COMMUNICANDA 4
Rome, 30 March 1986
Gen. 121/86
EVANGELIZARE PAUPERIBUS
ET
A PAUPERIBUS EVANGELIZARI
Reflections on the Major Theme
by the General Government
Dear Confreres,
During the last several weeks
the General Government "began a process
of reflection on the Major Theme of the 1985
General Chapter. Even though our thoughts
are still imperfect, we would like to present
these to all of you and to invite you to share
in this process of reflection.
1. The
Word of God
We began our process by reflecting on the text
in St. Luke's Gospel which is cited in Constitution
1:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he has chosen me to bring good news to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to
the captives and recovery of sight to the
blind, to set free the oppressed and announce
that the time has come when the Lord will
save his people."(Lk 4, 18-19)
Redemptorists should follow the example of
Jesus. That is why it is important to pay
attention to the preaching of Jesus about
the poor.
Another important text for us was Luke's account
of the beatitudes:
"Jesus looked at his disciples and said:
Happy are you poor, the Kingdom of God
is yours.
Happy are you who are hungry now; you will
be
filled.
Happy are you who weep now; you will laugh.
Happy are you when people hate you, reject
you, insult you, and say that you
are evil, all because of the Son
of Man. Be glad when that happens and dance for joy, because a great reward is kept for you in heaven. For their ancestors did the
very same things to the prophets.
But how terrible for you who are rich now;
you have had your easy life.
How terrible for you who are full now; you
will go hungry.
How terrible for you who laugh now; you will
mourn and weep.
How terrible when all men speak well of you;
their ancestors said the very same things
about the false prophets."(Lk 6, 20-26)
We would not like to comment on these texts,
but we invite you to pray and meditate on
them and on other similar texts of the Gospel.
2. The
background to the choice of the Theme
2.1 The
giving of a new form to the Constitutions
and Statutes 1963-1979
During Vatican II and the years following it,
much energy was spent by the Congregation
in the composition of the new Constitutions
and Statutes. This meant that the Confreres
were very much taken up with particular problems
and structures. For this reason, perhaps,
not enough thought was given to determining
the people to whom our apostolate should be
directed. In any case the General Chapters
grappled less with the task of defining the
people to whom our preaching should be directed
than with explicit evangelization (Const.
7-10) and with the community dimension of
our life and work (Const. 21-22).
This was given expression in the catch-all
inventory of: "The People to be Evangelized"
in Statutes 09-015, and in a certain manner
also in the very wide inventory of: "Forms
of missionary work" in Statutes 016-024.
2.2 The
determining of pastoral priorities and drawing
up of (V)Provincial Statutes in the (V)Provinces
1979-1985
After the Constitutions and Statutes were dealt
with by the General Chapter of 1979, the Provinces
were obliged to come to terms with their own
structures and organization in order to draw
up the Provincial Statutes. At the same time
they were obliged to produce their program
of pastoral priorities which the General Chapter
mandated. Both of these operations called
for intensive self-examination in the Provinces.
To that extent these deliberations in the
Provinces were a continuation of the preceding
General Chapter,
The planning of priorities brought with it
a new factor: namely, the discussion of those
to whom our apostolate should be directed
and of the forms of our evangelization that
could not be carried on in the wide-open and
uncompromising manner in which they received
expression in the said General Statutes. In
the Provinces it became necessary to arrive
at decisions for or against particular forms
of pastoral practice.
It would be interesting to know now what basic
reasons played a decisive role in the determining
of priorities. It could be asked whether in
some cases the capabilities of the available
personnel, the traditions and experiences
of the (V)Province, the existing activities,
the location of houses, the requirements of
the confreres and the special interests of
the local Church counted for so much that
the discussion about the people to whom our
apostolate should be directed was only touched
on in passing.
2.3 Involvement
with the poor in practice
In some parts of the Congregation a direct
and practical Involvement of the confreres
in situations of physical poverty, of oppression,
of injustice and of exploitation is taking
place. For these confreres the question of
those for whom they should work appears to
be answered unequivocally, and the forms their evangelization ought to take are determined for them by this. These
men are increasingly asking questions of the
other parts of the Congregation: how are you
adhering to the "Evangelizare Pauperibus"?
