An Overview on the Topic of Study Days: from Prague to Addis Abeba

Fr. Alfred Maravilla, SDB

Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Redemptoris Missio insists that initial proclamation “is the permanent priority of mission” and that it “has a central and irreplaceable role” in the Church’s mission because “all forms of missionary activity are directed to this proclamation” (n. 44). Thus, during this six year period the SDB Missions department and the FMA area of Missions inter/ad gentes had chosen to foster a deeper reflection regarding initial proclamation through the Study Days in the different regions of our Congregations.

This choice turned out to be providential and extremely relevant: In April 2010 the Rector Major invited Salesians to reflect on “the need for an initial proclamation or a renewed proclamation of the Gospel” so that our youth ministry becomes more missionary (Salesian Youth Ministry, 2.3. AGC 407). Cardinal Filoni, the Prefect for the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, recently explained that the Propaganda Fide will celebrate the Year of Faith from the perspective of initial proclamation (30 Giorni, May 2012). Similarly, the Synod on the New Evangelisation last month (October 7-28, 2012) insisted on the importance of initial proclamation¹.

The first of the series of study days was on Salesian Mission in Frontier Situations and Initial Proclamation in Europe Today (Prague, November 4 -10, 2010). Ubaldo Montisci’s presentation was decisive in helping us to understand that from the various terms used in ecclesial documents (first evangelisation, pre-evangelisation, missionary preaching, kerygma, renewed proclamation, initial proclamation, new evangelisation) initial proclamation is preferred especially when referring not only to contexts which was traditionally considered to be ad gentes, but also to contexts where there is an abandonment of the faith or where it is lived in a routine manner.

During the Study Days on The Salesian Mission and the Initial Proclamation of Christ in the Three-fold Context of South Asia (Kolkata, August 7 – 11, 2011) and on The Salesian Mission and the Initial Proclamation of Christ in the Three-fold Context of East Asia (Sampran, August 14 – 18, 2011) discussions led to deeper reflection on the need to see initial proclamation in the light of Asia’s three-fold context: rich cultures, ancient religions and oppressive poverty (FABC 1, Evangelisation in Asia Today). In a context where the majority of young people in our educative settings are followers of other religions and are poorer, dialogue life, human promotion and development through outreach programs and work for youth at risk become important opportunities of initial proclamation. This is seen as the beginning of the process of integral evangelisation. In East Asia the need to better understand traditional religions, major East Asia religions like Buddhism and Confucianism as well as a variety of cultures was discussed. In this context storytelling was considered as a way of introducing people step-by step to the mystery of Christ (Ecclesia in Asia, 20) which is at the same time respectful of their freedom of conscience.

In Oceania the Study Days on The Salesian Mission and the Initial Proclamation of Christ in Oceania in the Context of Traditional Religions and Cultures and Cultures in the Process of Secularisation (Port Moresby, August 21 – 25, 2011) reflected on the challenge of new evangelisation in the context of traditional religions and cultures, as well as the modern process of secularisation taking place in Australia and New Zealand which is also transmitted to other countries by the media. These certainly pose great challenges, but they also open new horizons (Ecclesia in Oceania, 17, 20).

Discussions initially centred on whether the topic on initial proclamation is relevant in Oceania where a great majority are baptised Christians. The presentation of speakers and deeper reflection brought to light that at baptism the child received the habitus of the faith (the capacity to believe), but not the personal act of faith (the firm commitment to orient one’s own life according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ). Yet, in the context of Oceania’s traditional societies and secularised cultures today, the initial proclamation a child receives in the family is often not adequate to become the foundation of a robust faith. Without this initial conversion and initial personal faith, catechesis risks becoming sterile. In this light, even Oceania’s Catholics who frequent our parishes and Religious Education classes in our schools as well as other Christians who frequent our youth centres all need initial proclamation of the Gospel in view of developing their faith and personal adhesion to Christ. It is crucial, then, to rediscover the importance of initial proclamation as the first and necessary step towards a new evangelisation in Oceania (Ecclesia in Oceania, 18). This initial proclamation, however, cannot be seen in isolation but is necessarily linked and oriented to the next stage in the process of evangelisation which is the catechumenate and the Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA).

The last Study Days on Salesian Presence among Muslims (Rome, July 30 – August 4, 2012) reflected on our presences not only in Islamic contexts but also in traditionally Christian areas where there is a growing number of Muslims (e.g. Europe). Similarly Muslims too are present in many Salesian works in all continents. The discussions led to a deeper reflection on the importance in these situations of prophetic witness of life of every Christian, of the Salesian community and of the whole Christian community. Where explicit proclamation is either prohibited or not possible it is witness of life that leads to credibility (Porta Fidei 9). An authentic Christian life engenders a clear witness of love and service (Redemptoris Missio 23). This, in turn, is always an invitation and a challenge to the interlocutor to ask existential questions and search for answers in a more conscious, in a more personalised and in a more profound manner.

During these days we shall reflect on the Salesian Mission and the Initial Proclamation of Christ in Africa & Madagascar which, hopefully, will help us rediscover «the ardour of the beginnings of the evangelization of the African continent” (Africae Munus, 164). In line with the topic of the Study Days, our discussions these coming days will centre precisely on how we can foster initial proclamation in our educative and pastoral initiatives, thus becoming a concrete expression of our missionary dimension of our Salesian charism.