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CHURCH TEACHING
The Church document “Ad Gentes” gives us more insights into the Church’s
mission and how it is to be done. In these two sections of the document, we are instructed
about living as missionaries in present society, as mentioned in numbers 11 and 12.

11. The Church must be present in these groups through her children, who dwell among
them or are sent to them. For all Christians, wherever they live, are bound to show forth,
by the example of their lives and by the witness of the word, that new man put on at
baptism and that power of the Holy Spirit by which they have been strengthened at
Confirmation. Thus other men, observing their good works, can glorify the Father (cf. Matt.
ES:16) and perceive more fully the real meaning of human life and the universal bond of
the community of humankind.

So that they may be able to bear more fruitful witness to Christ, let them be joined to
those men by esteem and love; let them acknowledge themselves to be members of the
group of men among whom they live; let them share in cultural and social life by the
various. Undertakings and enterprises of human living; let them be familiar with their
national and religious traditions; let them gladly and reverently lay bare the seeds of the
Word which lie hidden among their fellows. At the same time, however, let them look to
the: profound changes which are taking place among nations and let them exert
themselves to keep modern man, intent as he is on the science and technology of
today's world, from becoming a stranger to things divine; instead, let them awaken in
him a yearning for that truth and: a charity which God has revealed. Even as Christ
Himself searched the hearts of men, and led them to divine light, so also His disciples,
profoundly penetrated by the Spirit of Christ, should show the people among whom they
live, and should converse with them, that they may learn by sincere and patient dialogue
what treasures a generous God has distributed among the nations of the earth. But at
the same time, let them try to furbish these treasures, set them free, and bring them under
the dominion of God, their Savior.

12. The presence of the Christian faithful in these human groups should be inspired by
that charity with which God has loved us and with which He wills that we should love one
another (cf. 1 John 4:11). Christian charity extends to all, without distinction of race,
creed, or social condition: it looks for neither gain nor gratitude. For as God loved us with
an unselfish love, so also the faithful should in their charity care for the human person
himself, loving him with the same affection with which God sought out man. Just as Christ,
then, went about all the towns and villages, curing every kind of disease and infirmity as
a sign that the kingdom of God had come (cf. Matt. 9:35ff; Acts 10:38), so also the
Church, through her children, is one with men of every condition, especially with the poor
and the afflicted. For them, she gladly spends and is spent (cf. 2 Cor. 12:15), sharing their
joys and sorrows, knowing of their longings and problems, and suffering with them in
death's anxieties. To those in quest of peace, she wishes to answer in fraternal dialogue,
bearing them the peace and the light of the Gospel.
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Let Christians labor and collaborate with others in rightly regulating the affairs of social
and economic life. With special care, let them devote themselves to the education of
children and young people by employing different kinds of schools, which should be
considered not only as the most excellent means of forming and developing Christian
youth, but also as a valuable public service, especially in the developing nations, working
toward the uplifting of human dignity, and better living conditions. Furthermore, let them
participate in the strivings of those who, waging war on famine, ignorance, and disease,
struggle to better their way of life and secure peace in the world. In this activity, the
faithful should be eager to offer prudent aid to public and private organizations
sponsored by governments, various Christian communities, and even by non - Christian
religions.

However, the Church has no desire to intrude itself into the government of the earthly
city. It claims no other authority than that of ministering to men with the help of God in a
spirit of charity and faithful service (cf. Matt. 20:26; 23:11).

Closely united with men in their life and work, Christ's disciples hope to render others
faithful witness of Christ and work for their salvation, even where they cannot announce
Christ fully. They are not seeking material progress and prosperity for men but are
promoting their dignity and brotherly union, teaching those religious and moral truths
which Christ illuminated with His light. In this way, they gradually open up a fuller
approach to God. Thus, they help men attain salvation by love for God and neighbor,
and the mystery of Christ begins to shine forth, in which there appears the new man,
created according to God (cf. Eph. 4:24), which the charity of God is revealed (Luzbetak,
2015).

The development in the understanding of mission in the Church can be seen in the
emphasis given to the missionary activity (Redemptoris Missio, 1990).

A. Emphasis on the missionary schedule at the beginning of the Church

In your experience, you might have seen some of the ideas of mission related to
the text above at work among Christian missionary individuals or groups. During the early
days of Christianity and up to the present, missionaries are sent to other places to convert
people to the Christian faith. Paul of Tarsus (also known as Saint Paul), a convert to
Christianity, became the greatest missionary of his time. He went from one place to
another within the Roman Empire, preaching about Jesus and starting new Christian
communities.