This question was taken up expressly by the
General Chapter of 1985.
2.4 Conclusions
When all these things are taken together it
becomes clear that with the introduction of
the Major Theme for 1985-1991 we have began
to focus more precisely on a fundamental matter
which has been somewhat neglected in the reflection
of our Congregation. A community which has
set itself the goal of evangelizing the poor
cannot for long avoid the question: Who then
are meant by these poor? Therefore, our involvement
with the Major Theme will lead us into a fundamental
debate about our understanding of ourselves.
3. Possible
difficulties and fears
relating to the Theme
3.1 The
life of our Congregation is not so much justified
by the observance of rules, as by our missionary
dynamism which leads us to a continuous and
creative search for the redemption of human
"beings. The Theme of the Chapter should
promote this dynamism.
But sometimes this dynamism is hindered or
even blocked by our fear of change; this could
also happen to the Theme of the Chapter.
It could "be said that there is a natural
tendency in the great and older religious
institutes towards order and stability, which
offers a certain physical, psychological and
spiritual security to the members. It is understandable
that there could be a fear of all this being
destroyed through change. Consequently there
is a danger that we could consider ourselves
as converted and saved and so escape the necessity
of conversion and change.
3.2 Another
difficulty in the continuing process of renewal
could be our pastoral activism. Indeed, too
much work can prevent us feeling any need
for reflection and prayer about what we are
really involved in and what is asked of us
by the Congregation today. Perhaps there is
a fear of facing the fundamental questions
concerning the validity of what we are doing.
3.3 It
could be further argued that the Theme does
not touch our (V)Province because a lack of
vocations prevents us having any hope in our
future. But a reflection on the Theme could
perhaps be a moment of grace for us, a time
to renew our belief in a future given by the
lord.
3.4 Because
the Theme focuses on the poor and on poverty,
some obstacles could arise relating to our
personal and community life-style. These obstacles
are rather dangerous because in general they
remain hidden, and are not faced. A particular
reflection especially on this point could
lead us to personal and community conversion.
4. Our
reflection on the Theme
as a process of continuing
personal and community conversion
4.1 Any
reflection upon a theme which is central to
our life and work will lead us to the realization
that we pre reflecting upon our understanding
of ourselves as a Congregation, and indeed
our personal and community awareness of the
meaning of our call today. It is not always
easy to accept the consequences and implications
of such a profound and challenging reflection.
At times we may be acutely aware of all the
obstacles in the way of implementing what
we feel called to live out. ¥e may also
be fearful as to where such reflection will
lead us.
4.2 However,
while not underestimating the difficulties,
we need also in the midst of such reflection
to listen to the call of God or, to use a
phrase of St. Alphonsus, to obey the will
of God. The Spirit will be present in our
midst, and will accompany us when we strive
to be single-minded in our search for what
we believe God is asking of our Congregation
today. This invitation of God is simply that
we be open to the challenge of personal and
community conversion contained in our Theme.
4.3 Our
Constitutions continually call us to a conversion
of attitudes, way of life, and response in
our apostolic ministry:
- if
our apostolates are to be distinguished more
by their "missionary dynamism than by
any particular forms of activity", we
will need to constantly confront the quality
and sensitivity of our service and ministry
among the poor and neglected of God’s people
(Const. 14).
- a
continual conversion of heart, especially
in relation to the question of poverty, will
be required of us if we are to "be truly
"free and unimpeded" in the options
we make concerning the people among whom we
will work, and the ways of fulfilling our
mission (Const. 15);
- conversion
is not only something personal, but is something
the community itself must aim at as it strives
for "constant interior renewal"
in order to be more faithful to its apostolic
calling (Const. 40; 41.1).
4.4 The
conversion of heart to which we are called
by our Constitutions is surely essential if
we wish to approach the Theme of the Chapter
with the mind of Christ. Only then can we
be more sensitive to the issues we need to
face; the positive and negative forces present
in our different situations; and the inspiration
of the Spirit as we try to translate the Theme
of the Chapter into the concrete reality of
our life and apostolic ministry.
