Autumn 2002 Mission Update Newsletter - Catholic Mission Association

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Mission Update Vol. 11, No. 3

Autumn 2002

U.S. Catholic Mission Association

MISSIONERS UNITE IN PRAYER

TOGETHER WE PRAY THAT WE MAYKNOW HOW TO RECOGNIZE AND

RESPECT THE CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL

RICHES OF THE DIFFERENT ETHNIC

GROUPS AND RELIGIOUS MINORITIES

PRESENT IN EVERY COUNTRY. AT THIS

DAWN OF THE THIRD CHRISTIAN MIL-

LENNIUM WE HOPE THAT THE MISSION-

ARY IMPETUS OF THE FIRST PENTECOST

MAY BE RENEWED.

United States

Catholic Mission Association

Continued on Page 3

In This Issue

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples:

Meeting .................................................... Cover

From the USCMA Director; Report on Annual

Meetings: Association of Professors of Mission

& American Society of Missiology................. 2

Washington Coalitions’ Report....................... 3

SEDOS; Thank You, Sylvia Thompson!

.......................................................................... 4

PERIODIC PAPER : Pakistan and Afghanistan: A

Fragile Peace or a Precipice .....................Center

A Missioner’s Experience in Haiti ................. 5

Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern

Europe; Book Review..................................... 6

“The Bible in a Multicultural Context” - The

2002 World Mission Institute;

Resources......................................................... 7

2002 USCMA Annual Conference and

Meeting............................................................ 8

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples:Meeting with Superiors of Missionary Institutes

Helene O’Sullivan, MM

Crescenzio Cardinal Sepe, newly appointed

Prefect of the Congregation for the

Evangelization of Peoples convoked the

meeting held from May 27 - June 1, 2002, in

Rome. It was the first of its kind to be

convoked by the Congregation. CardinalSepe, in his address to the participants, stated

that the purpose of the meeting was to have

an exchange of experiences among the

Institutes actively involved in mission and

to offer the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples indications as

to how to go about its task.

Among the 200 present were representatives from the large international

missionary institutes and a number of superiors from small diocesan

Congregations from different parts of the world. Although the

representatives from the diocesan Congregations were not directly involved

in cross-cultural mission, they have had extensive contact with missionersworking within their countries, and thus their presence gave a truer picture

of the universality of the Church.

The first day was devoted to reports from the Continents. The agenda

focused on Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania. The participants

addressed the need to include Australia, Europe and North America, as all

continents and cultures are in need of evangelization.

Each of the presentations on the Continents began with highlights of the

present mission situation, followed by signs of hope and vitality, problems

and difficulties, and proposals to stimulate greater involvement in

evangelization. The presenters clearly recognized the significant

opportunity they had in being able to speak directly to the Cardinal andBishops from the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples who were

present throughout the meeting, as well as to the missioners from other

institutes. Their analyses were comprehensive and frank and focused on

possibilities for dealing with the issues.

Three major themes emerged from the reports: inter-religious dialogue,

inculturation, and new ways of doing mission as younger churches take

up their responsibility for mission. Although these themes/issues were

already being engaged by the institutes and the local Churches, the desire

to do so more broadly throughout the church and at a more profound and

creative level, was very clear.

Helene O’Sullivan, MM,

with participants at meeting





Mission Update Autumn 2002

U.S. Catholic Mission Association Page 3

Washington Coalitions’ Report

Jubilee USA Network

Jubilee continues to support legislation that

would increase debt relief to the poorest

countries. In April, companion bills were

introduced in the House and Senate that, i

passed, would provide deeper debt relie by cutting an additional $1 billion in deb

service. These bills, the Debt Relief

Enhancement Act 2002 (HR 4524 and

S 2210) had solid bipartisan support. In

early summer, the Senate version of the bil

was incorporated into S 2525, “The United

States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS

Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2002”

This bill unanimously passed the Senate on

July 12th with less binding language than

the original bill. Jubilee is urging its

members to lobby their Representatives for passage of the House bill in hopes o

attaining the needed debt relief.

Jubilee, in cooperation with the Religious

Working Group on the IMF and the

World Bank (RWG), 50 Years Is Enough

Network, Essential Action, Center fo

Economic Justice and others are organizing

events from September 25th - September

29th around the fall meetings of the IMF

and the World Bank. These events include

teach-ins, a film festival and a debate

featuring partners from the Global South

For the 26th the RWG prepared an Interfaith

Prayer Service. A candlelight vigil at the

US Treasury Department follows. On the

28th there will be a large mobilization, rally

and march.