B. Emphasis on the Church’s understanding of mission after Paul

For many religious groups that started very small, like Christianity, and faced a lot
of opposition from the very beginning, there was the need to grow fast in terms of
membership. It was necessary in ancient times, especially when size required continuing
existence. The bigger the group, the greater the chance for survival. Small groups die
naturally for lack of membership to make their tradition live. So it was that at the
beginning of Christianity as a community separate from Judaism, there was a stress on
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missionary conversion, as can be deduced from the accounts of the New Testament,
especially in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Letters of Paul.

That situation the Church found itself brought about particular ways of
understanding mission, one of which is what missiologists today describe as eccleo-
centric. This word means “Church-centered.” An eccleo-centric view of mission
emphasizes the idea that mission belongs to the Church. This idea implies the following:

1. You have to be a member of the Church to do the mission. Since mission belongs
to the Church, doing mission is appropriately the work of Church leaders and members,
not outsiders.

2. Doing mission is equivalent to converting others to become members of the

Church. The number of converts, indicated by baptismal records, was an essential gauge
of the mission's success.

3. Such an understanding of mission sometimes resulted in insensitive attitudes

towards indigenous views and practices in mission territories that were sometimes seen
as inferior to or against the missionaries' culture's practices and way of life.

The limited ecceleo-centric view of mission has shifted to a broader one that
missiologists call theocentric, literally God-centered. A theocentric view of mission affirms
the following:

1. The source of the Church’s mission is God's work in redeeming all human beings,
including the rest of creation. God always takes the initiative to reach out to all peoples
and cultures. God calls people to him in a relationship of love. The call is honored by
human beings when their loving relationship with God shapes their relationship with
others.

2. For Christians, the embodiment of God’s mission of redemption is concretized in

the person and ministry of Jesus. When asked, “How do we do mission?” we answer by
pointing to how Jesus lived his life.

The core spirit that shaped the life of Jesus and how he related with others is
compassion. He felt for other people. He had a passion for others; he thought and acted
in solidarity with them, especially with the marginalized and the suffering.

3. The successful doing, or more fittingly, living the mission requires dependence
on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In the Gospels, Jesus and the disciples always asked
for the inspiration, guidance, and strength of God’s Spirit before starting a significant
undertaking. In the rest of the New Testament books, the followers of Jesus continued
with this practice.

4. The Church participates in the mission of redemption, helping make the

kingdom of God a reality in society. As the Church does not own the mission, it always
has to discern as a community the will of God in every concrete situation. As the Gospel
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says, the Church has to “read the signs of the times,” which implies that the Church must
understand the situation properly and respond accordingly.

5. In the theocentric view of mission, understanding the different cultures where

the mission is lived is necessary. Culture is an essential facet of being human. It is the
product of the human community’s struggle to create meaning. Hence, missionaries
must consider this truth and learn to appreciate the many good things in culture while
striving to help transform cultural elements that may not be life-giving.

Read the following missionary story. Here is the guide question: What elements of
the theocentric view of mission can you see in the story?

Interview With Former Superior-General of African Missions (One of the greatest

missionary stories, 2010).

Africa has often been called the forgotten continent. With the visits of Popes John Paul II
and Benedict XVI, however, Africa is becoming better known among the faithful as the
home of one of the fastest-growing Catholic populations in the world. For the Society for
African Missions, Africa is anything but forgotten. This group has been working on the
continent for more than 150 years. To learn about these missionaries and their work in
Africa, the television program "Where God Weeps" of the Catholic Radio and Television
Network (CRTN), in cooperation with Aid to the Church in Need, spoke with Bishop Kieran
O’Reilly. Bishop O’Reilly was ordained bishop of Killaloe, Ireland, just last August; before
this appointment, he served for almost ten years as the superior-general for the Society
of African Missions.

Q: Africa has seen an explosion of Catholicism from 1.2 million faithful in 1900 to over 140
million today. To what would you attribute this explosion of faith in Africa?