5. The
poor in the Redemptorist Tradition
5.1 Alphonsus
de Liguori wrote to Pope Benedict XIV:
"Inasmuch as the priest Alphonsus de Liguori,
as a member of the Congregation of the Apostolic
Missions established in the Cathedral at Naples,
spent many years on the holy missions and
observed the abandoned state of the poor people,
especially in country districts, in the vast
territories of the kingdom, he, in 1732, organized
the aforesaid priests, his companions, into
a group under the direction of the now deceased Mons. Falcoia, Bishop of Castellamare.
Their purpose was to help the poor rural people
who were the most deprived of spiritual care
by means of missions, Instructions and other
exercises. Often these poor country people
are without a priest to administer the sacraments
and preach the word of God to them, so much
so that through lack of priests many of them
die without knowing even the truths necessary
for the Faith; for there are only few priests
who dedicate themselves to the task of taking
care of these country people."(Supplex
Libellus of 30/3/1748, Lettere di S.
Alfonso, Roma 1887, I, 149-151)
5.2 In
the Congregation there is no uniform tradition
regarding those to whom our pastoral activity
should be directed. The poor to whom the Gospel
is to be preached is variously understood
in different situations.
Nevertheless some particular features, common
to the whole Congregation, emerge:
- We
have a tradition of preference for the "little
ones". In our case, relationship with
the so called upper-class of educated, wealthy
and influential people have not, apart from
exceptions, been particularly cultivated.
- In
this connection there is the decided simplicity
and popular pitch of our preaching. This was
something promoted by St. Alphonsus at the
start and safeguarded all through our tradition.
This simplicity extends from the style of
preaching to the exercises of piety and popular
religiosity.
- It
is furthermore our tradition to go to people
and not wait for them to come to us. Hence
no place is too large or too small for us
to evangelize. The grounds for this characterization
are provided "by the old formula of "the
most abandoned souls in country places"
and "by the system of itinerant preaching.
This characteristic shows up also in our readiness
to take over difficult mission districts.
- More
recently, we have begun to see a growing thrust
in certain regions towards the socially poor
and marginalized.
6. The
special Mission
of the Congregation
in the Church today
As Redemptorists we share the mandate given
to the whole Church, "which, since it
is the universal sacrament of salvation, is
missionary of its very nature "(Const.
1).
Within this mission of the whole Church the
Congregation has its particular mission which
is expressed under three different aspects:
- evangelization
in the strict sense: the explicit, prophetic
and liberating proclamation of the Gospel;
- the
preference for situations where there is pastoral
need;
- and
within this a special preference for the poor,
the deprived and the oppressed.
These three aspects taken together are "the
very reason why the Congregation exists In
the Church, and are the "badge of its
fidelity to the vocation it has received"(Const.
5)
6.1 The
explicit proclamation of the Gospel
"Indeed Redemptorists have as their special
mission in the Church the explicit proclamation
of the Word of God to bring about fundamental
conversion." (Const. 10)
The General Chapter of 1979 focused on this
aspect and gave it as a Major Theme
to the Congregation for the sexennium 1979-1985:
"The explicit proclamation, especially
in the extraordinary forms, of the Word of
God." (Comm. 41/1979)
Connected to this Major Theme was the special
mandate given to the Congregation to draw
up the plan of pastoral priorities.
6.2 The
preference for situations where there is pastoral
need
The Redemptorists concentrate their activities
on "the pressing pastoral needs of the
most abandoned" (Const. 1); the Congregation
is sent to "people more in need of spiritual
help" (Const. 4). "The members of
the Congregation must be tireless in seeking
out people who are more deprived of spiritual
help" (St. 09).