Catholics for a Peaceful End to War and

Terrorism composed a first anniversary

letter, remembering the victims o

September 11th and reminding us that—in

the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.—

”Wars are poor chisels for crafting peacefutomorrows”.

Continued from Page 1

Africa

• Mission is done by Africans in a way that reflects their culture and

values: “A situation of weakness and the pure sharing of faith.” They are

in a difficult situation because they do not want to be financially dependent

on outside support and yet, people have grown accustomed to the services

that missioners have provided.

•Many Christians in Africa are joining the Charismatic and Pentecostal

Churches because they reflect the local culture and ethos. Need to look at

genuine in-depth inculturation. Islam can be both political and

proselytizing. This calls for a Christian presence that will be evangelizing

and will cultivate a spirituality of inter-religious dialogue.

• The AIDS crisis has meant that the relief of human suffering has taken

priority over pastoral care and evangelization. Some church personnel

feel that the people value the church only for its humanitarian efforts.

Asia Asia has 85 % of the world’s non-Christians. Mission will have to be

carried out by the Church as “the little flock” with the following characteristics:

• Powerlessness. Evangelization must be done from a position of

powerlessness and humility. Preach the Gospel from a position of solidaritywith the people. Be genuinely one with them in their condition of

oppression and poverty, discrimination and loss of identity, and suffering.

• Contemplation. In Asia, evangelization must not be marked so much

by frentic activity but by a contemplative presence among God’s people.

Lead people into the mystery of God through signs and symbols in

respectful dialogue. The missioner will give priority to being missionary

over doing missionary things.

• Stewardship. The approach of the missioner will be to share the faith

as a gift received from God through others, conscious of herself or himself

as merely its steward or servant, and never as its owner or master.

Latin America

• Martyrs and prophets continue to strengthen the faith of the people.

• Growing mission awareness.

• The importance of the Church’s involvement with indigenous peoples

and African-Latin American peoples was brought up in the Plenary

Sessison.

Oceania

• Missioners in Oceania are disheartened by the lack of international

support and interest in the problems facing the Pacific.

• Spiritual resources, such as access to spiritual direction, retreats, on-

going formation and workshops are insufficient due to the distance and

isolation of the islands.• The challenges facing the Church include: working towards an

ecumenism that will engage fundamentalist sects; inculturation, and a focus

on youth who are such a large part of the population.

The meeting concluded with many substantive suggestions which, when

implemented, would make a significant difference for local Churches and for

Institutes involved in mission. Another meeting between the Congregation for

the Evangelization of Peoples and Missionary Institutes (including lay mission

participation) is being planned for next year. This year’s participants were

requested to suggest the theme, time frame and format of the meeting.

Helene O’Sullivan, MM, is President of the Maryknoll Sisters. Gathering on the steps of the U.S. Capitol





The Missionary Church in 2025!

Mission leaders journeyed to a mountain villa outside

of Rome for their annual spring gathering as members

of SEDOS, a center for documentation and research for

mission. These leaders gathered to renew their vision of

missionary church following the work done at their meetingin 2001. Their hope now was to move from dream to reality,

from vision to action—personally, congregationally, and at

intercongregational levels.

This movement was to be directed by deepening participants’

understanding and clarifying their mission in the Church of

the 21st century. Identifying consequences of this new

understanding would help to indicate appropriate methods

and praxis for mission.

Robert Schreiter,CPPS, the first of several presenters

indicated seven salient values that he drew from the groups’ previous work together. Values of greatest concern for the

immediate future of mission are: Authenticity in Our Gospel

Witness, Contemplation, Prophecy, Dialogue, Dealing with

Plurality and Diversity, the Globalization of Solidarity,

Healing and Reconciliation. Schreiter concluded the

discussion by raising the issue of formation for leadership

for institutes in 2025. He cautions that sensitivity to

intercultural communication holds a key to the future.

Globalization will remain very much on the missionary

agenda in the first decades of the 21st century. Some of

those watching the process are predicting that one of thechallenges of the coming decades will be to create a more

humane form of globalization. This means extending to a

greater share of the world’s population the positive aspects

of globalization, and a drastic reduction of its negative

effects on the world’s poor profoundly disrupting their lives.

