, injustice, oppression of women and abuse of the environment, he said.
Archbishop D’Souza of Calcutta held up the late Mother Teresa as a model for this kind of faith in action and said that social witness..... not just in charity activities but in social analysis as well ... could become a powerful means of evangelization in Asia.
INCULTURATION
In about 160 addresses delivered in the Synod Hall, inculturation was the theme given most space: as a search for effective methods of evangelization and human development, as a sign of a Church open to the culture and traditions of the Asian people and their problems. Some, the Japanese Bishops in particular, said a Church that is still too Western hampers inculturation. Others said inculturation has already taken place but it is hindered because of restrictions imposed on individual Churches, a question raised by the Oriental Churches.
The Churches of the Middle East shared their experience of co-existence with an Islamic majority, at times aggressive. The Churches of Oriental Rite in India lamented the Image of the Church, often one of power and strength, competency and human efficiency, where the power of the Spirit is not experienced. For the Church to become appealing to Asians it must empty itself, return to the Source; this means more freedom in order to grow in a manner suited and appealing to the local people. This would facilitate the growth of the Church and the evangelization of Asia.
The prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, Cardinal Achille Silvestrini listed four main areas in which the Oriental Churches “may offer their gifts to the younger Churches of Asia,” along the lines of theInstrumentum Laboris: ascetic and contemplative spirituality, Episcopal collegiality, and ecumenism. He also voiced an invitation to promote dialogue of charity.
An important aspect, which emerged from the reports, was dialogue with the other religions. The problem of an aggressive Islam was also raised. Bishops Joseph Coutos of Hyderabad, Pakistan said. Islam is creating and will continue to create more difficult situations for the Church in Asia. While Communism is waning, Islam is waxing strong and spreading in Asia. While continuing to dialogue with Islam with Christian love and understanding, we should not fail to speak out and condemn the rising tide of an intolerant, militant and oppressive Islam that is making many Asian Churches suffer.”
Regarding the dialogue with religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, it appears to be less difficult. Bishops Joseph Vianney Fernando of Kandy, Sri Lanka, called for more contemplation: “Despite all the social activities in caring for the poor in the Asian continent, the Church does not seem to be making headway in her mission of evangelization. Asian people are deeply religious; Asia is thirsting for God. It admires men and women who have a deep spirituality and are touched by the divine. Therefore, what we needed today is a reorientation of our discipleship of the Lord Jesus in our mission context. Missionhas to flow from prayer and contemplation.”
The same opinion was expressed by Bishop Matthias U Shwe, president of the Myanmar Catholic Bishops’ Conference, when he said that he hoped that after the Synod there will be more formation efforts in spirituality and prayer that will blend together the best of Western and Asian ways of praying. Many Synodal fathers spoke about prayer and contemplative life.
However, it does not mean renouncing the important task of human promotion. More than one speaker highlighted that in Asia, where hundreds of millions of human beings live in sub-human conditions, the model of the Church must be that of the early Christian community, where everyone shared and no one was in need. Many voices were raised about the need to support and care for minorities such as tribal peoples, to give attention to the poor, to the role of the family in societies rapidly changing in values, to addressing the situation of women, of children, of migrant workers, their hopes, concerns and exploitation.
These are the thousand faces of Asia, which the Church seeks to serve, and to whom to show the face of Christ.
ANNEX III
MARTYRDOM IN INDIA
The Call of the New Millennium
For Christians in India, the writing is on the wall: Martyrdom. Not the Martyrdom of old that witnessed to the right to proclaim Christianity, but a new martyrdom that witnesses to the right to live Christianity.
The persecutions have begun and are escalating: Sisters Sylvia and Priya murdered in Mumbai while looking after a shelter for street children, Fr A.T. Thomas beheaded in Hazaribagh, Bihar, for the role he played in helping Harijans (‘untouchables’) to recover a piece of land unjustly grabbed by the higher castes; Sr Rani Maria dragged out of a bus and brutally stabbed in Madhya Pradesh because of her efforts to uplift the poor tribals and liberate them from the clutches of moneylenders; Fr Christudas, Vice Principal and Hostel Superintendent of a school in Dumka, Bihar, stripped by the police and handed back naked to a violent mob to be brutalized in the presence of civic officials; two nuns raped in Gujarat . The list is long. Sixteen cases of murder and fifteen of manhandling and brutalization in the last decade, including more than forty-eight victims.