"The most abandoned, to whom in particular
the Congregation is sent, are
- those
for whom the Church has not yet been able
to provide sufficient means of salvation,
- those
who have never heard the Church's message,
or at least do not receive it as the 'Good
News',
- and
finally those who suffer harm because of division
in the Church."(Const. 3)
6.3 The
poor
"Among (these) groups of people more in
need of spiritual help, they will give special
attention to the poor, the deprived and the
oppressed."(Const. 4)
Within the pressing pastoral needs of the most
abandoned the Congregation directs its activities
especially to the poor (cf. Const. 1). So
the preference for situations where there
is pastoral need is specified further by "the
choice in favor of the poor" (Const.
5), "the powerless and the oppressed"
(St. 09).
7. The
mandate given by \
the XX General Chapter 1985
"The General Chapter of 1985 wants to
continue the Theme of the pastoral priorities
decided on by the Chapter of 1979. Now we
want to put the emphasis on the explicit,
prophetic and liberating proclamation of the
Gospel to the poor, allowing ourselves to
be called by the poor (EVANGELIZARE PAUPERIBUS
ET A PAUPERIBUS EVANGELIZARI), in accordance
with the charism of our Congregation expressed
in Constitutions 1, 3, 4, 5 and in Statutes
09 and 021."
This new theme is meant to prolong and to continue
the one from the preceding sexennium. The
Chapter of 1979 put the emphasis on the proclamation,
especially the explicit proclamation, of the
Gospel (EVANGELIZARE). Now we put the
emphasis on our special attention to the poor
(PAUPERIBUS).
The central question to be faced now by every
unit of the Congregation is: who are these
"poor" mentioned in the text?
7.1 Situations
of poverty and oppression
The Chapter placed before our Congregation
the question: "Taking our Major Theme
as a basis, to what situations of poverty
and of oppression do we want to direct our
particular attention?"(DF, 09)
The confreres live and work in different countries,
and in different social, political and ecclesial
conditions, and therefore our experiences
of poverty and oppression will differ. Nevertheless
each one of us is called to be keenly sensitive
to the situation of the people and the society
in which we live, and to discover the conditions
of poverty and oppression which call for our
response.
This sensitivity is highlighted in St. 044: "Therefore, since the members belong to an
Institute devoted to the Evangelization of
the poor, they must be keenly sensitive to
the poverty of the world and to the grave
social problems afflicting practically all
peoples. Poverty of every kind, whether it
be material, moral or spiritual, must challenge
their apostolic zeal. The legitimate aspirations
of the poor will be their aspirations."
This challenges us to deepen our awareness
of the reality which exists in our midst.
This confrontation with reality has a spiritual
meaning because God speaks to us through it.
Therefore we must "be open to the world
in such a way that, through contact with people
we may learn to understand the signs of the
times and of places, and adapt ourselves more
fittingly to the demands of evangelization"
(Const. 43).
Or, as Const. 19 expresses it: "In a spirit
of brotherly concern they should try to understand
people's anxious questionings and try to discover
in these how God is truly revealing Himself
and making His plan known."
7.2 "The
poor are individual persons with human faces"
(DF 05)
Considering situations of poverty could remain
rather abstract unless we make this human
and personal by actually meeting the poor
as fellow human beings as we are invited to
do by the Final Document.
An example of this approach could be the following
text of Puebla:
"This situation of pervasive extreme poverty
takes on very concrete faces in real life.
In these faces we ought to recognize the suffering
features of Christ the Lord who questions
and challenges us. They include:
- the
faces of young children, struck down by poverty
before they are born, their chance for self-development
blocked by irreparable mental and physical
deficiencies; and of the vagrant children
- in
our cities who are so often exploited, products
of poverty and the moral disorganization of
the family;
- the
faces of young people, who are disoriented
"because they cannot find their place
in society, and who are frustrated, particularly
in marginal rural and urban areas, by the
lack of opportunity to obtain training and
work;
- the
faces of the peasants; as a social group,
they live in exile almost everywhere on our
continent, deprived of land, caught in a situation
of internal and external dependence, and subjected
to systems of commercialization that exploit
them;
- the
faces of laborers, who frequently are ill-paid
and who have difficulty in organizing themselves
and defending their rights;
- the
faces of the underemployed and the unemployed,
who are dismissed because of the harsh exigencies
of economic crises, and often because of development-models
that subject workers and their families to
cold economic calculations;
- the
faces of marginalized and overcrowded urban
dwellers, whose lack of material goods is
matched by the ostentatious display of wealth
by other segments of society;
- the
faces of old people, who are growing more
numerous every day, and who are frequently
marginalized in a progress-oriented society
that totally disregards people not engaged
in production." (31-40)
If we look at our reality in this way we will
meet these faces wherever we live; our search
will not end in discussion but in discovering
"the most abandoned, especially the poor"
(Const. 1).