Schreiter acknowledges the thought of John Paul II regarding

Thank You, Sylvia Thompson !

Sometimes they are called pathfinders. They are the leaders out on the point—probing, finding the way, setting the scene

for others, and inviting them to participate. Over the past decade one special leader in the missison education movemen

has been Sylvia Thompson, the soon-to-retire, Director of the Columban Mission Education Office.

With a background in education, youth ministry and religious education, Sylvia came to the Mission Education Office with

many professional and personal skills. Her first meeting of the Columban Fathers was in the Philippines where she lived as

a Navy family with her husband and children.

Her ability to see the reality of mission through the eyes of teachers and students has brought great credibility to the area of

mission education. Today, Columban programs are highly recognized and valued in hundreds of parishes and schools across

the country. Mission is alive and life-giving because of people like Sylvia Thompson.

Although we will all miss Sylvia and her mission spirit, all the Columbans and USCMA staff and membership wish her and

her family, God’s blessings of health and long life.

globalization “where no one is

left behind or excluded.”

Proclaiming God’s justice is a

necessary and important part of

humanizing globalization and itseffects in the immediate future.

Schreiter suggests that the work

of reconciliation might become

one of the prinicipal paradigms

for mission in the 21st century.

He goes on to say that “the

possibility of the reconciliation

of divided and devastated societies may be one of the mos

vivid expressions of God’s Good News for the world today.”

The biblical foundation which supports this paradigm is

found in Ephesians 2:12-19 where Christians are challengedto break down the walls which divide us and put an end to

hostility by becoming citizens of the divine household.

R econciliation will have to encompass the moral

reconstruction of society so that past deeds that led to

violent conflict and to the depredation of globalization

cannot happen again. The work of justice aims at those

dimensions of society which fostered and supported the evil

Though the healing of wounds of the individual and society

are the goal of reconciliation, the message of the Pasca

mystery gives testimony to what Christian faith can bring

to a divided and fractured world. Reconciliation as a paradigm for mission speaks very much to our current time

and will likely continue to be needed in the coming decades

of the 21st century.

Information for this article is from Sedos Bulletin (June/

July, 2002) Visit: www.sedos.org for complete articles

Robert Schreiter, CPPS

Photo: Courtesy of

Dorothy Perry





A Missioner’s Experience in Haiti“We want them to learn that ... the kites they fly cannot be for themselves alone.”

JUDY VOLLBRECHT, RSCJ, WORKED IN AFRICA FOR EIGHT YEARS. FOR NINE YEARS SHE SERVED ASASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

AND MISSION EDUCATOR FOR THE MISSIONS OFFICE OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW ORLEANS. SR . JUDY HAS BEEN IN

HAITI SINCE JANUARY 2000. WITH THE HEART OF A MISSIONER , SHE WRITES A REFLECTION ON HER CURRENT MINISTRY.

Two and a half years ago, the Society of the Sacred Heart came to Haiti. We thought of it as a gift to our Mother

Foundress, Madeleine Sophie Barat, in honor of the 200th anniversary of our founding. It has been an opening onto

another world.

Boys walk the streets ringing a little bell and carrying shoe-shining equipment. How can they stay alive doing that, when

everyone is so poor? Who would spend money getting their shoes shined when they didn’t have money to eat? But clean

shoes are a high value in Haiti. People may have to avoid open sewers, dirty water running down the streets, piles of garbage

and vehicles coming from all directions; but, they make sure their shoes are clean before entering a building. Is it a form of

protest against all the forces stepping on them and working against them? They will not let themselves be defeated.

In the spring, the “windy season”, the sky is full of kites made from plastic bags and sticks. From the tops of building around

the city, children set their creations aloft, using all their skill to keep them from getting entangled in wires or trees. The dirty

streets are below them, and for a few thrilling moments, their dreams fly high. The kites inevitably come to ruin, but the

dreams do not. The next day new kites are made and “take to the sky”.

Haiti is a proud country, built on dreams of slave ancestors who endured humiliation, abuse and death at the hands of other

human beings, who, it turned out, were also made of flesh and blood. Masters mutilated and murdered slaves, who revolted

and murdered them, thereby demonstrating their equality and finding freedom, but it was a freedom based on oppression and

violence, a freedom in which someone is always on top of others. The others wipe their shoes and deny that they have been

stepped upon, that they are not free.