Much has been written in the Catholic press about these atrocities, and the answer to the “why” is complex: disturbance of the rural power structure which is based on poverty, illiteracy and inequity; political manipulation of communal tensions and tribal animosities, sadly sometimes even within the Church. What I find more disturbing, however, is that in every crime (bar one) no action has been taken, and the culprits roam free, protected by the silence of the majority. Even human rights activists have opted out. When approached in the cases of Fr Christudas, Fr A.T. Thomas and Sr Rani Maria, they brushed the crimes off as the assault/murders of missionaries.
So what is it that makes missionaries different, I wonder. I asked my Hindu husband and other Hindu friends, educated, perceptive adults — and I was shocked at the anger I uncovered. They just don’t see Christians as Indians. They see us as alien ‘others’, minions of a white, Christian World that is synonymous with spiritual and racial chauvinism. Our cathedrals, our culture, and our worship set us apart. Having our headquarters in Rome does not help either.
The red flag, however, is conversion. It takes up old hurts of a colonial religion that not only cut off a people from their rich spiritual heritage and destroyed their cultural roots, but created pseudo-western Indians that looked down on the “natives” and their “superstitious, idol-worshipping” religion. Besides, the average Hindu is unaware of the Indian Church’s attempts at inculturation and inter-religious dialogue. They hear only, loud and clear, our proclamation: “Jesus Christ the one and only Saviour” of the world, which put them on the defensive and may even negate any opening for dialogue.
The tragedy is that the missionaries who are being targeted are the victims of a Church policy to which they do not subscribe. All they want is to love and serve the poor, and they are willing to pay the ultimate price: their lives, truly following in the Master’s footsteps. “Conversion is not an issue for us,” says Fr Sopena S.J. “All our centers oppose it. It would be immoral and unethical to directly or indirectly try to entice tribals. We concentrate on testimony by deeds, primarily by our own lives, the way we deal with them, the words we speak.”.....Unfortunately, such missionaries are caught between the Truth they experience in their relationship with believers of other religions, and the public image of the Church dictated by authorities who, more often than not, live in an isolated, monocultural reality.
The power mongers know well how to exploit the situations. Despite proof to the contrary, missionaries are accused of making ‘rice’ Christians — luring poor tribals into Christianity with material benefits. This is the battle cry of Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] MP, Dilip Singh Judev. In Ambikapur, Madhya Pradesh, he has initiated the Ghar Vapasi [Homecoming] movement allegedly to reconvert Christian tribals to Hinduism. The originally nature worshipping tribals, ignorant of their history, fall easy prey to his manipulations. Those who resist become victims of violence, their houses destroyed, their property looted.
Judev’s movement is part of a larger, well-orchestrated strategy against Christians propagated by the Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological core of the BJP. Incidents have been reported in Bareilly, Punjab and Latur. In Baroda, a group of activists from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its youth wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, disrupted a four days Ishu Mahotsav (Jesus celebrations) with arson, violence and shouts of “Vande Mataram, Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Jai Shri Ram, Garv se kaho hum Hindu hai’’(Hail Motherland, Hail Mother India, Hail Lord Rama, say it with pride that we are Hindu).Just over a month ago the VHP and the Bajrang Dal, both RSS outfits, made public their plans to train Hindu youth in the martial arts so that they could check the activities of the “enemies’’ of their religion and culture. In Meghalaya, the BJP plans to construct 250 new temples with a view “to stop the tempest of Christianity and putting an end to conversion into the Christian fold.’’ In a bid to change the Christian majority state into a Hindu majority, 40,000 Hindu Nepalese have been settled in the state. The BJP strategy is chillingly summed up by B.P. Acharya, secretary of the BJP, Guwahati,Assam, in a letter to BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister of India. “We have achieved our avowed object of piercing Trishul (the trident of Lord Shiva) in the chest of the so called ‘Lord’ Christ.”
It is a cause for much pain. To be hated so intensely by our own. To have to defend our right to be called Indian. Lisbert D’Souza, Jesuit Provincial of India, echoes the anguish of many: “Why, I ask myself, are such things happening with such frequency in the last few years? Does the dedicated service the Church personnel offer in such difficult circumstances to so many, especially the poor and the non persons in Indian society, count for nothing?... Why do our own seem unable or unwilling to stand by us? Why do so many influential people, so grateful for the education we offer and so gracious at the personal level, disappear when the chips are down?”