Bishop O’Reilly: Well, as many of my bishop friends in Africa would say, “First of all, it’s
God’s blessing, and it’s a great grace," which it is — to see the numbers coming for
baptism, adults as well as young children, to see the number of people coming for other
sacraments. But I suppose the primary reality about Africa is that, since her
independence 45 to 50 years ago, we have witnessed a massive growth of the urban
reality in Africa. With the growth of the cities, many people have been displaced from
rural areas, so they have found themselves in primarily alien cities until they can integrate
into their communities. These communities are often associated with Churches, so you
have, as it were, people even moving from the rural areas immediately falling into the
fabric of Church life in the urban areas.

Q: And probably seeking it out because it’s one reality they know in this excellent
environment?

Bishop O’Reilly: Yes, but also in Africa, you have a powerful sense of linking between the
villages and the people from the villages already established in the cities — so you link in
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immediately. You may be transferring geographically, but you link in with people of your
area and your background.

Q: Has missionary work changed because of urbanization?

Bishop O’Reilly: If I speak for our missionary institute, it has changed as one of our primary
works is evangelization. It’s evolving continually because of the reality of the number of
people you are dealing with. And when you ask that question about the numbers, it also
fits in with the growth of population in Africa because, especially in sub-Saharan Africa,
the population has grown enormously in the last 30 years and will continue to do so: good
health, clean water, so many factors have helped to do that. The reality of the growing
Church is very much tied in with the growth of Africa as well.

Q: It is said that 90% of the population is under 24. So this is also a challenge for the Church.
How do you look to serving the youth now?

Bishop O’Reilly: It’s a huge challenge. One of the things that strikes me as I traveled to
the big cities like Kinshasa, Lagos, Abidjan, Nairobi, or any of the cities all over Africa, is
the significant number of young people that are present — especially the secondary
school-going population — and then subsequently the number of people who would
have qualified for university but are without work. You see a tremendous movement
every day. You only have to go to Lagos to see the number of people and the challenge
even for the government to provide the essential services for a multiplying population.
The infrastructure required is enormous, so for us as a Church, when we set out, one of
the main things we did was establish schools. We built the church, and the next thing you
had was a school next door — or as often happens in the early missions — the church
was the school. But now, with the number of children looking for schools, the Church is
no longer capable of doing it alone, and often the state doesn’t have the resources. So
we have to contribute, especially since education is the hope continually.

Q: What is the answer?

Bishop O’Reilly: The answer is not to lose hope. The answer is to be committed. The answer
is to continue to work with the local Church, to work with local groups, to seek the
excellent help of Aid to the Church in Need and groups like generous people overseas.
People might say: “Oh, we are tired of giving.” No, you are never tired of giving; it’s for
the children, their future, and hope. You don’t ever get tired of that. The challenge is
enormous because the population continues to grow.

Q: In the year 2050, they say that three African countries will rank among the top 10 of
the largest Catholic countries in the world: Uganda, Congo, and Nigeria. Is the future of
Catholicism the Church in Africa?

Bishop O’Reilly: That is a difficult question. I would say in response that a large part of the
future of Catholicism is in Africa but not all of it, and as a consequence of that, I believe
there must be much more awareness of the African reality within our Church. It is not very
far away from the city of Rome. It is just across the Mediterranean, but sometimes it can
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be very distant. So it is the demographic reality — this is how it will be. So, at all levels
within the Church, there has to be a real awareness of that and proactive planning
toward that reality.

Q: What is the strength of the African faith?

Bishop O’Reilly: I suppose the strength of the African faith comes from the people
themselves, from how they relate to the existence of God, to the reality of Jesus Christ in
their lives, and how Christianity can tap into a rich context within their cultures of helping
one another. There is a great sense: “What is ours belongs to all of us." There is a great
sense of being able to share while, perhaps, in another culture, we are more self-
centered. This is best seen at the table. You always have food, and it doesn’t matter; we
put on more rice. There will be food for everyone. No one goes hungry. If you like, there
is that sense of the heart of Christian hospitality and openness. It is very inspiring when you
go to different parts of Africa. It is always there.

Q: What is the weakness of the Catholic faith in Africa?

Bishop O’Reilly: A weakness, I suppose, is that it hasn’t been able to address some of the
realities around it as quickly as possible.

Q: For example?

Bishop O’Reilly: One of the significant areas that will always be a challenge is the whole
issue of corruption — corruption in society, which is a terrible disease and damages the
fabric of everything. Good people, well qualified, can’t get jobs because they don’t pay
the bribe. The whole power infrastructure can be centered on corrupt practices and
payment. The Church is trying, but it is complicated because it is rooted in many cultures.
It must be said that it is often due to the leadership and outsiders who have come and
taken advantage of whatever purpose, maybe to extract resources. To get the best
deal, they don’t hesitate to pay, and then if there are no checks and balances inside the
country, the whole thing collapses.

