A new idea of mission

The theology of mission and missionary pastoral care were at the centre of the international congress “WeltMission” (world mission) of the Catholic Church, held at Freising near Munich from 2 to 4 May. Some 200 participants took part in the congress, as well as a number of guests from Asia, Africa and America. The congress was organized by the German Bishops’ Conference in collaboration with the German Catholic Council for Missions (DKMR). Representatives of the various continents were present: for Africa, Archbishop BUTI JOSEPH TLHAGALE OMI of Johannesburg (South Africa); for Asia, the Most Rev . JOHN TONG , auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong; for North America, Cardinal THEODORE EDGAR MCCARRICK , Archbishop of Washington D.C. Europe was represented by Cardinal KARL LEHMANN , bishop of Mainz and President of the German Bishops’ Conference; Bishop WIKTOR SKWORC of Tarnòw, Poland; Bishop GEORG MÜLLER of Trondheim, Norway; and Bishop FRANZ KAMPHAUS of Limburg, Germany. The first day, with the title “missionary theologies of peoples”, was dedicated to the experiences of the partner countries. The second was focused on dialogue on the various cultural contexts and the various worlds in which missionary activity is now performed, and on the spiritual foundations of missionary action. During the third day the delegates discussed the impulses offered to the German Church by the universal Church for the performance of its own missionary role. SURPRISING SUCCESS . “For several years now the concept of ‘mission’ has been enjoying a surprising success”, declared Cardinal Lehmann during a press conference held on 2 May. “In spite of that – he admitted – for many this concept is burdened by the past as a dubious legacy of the history of Christianity and of mission”; it therefore represents “an occasion to recognise guilt for the past rather than a task for the future”. Lehmann recalled the document of the Bishops’ Conference, issued in 2004 and dedicated to mission, in which the bishops had expressed criticisms on past errors connected with missionary activity. “Despite that we need to oppose the cliché of a European Christian mission that allegedly consisted in the main of the destruction of other cultures”, he continued, citing a series of misunderstandings and erroneous interpretations that have compromised the concept of mission in past decades, including a mistaken idea of mission as a ‘Western’ or ‘Eurocentric’ attack on non-European cultures. To this end, Cardinal Lehmann expressed the hope that the substantial aspect of mission could “be brought back to light”. “All peoples and all persons have the right to know that God gave himself to humanity of all periods and in all continents in the person of Jesus Christ in an irrevocable manner”, he declared. “That forms the theological basis of any Christian mission. All the local Churches rooted in the various cultures participate in the missionary task of the universal Church. The transformation of the Western Church into universal Church has also had repercussions on us here in Germany, thanks to the action of religious and priests from Eastern Europe and overseas. Mission must be understood as the task of all Christians”, he added. “Since the world is still far from the achievement of justice and peace among peoples and the freedom of many is still treated with contempt, the Church is called to proclaim her own liberating message that intervenes profoundly also in the realities of social life”. LEARNING TOGETHER . In describing the agenda of the congress, Bishop Kamphaus explained that the objective was “not to instruct others but to learn from and with others”. He also pointed out the “intimate” link that exists between missionary pastoral care in one’s own country and mission in the world. Kamphaus called “the attitude of self-sufficiency to the faith” a mistake. On the contrary, the fact that missionary work has now become a fundamental concept for pastoral care in Germany is a “sign of hope, even if well-entrenched mentalities cannot be changed overnight. In view of the new impetus of pastoral work in the German Church, Kamphaus warned of weakening the commitment to the universal Church, which “represents a strong point of German Catholicism”. “In an ever-more globalized world we cannot become self-enclosed”, he warned. “The catholicity of the Church prohibits any kind of provincialism. So, the universal mission must remain an indispensable objective of the Church in Germany, even in times of new missionary efforts in our own country”.