There are no easy answers, and perhaps not enough time to search for the right ones. BJP’s election manifesto proclaimed: “There is one nation, one people and one culture. Sri Ram lies at the core of Indian consciousness.” Fortunately, the true core of Hinduism,Sarva Dharma Sambhav, equal respect for all religions, is still alive. By refusing to give the BJP a clear majority, the Indian people indicated their rejection of its ‘Hindutva’ agenda. Already its alliance partners have forced it to drop some of its more controversial programmes, including the abolition of the National Minorities Commission and amendment of Article 30 of the Constitution which safeguards the rights of minorities to establish their own educational and other institutions.
In the end, if the memory of the Christian martyrs of our times is to have any meaning, then as S. Arokiasamy, Editor, Vidyajyoti, points out, we have “to be prepared to stand for the values and the cause the martyrs stood for, and for the people they stood with, and pay our price.” And the best way to begin perhaps, is to listen to prophetic voices within the Indian Church.
Echoes of these voices were heard in the recently held Synod of Asian Bishops in Rome (April to May 1998). While evaluating the Church’s limited impact in Asia, the working paper (Instrumentum laboris) based on the local responses to the lineamenta, asked. ....”might there be a lack of proper understanding of Asian religions, their inherent values and strengths, their centuries-old teachings, their inner power of self-renewal as well as a reluctance to adopt methods which were suited to the Asian mentality?” Attention was also drawn to the “historically sensitive issues as colonialism, the padroado, inculturation of the Gospel and reaction to a perceived Westernization”.
In a move to address these lacunae, “the new evangelization is called upon to consider not simply the content of the Gospel message, but those to whom it is directed.” Thus, as we move into the third millennium, “the Church in Asia is called upon to enter a triple dialogue: a dialogue with the cultures of Asia, a dialogue with the religions of Asia and a dialogue with the peoples of Asia, especially the poor” (Message of the Synod for Asia). Such a dialogue may not stop the fundamentalists, nor stem the flow of the blood of our martyrs, but it will bring us closer to the Reign of God and the Asian harmony, that is not just a matter of living in peace, but “a creative and dynamic force in relationships”.
And so, as we offer to believers of other faiths our Christian values of reconciliation and peace, obedience to God’s will, the sacred dignity of each person, the love and service of neighbour and the value of suffering, let us also be open to the centrality of the will of God and the prayerfulness of Islam, the practice of meditation, renunciation of one’s will, openness to the infinitude of the Divine and the spirit of non-violence of the Hindus; detachment and compassion of the Buddhists; and the reverence and respect for nature of the traditional religions. They too are a manifestation of the spirit at work in the world.
(DR ASTRID LOBO GAJIWALA)
“The Examiner” July 18, 1998
On September 2, 1997 Fr Christudas, vice-principal of a school in a town in Bihar, was stripped naked and made to walk through the streets of the town by a cheering, merciless mob. On the way he was beaten and his hair was cut off. No one came to his aid. He was refused bail and kept in prison without a proper warrant or a proper trial.
While in prison, he wrote the following verses:
The first fatal blow from my foes
broke open my head.
Blood poured out and ran down my body
I appeared all over, red.
“Jesus” was the word I uttered loud,
they laughed in anger
and mocked and pronounced every curse
I could bear no longer.
My heart chanted His Holy Name
and pleaded for grace.
Possessed by a ‘multitude’ they jumped
and spat on my face.
And in their frenzy stripped me naked,
clipped off my hair,
with chappals old, me they garlanded.
Why a deal so unfair?
No answer did my heart receive.
I was in pain.
The administrative forces, too
joined in the madness
and enjoyed their gain.
Looked I for some human help.
No heart, no hands.
Ah, they kicked, punched and felled me
down on the sand.
“Lord,” I cried “give me thy hands
Help me to rise.”
I knew for sure that Jesus my Lord
me will not despise.
He accompanied me in my passion
and kept me strong.
My body they tortured but to the spirit
could do no wrong.
Jesus, my Master, with his mantle of love
covered my shame,
shared my agony and bore my pain,
great is his Name.
My tongue shall praise and sing
to Him a new song
and my soul for Jesus alone
forever will long.