Q: A quick change of pace: We have been talking about the growth of Catholicism, but
we also have seen a growth in Islam. One out of every three Africans considers himself
Muslim. What challenges does this pose for the Catholic Church in Africa?

Bishop O’Reilly: The most crucial challenge it poses is working with our brothers and sisters.
They live in the compound next door. Our church is built next to a mosque. They work in
the same fields. They travel on the same buses. So, one of the essential things is mutual
respect; that must be developed, and that has to come with an understanding on our
part and on their part of the values we hold and, of course, when that happens, you
begin to discover that our values are shared — that there is a standard search for the
right kind of things.

The risk always is — and has been in Africa with these two great religions that you
mentioned — is extremist elements within them who will take advantage of particular
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purposes like political, social, or economical to try and destabilize a region, a

government, or a ministry. But, one of the essential things in the last 30 years is the amount
of rapprochement and how we are working with each other at different levels of the
government. I know in Nigeria, with the recent riots in Bauchi, the head of the Catholic
Church and the imam immediately come together to resolve and speak about what has
happened. So there is undoubtedly a great deal of movement to better understand and
respect each other’s positions and regard their ways and ways of living and working
together.

Q: Even Pope Benedict has been voicing this question of dialogue with Islam as the
solution to many of the conflicts that seem to be raging?

Bishop O’Reilly: It is. Unfortunately, many of them are "instrumentalized," as they say in
Italian, to some politician or person's advantage. Then the excellent work done on the
ground is undone very quickly, and you’ve got to rebuild again. As we are trying to build
a just society and the values of Islam in that regard are the same as ours, we work
together for that.

Q: Both Christianity and Islam have incorporated many traditional African beliefs. Are we
talking about syncretism here? There is also a revival of African traditional beliefs. How do
you see this question?

Bishop O’Reilly: It is an exciting one, and there is a revival and — it is possible to link with
Brazil and the different cults that developed there. It is also linked, I think, with the mass
media. There is a considerable market for plays and stories in which witchcraft plays a
big part of the story. That is widely distributed in Africa now. I can see them all over the
place. So it’s a big challenge. In many ways, it can come from great poverty and
unemployment. Because of their children, even the best people will search in any
direction. They will go anywhere if their child is not well. Who wouldn’t?

So the answer has to be, in fact, again education, a proper understanding of what the
Catholic Church is doing. We are aware of — a careful instructing of our ministers,
religious and lay — in the aspects of this. This situation should not bring us back to a time
of fear or when these forces held an inordinate sway over people's lives. This shouldn’t be
the case. There is always that risk in societies where poverty, misery, and unemployment
dominate.

Q: In the document of Pope John Paul II, “Ecclesiae in Africa," he wrote that the hour of
Africa has come. Would you say that this is the case?

Bishop O’Reilly: Yes, on some levels. I mean, within the Church, it has undoubtedly come
because of the statistics you have quoted and the reality of how those statistics will grow
over the next 10, 20, and 30 years. Unfortunately, with the economic world the way it is,
Africa is becoming increasingly bypassed and being used to a greater extent only for its
resources, as we can see by the great powers doing that. But with regards to the Church,
I would say its moment has come, and I think Pope John Paul II realized that in the future,
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this is going to be a continent that will be central — not, perhaps, the dominant, but
central to the life of the Church in its mission.

Q: How will this change the universal Church?

Bishop O’Reilly: For the better, I hope, because I suppose the richness of all our Churches
wherever we come from is the richness of somebody like Paul who can take a quasi-
Jewish Greek background, bring it to Rome, and put the Gospel in there. So, if we can
inculturate the Gospel fully into Africa, Africa will give back a richness that we cannot
imagine to the universal Church. And if we can see the face of Christ as it is manifested
in their cultures, then we will have the richness that the Spirit wants us to have.

Q: What has Africa given you?

Bishop O’Reilly: It has given me that sheer sense of the spirit being present in the
communities. It is the communities that I have found the most inspiring and the most
humbling, how people will serve each other the way they do without counting the cost.
They will give so generously of themselves and serve the Church. They are amazing. They
love the Church.