In the slum and market areas of Port-au-Prince today, mountains of rotting, vermin-fested garbage clog the streets. Aftermonths of complaints, they are still there, and growing. Are they perhaps a symbol of the people who live and try to eke ou

an existence there?

A few blocks away, the gleaming white palais national , with manicured lawns and flags flying, has American helicopters

flying overhead to protect the head of state. Inside, a boy from the slums is president, and is trying to keep his kite from

foundering.

In Verrettes, a town three hours from Port-au-Prince, a child of ten cries, “Manman! Manman!” behind a coffin built by his

older brother for their mother, dead of typhoid, whose alcoholic husband also has six children by another woman. Today the

older brother and another sibling have returned to Port-au-Prince, while Jeff and his younger brother stay with their father

and the other “madame”. They go for days without food. They want to go to school.

Otonyel, a wide-eyed boy of seven, who had refused to speak when camp began two weeksearlier, smiles shyly and lifts his Timoun T ét Ansanm tee shirt to show us how full his stomach

had become.

It is in Verrettes that we have come to live and share life with the people of Haiti. We have

chosen to work with the children, and through them with their parents. A group of young

people from the parish work with us, teaching us much about Haitian culture in the process,

and learning about non-violence and children’s rights. We have begun to build a Center for

Timoun T ét Ansanm, where there will be room for the children to play as they learn about the

gospel, caring for the environment, hygiene and health, music and dance, art and crafts, math

and reading. We want them to learn that they do not have to step on others in order to be free,

and that the kites they fly cannot be for themselves alone.

Judy Vollbrecht, RSCJ,

with Rev. Peter Phan

Haiti is a proud country, built on the dreams of slave ancestors.





Book ReviewSAINT FRANCIS by Marie Dennis and art by John August Swanson. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2002.

Built around a visual biography of twenty-four drawings that capture the key elements

and events of St. Francis’s life, Marie Dennis adds excerpts from the The Little Flower

of St. Francis and writings of Thomas of Celano before presenting her own reflections

on the contemporary implications of Francis’ life.

The book is one that everyone can sit with in prayer. The reflections and the inspiring

and reflective art work can be used individually or collectively for hours of reflection

and meditation. SAINT FRANCIS achieves its goal of inviting the reader “to encounter

a holy man that is still relevant to our own” lives as an example of courage and teacher

of faithfulness. By Kevin Day

Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern EuropE

It has been the practice of the Catholic Mission Forum to have a presentation on areas of mission at each of its

meetings. In May we were privileged to hear Msgr. George Sarauskus share from his vast experience of the

Church in Central and Eastern Europe. We deeply appreciated his insights and his concern for our European

brothers and sisters. What follows is a summary of some of the main ideas shared with us. The article is drawn

from materials on the web site: www.usccb.org/aidtothechurchincentralandeasterneurope .

A Faith Ever Ancient

Ever New

Together We Can Build the Future

For three generations Roman Catholics in Central and

Eastern Europe endured the atheistic political climate

of communism. During some seventy plus years their

churches, monasteries and seminaries were closed or

destroyed; their priests, religious, and lay people sent to labor

camps and prisons where many died of hunger, cold, or

grueling work; their ecclesiastical activity and charitable

works forbidden. Everything seemed to be leading to theextinction of the faith and the death of the Church.

On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, soon afterward

Solidarity in Poland gained a foothold and communism weak-

ened—historical turning points benefitting both Christian-

ity and the Churches in Central and Eastern Europe. Early

efforts at bringing back to life the stream of faith that had

been forced underground concentrated on the compelling

needs of the moment: re-

building confiscated

churches, constructing new

worship spaces, reorganiz-ing parishes, refounding

seminaries, training cat-

echists, establishing Episco-

pal Conferences, creating

media services, publishing

religious and catechetical

and liturgical materials.

Current Challenges for an Ancient Faith

TRAVEL DISTANCES TO SUNDAY MASS

The high point of the weekly activity in the Vladivostock

mission is Sunday Mass. Only since January of 1994 has

Mass been held again in the Catholic church. Usually wel

over 100 people attend, though many of them must trave

for two hours or more on public transportation to get there

INFLUENCE OF NON-CHRISTIAN SECTS

Non-Christian sects are actively seeking converts who do

not know anything about Catholicism and who are openly

insulting toward Christianity. All are making inroads among

the young who do not have enough information to make an

informed decision about the truth of Christian beliefs. In

order to spread the Truth and offset these errors, resources

and personnel are needed.