8. Called
and challenged by the poor
For many of us the first part of the Chapter
Theme, i.e. focusing on the poor as the preferred
people we are to evangelize, is challenge
enough. The second part expressed by the Latin
phrase: EVANGELIZARI A PAUPERIBUS and
translated as "called and challenged
by the poor", goes further still.
8.1 Missionary
Dialogue
At a first level, it implies that we view evangelization
as a two-way process, "a missionary dialogue"
(Const. 19) in which both parties are mutually
enriched. This is now a generally accepted
norm in the work of evangelization, especially
in the field of culture and pastoral psychology.
Indeed, most of us have experienced being
enriched in our various types of pastoral
work by the people we serve and work with.
But what about the poor (in the sense understood
here)? In what way do they evangelize us?
How do they call and challenge us? And what
has been the effect on us in making a response?
8.2 Effects
of Dialogue
It has happened in certain parts of the world
that the poor, the deprived and oppressed
have turned to priests and religious, among
them our own confreres, for moral support
in their struggle for economic betterment, social justice, or
even liberation from political oppression
and tyranny. In the process of responding
to this call, our confreres have found themselves
challenged in many ways.
Some have found the theology they had learned
to be inadequate, including their knowledge
of Scripture. Many pastoral approaches could
no longer be maintained, such as remaining
neutral in the face of social conflict. Manifestations
of popular religiosity they were inclined
to scoff at turned out to have immense social
value and depth of faith.
Certain attitudes like the quest for security,
whether personal or institutional, have had
to change In the face of the freedom-to-risk
shown by the poor in their struggle for justice.
Some have been led to discover dimensions of
human life to which they had not given enough
recognition in the past, like the role of
structures in conditioning the attitudes,
values, and behavior of people in society,
including their global dimensions.
It has also happened in certain countries that
"the cry of the poor" has led religious
communities to a profound re-thinking of the
forms and structures of their religious life.
In some instances, it has led them to re-discover
the original charism of their founder and
to a greater fidelity to this charism in their
choice of pastoral priorities and in the forms
of their religious life, resulting even In
an Increase of vocations. Some of our own
confreres have experienced this in certain
countries.
8.3 Theology
of "the poor"
These and similar experiences have provoked
theological discussions on "the mystery
of the poor as agents of salvation".
Some of these are only "musings"
and "elements" of a theology and
spirituality that are still in process of
maturation.
An example, perhaps, is the theology of liberation
which could have arisen only from the double
experience of poverty and oppression on the
one hand, and the experience of faith in the
Lord of History on the other.
Thus, while church people today debate "certain
elements" of this theology, its basic
validity as a theology is no longer in question,
as Pope John Paul II has recently affirmed.
It is a theology born in the Third World setting
which has spawned ramifications in other countries,
including those of the First
World.
8.4 Our
own dialogue with the poor
Our Constitutions and Statutes urge us to "be
tireless in seeking out people who are more
deprived of spiritual help, especially the
poor, the powerless and the oppressed",
since "Redemptorists can never be deaf
to the cry of the poor and the oppressed"
(St. 09).
Perhaps the answer to the questions we have
posed here can only come from actual experience
of working among these people. So we turn
to the confreres who have such experiences
to share their reflections on how they have
found themselves called, challenged and enriched
by the poor. We have no doubts that what they
have to offer will be more profound than the
initial thoughts we have expressed here.
9. Questions
for reflection
9.1 Sensitivity
and awareness
"Therefore, since the members belong to
an Institute devoted to the evangelization
of the poor, they must be keenly sensitive
to the poverty of the world and to the grave
social problems afflicting practically all
peoples." (St.
044)
The consideration of the Major Theme should
lead us to global awareness as well as to
a more profound consciousness of our own particular
situation. Because we are a worldwide Congregation,
so also must our concerns be.
Therefore we should ask ourselves:
- "What
do we know about the different situations
of poverty and oppression in the different
parts of our world? Are we truly interested
in this issue, and how do we acquire information
about such situations?
- Who
and what is influencing our political or ecclesial
opinion on political issues, and the situation
of the Church in different countries?
- What
do we know about our Redemptorist confreres
subjected to conditions of poverty and oppression,
or even persecution?
- How
do we show our fraternal solidarity with them?
9.2 Poverty
and apostolic zeal
"Redemptorists can never be deaf to the
cry of the poor and the oppressed, but have
the duty to search for ways of helping them."
(St. 09)
"Poverty of every kind, whether it be
material, moral or spiritual, must challenge
their apostolic zeal." (St. 044)
In addition to the global awareness mentioned
above, we should have a special sensitivity
towards the poverty of those among whom we
live and work. As Redemptorists we don’t have
to wait for the poor to come to us; our traditional
charism challenges us to meet the poor and
to concentrate our apostolic zeal on their
special needs.
- Who
are the people in our area who live in material,
moral or spiritual poverty? Do we recognize
them? Do we meet them?
- What
inhuman and oppressing structures or systems
exist in our country? Do we meet the people
subjected to them?
- Who
are the abandoned and neglected by the local
Church in our country?
- What
place do these poor have in our pastoral priorities?
- What
place do they have in our prayer-life, and
in the content of our preaching?
9.3 Community
life and solidarity with the poor
"The common life of the members must be
truly adapted to the mentality of each region
and give effective witness to poverty and
solidarity with the poor."(St. 046.2)
Our life-style in community must
correspond with the situation of the people
among whom we live and work; this calls also
for inculturation. Our option for the poor
asks, in addition, for simplicity in lifestyle
which will make authentic our evangelization
among the poor.
- Does
our style of life indicate our solidarity
with the poor to whom we preach the Gospel?
- Are
our communities open and responsive to the
people to whom we are committed?
- Do
we see any possibility of sharing the actual
destitution and insecurity of the poor in
lowly conditions, as proposed in St.
045?
- How
do we deal with money (collecting, investing,
and spending)?
- How
do we practice solidarity with the poor within
our Congregation?
9.4 Formation
and our option for the poor
"Very particularly the Chapter asks that
the formation of the students be connected
to the pastoral priorities....Besides, the
Chapter asks those in charge to organize a
style of life and a formation for our students which take account of our
option for the poor and which do not isolate
them from the life and the problems of the
poor."(DF, 13)
In addition to first formation we must direct
our ongoing formation to the deepening of
a spirituality which takes account of our
option for the poor.
- What
influence do the poor have on our programs
of theological, spiritual and human formation?
- Is
there a relationship between these programs
and the pastoral priorities?
- What
provision is made in ongoing formation programs
for developing a consciousness of our commitment
to the poor?
10. Concluding
Remarks
At the end of this presentation we would like
to place these reflections before you and
to ask you to continue this process in your
communities, chapters and (V)Provincial Governments.
We realize that further studies must be made
on the Issues which are contained In the Theme,
e.g. the biblical meaning of the "poor",
the "poor" in our Redemptorist history,
the analysis of poverty and oppression In
the different situations of the world, the
theological significance of Evangelizare
pauperibus et a pauperibus evangelizari
etc.
We are convinced that there are specialists
in the Congregation all over the world who
could contribute to a study in depth of these
main issues in the Theme. We would appreciate
the special contribution they can make.
Because this is a process in which the whole
Congregation is involved, we would like to
receive your response to our first reflections
which have been offered in this Communicanda.
With fraternal greetings in the
name of the General Council,
Juan M. Lasso de la Vega, C.Ss.R.
Superior General