SHORTAGE OF PRIESTS

It took exactly ten years for the Roman Catholic church in

the Asian part of Russia to produce a native, Russian priest

In June 2001, Vladivostok native and member of the parish

of the Most Holy Mother of God, Yevgeny Peregudov, age

28, was ordained to the priesthood for the diocese of Eastern

Siberia.

The above situations are but three examples of problems

that cannot be overlooked today, eventhough the word of

God is again free to be preached throughout Central and

Eastern Europe.

Eastern Europeans Expressing

their Faith in Procession

From the Bookcover

Art by John August Swanson





“The Bible in a

Multicultural Context”

The 2002 World Mission Institute, “The

Bible in a Multicultural Context”

sponsored by the Chicago Center for

Global Ministries and the USCMA washeld this past April in Chicago.

This year’s Institute began with a

moving performance of the Book of

Revelation by David Rhoads of the

Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago

and included presentations representing

several perspectives—three of which

were the African American perspective

by Dr. Clarice Martin of Colgate

Divinity School, the Asian one by Dr.K.K. Yeo of Garrett Evangelical

Theological Seminary, and the African

one by Dr. James Okoye of Catholic

Theologocial Union.

Father Pablo Richard also addressed the

participants with a multicultural study

of the Book of Revelation as a source

for a new vision of the Missio Dei. He

spoke of moving from a prophetic vision

to an apocalyptic vision of the Kingdomof God, from a mission of denunciation

of evil and hopes of societal

transformation to creation of new

visions, new communities and new

values within the present order.

The Chicago Center for Global

Ministries (CCGM) was established in

1993 and describes itself “as a common

venture of Catholic Theological Union,

Lutheran School of Theology of

Chicago, and McCormick Theological

Seminary (PC/USA) to facilitate

theological education for ministry and

to further scholarly research from the

perspective of globalization and the

church’s catholicity.” Next year the

Institute will be held again in April and

will focus on “faith and national

allegiance”. Senator Paul Simon will

be a speaker.

Resources

THE URSULINE SOPHIA CENTER

A wholistic center, sponsored by the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland

and rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ,

provides sacred space, programs and services

that foster growth and health in body, mind, heart, and spirit.

CONTACT: THE SOPHIA CENTER AT: 440 - 442 - 4160

WEB SITE: WWW.URSULINESOPHIACENTER .COM

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CATHOLIC NETWORK OF VOLUNTEER SERVICE (CNVS)

The newest chapter, “Organizing Effective Retreats for Volunteers and

Missioners in Formation”, in CNVS’s Mission Handbook of 104 pages,

includes 84 pages of very practical appendices such as sample schedules,

promotional ads, letters, evaluations, prayers, activities, retreats and more.

Cost: $10.00 plus $2.00 for regular shipping

CONTACT: EUNICE PECK OF CNVS AT: 202 - 332 - 6000 EXT. 18

WEB SITE: WWW.CNVS.ORG

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MARYKNOLL CROSS-CULTURAL SERVICES

“Assisting International Priest/Religious”

Accultuation Program November 10 - 15, 2002, Maryknoll, NY

Designed to foster skill that will enhance the

International Priests/Religious missionary service in the U.S.

“An Outreach to Those Seeking to Minister

Across Cultural Boundaries”

Residential Program January 14 - February 12, 2003, San Antonio, TX

Offers participants invaluable tools to assess, discern and prepare for

cross-cultural work in the U.S. and overseas.

CONTACT: CROSS-CULTURAL SERVICES AT: 914 - 941 - 7590

E-MAIL: [email protected]

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2003 WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY R ESOURCES

Posters, Daily Scripture & Prayer Guides,Ecumenical Worship Guide and Art Work.

Black and white versions may be printed directly from

The Graymoor Ecumenical & Inter-religious Institute’s web site.

Color versions are available at a small cost.

CONTACT: GRAYMOOR ECUMENICAL & INTER -RELIGIOUS INSTITUTE

FRANCISCAN FRIARS OF THE ATONEMENT

R OUTE 9, BOX 300, GARRISON, NY 10524-0300

WEB SITE: WWW.ATONEMENTFRIARS.ORG

Documents

Autumn 2002 Mission Update Newsletter - Catholic Mission Association