Evangelisation yes evangelisation no: the actual context

 E are before many interrogatives: in such an irenic climate of inter-religious and ecumenical dialogue, is evangelisation still possible? If it is possible, is it legitimate? And if it is legitimate, is it necessary today, seen that all religions are considered to be saving ways?

The NOTE of the Congregation for the Doctrine of faith tries to give an authoritative answer to these interrogatives, re-proposing the teaching of Jesus, the new divine Master. Appearing to his disciples after the resurrection, Jesus said, “As the Father sent me, so am I sending you” (John, 20, 21). Ascending to heaven, He launched the challenge of evangelisation, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you always, yes, to the end of time. (Matthew, 28, 18-20).

Obeying this command of the Lord, the apostles scattered to the four corners of the earth, preaching, converting and baptising. Let us remember the evangelisation carried on by St. Peter and concluded with his crucifixion on the Vatican hillock. Paul, the apostle of the nations, had the same fate. During his numerous journeys in Asia and Europe, suffering persecutions and humiliations, he founded many Christian communities up to his martyrdom in Rome. The Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of St. Paul inform us exhaustively about this prodigious missionary spreading of the primitive Church, about the enthusiasm of the disciples and the apostles in proclaiming Christ and witnessing to him until martyrdom.

Evangelisation has been a constant urge of the church along the two thousand years of her existence. During the latest centuries, the proclamation of the Gospel in the Americas, in Asia and Africa has been extraordinary, above all thanks to the missionary activity of the Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, Jesuits, Trinitarians, Carmelites, Salesian and the numerous male and female religious congregations, whose charism was just a commitment to the proclamation of the Gospel to all nations. In this way, the name of Jesus has been proclaimed everywhere, his grace has been poured abundantly on the peoples and nations and the prayer to the Holy Trinity has been raised from all corners of the earth. This missionary activity –called missio ad gentes- constitutes the most dynamic aspect of the Church’s life in history.

Even the Vatican II Ecumenical Council has encouraged the mission with the decree Ad gentes: “The main activities by which the divulgers of the Gospel, going throughout the whole world, carry on their task of preaching and founding the Church among the peoples and human groups that  ignore Christ, are commonly called “missions” (n. 6).The reason of the Church’s missionary activity depends on the universal saving will of God, who wants that all men may be saved and may reach the knowledge of the truth. In fact, there is a unique God and a unique mediator between God and men, Jesus Christ, man himself, who has given up himself as ransom for all men (1 Timothy, 2,4-6): «salvation does not exist in any other» (Acts, 4,12). «Therefore, it is necessary –the Council continues- that all men and women be converted to Christ, made known through the preaching of the Church, and that all be incorporated to Him and to the Church, his body, through Baptism” (Ad gentes 7).

To spread the Gospel, therefore, is an inalienable task, and also a right of the Church. The missionary activity of the Church keeps today, as always, its validity and legitimacy, indeed its necessity and urgency. Notwithstanding this clear invitation to the mission and the observation that an ever increasing number of human communities seem to ignore the Gospel, today’s evangelising activity is undergoing a standstill if not a specific crisis. It seems that we –above all religious of missionary institutes- are going through a period of both theoretical and practical confusion. At practical level it seems that we are more committed to human promotion than to the preaching of the Gospel in answer to the missionary command of the Lord Jesus: helping the neighbours through concrete initiatives of education and assistance, to re-conquer one’s own human dignity, co-operating so that entire populations may enjoy the minimum of material goods and live a dignified existence. In other words, it is the matter of limiting ourselves to a social testimony worked by missionaries who are committed to schools and universities, in agriculture, in the defence of human rights and in hospitals. We mute the religious dimension of proclaiming Christ and the invitation to conversion and Baptism.

Theoretically, this practical turning-point of the mission is motivated by precise ideological indications that substantially consider the specific mission as overcome and no longer practicable. If once the motto extra ecclesia nulla salus» was valid, today –always according to the current ideology- it would be more adequate to state «extra ecclesiam multa salus». Consequently there would be no impellent necessity of missionary activities and evangelisation; we should limit ourselves to a silent testimony and to the acknowledgement that salvation is possible for all in the area of one’s own religion, since all the beliefs are equally valid. The saving plan of God, therefore, would no longer be the one realised in the mystery of the Incarnation of the divine Son, but would be manifested in the multicoloured rainbow of all the religions in the world.  

An ever growing confusion

Before these erroneous statements, the Congregation for the doctrine of faith, that had already given a complete doctrinal picture on this problematic in the 2000 Declaration Dominus Iesus, now answers with a doctrinal Note on some aspects of evangelisation, recalling the council and post-council magisterium. Besides Vatican II, the Note refers to the apostolic exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi (1975) by Paul VI and to the pontifical magisterium of John Paul II, above all to his encyclical letter Redemptoris missio (1990).

The Note is made up of five short chapters for a total of 13 articles. The Introduction re-proposes the missionary mandate of Jesus who, sent by the Father to proclaim the Gospel, calls all men to conversion and to faith, entrusting to the Apostles the continuation of his evangelising mission. What happened at the initial stage must go on along the whole course of history, “At the beginning of the third millennium, the invitation that Peter with his brother Andrew and the first disciples received from Jesus keeps on resounding in the world, “put out into deep water and pay out your nets for the catch” (Luke, 5,4). And, after the miracle of the great catch of fish, the Lord declared to Peter that he would become a fisher of men, “from now on it is people you will be catching” (Luke, 5,10)» (n. 1).

The Note clarifies the content of the term evangelisation, that is addressed to the whole of humanity and that concretely “means not only the teaching of a doctrine, but the proclamation of the Lord Jesus in words and actions, in other words, becoming instruments of his presence and action in the world (n.2). If every human being has the right to receive the gift of the Word of God, the Church has the duty to evangelise. St Paul wrote, “Preaching the Gospel gives me nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion and I should be in trouble if I failed to do it!” (1 Cor 9, 16; see, Rom 10, 14).  

The introduction speaks also of the confusion inducing today many persons to leave the missionary command of the Lord unheard and inactive. There are substantially two objections in this regard. First of all, the evangelising activity of the Church would be a limit against the freedom of others, “It would be legitimate only to expose one’s own ideas and to invite persons to act according to their conscience, without favouring their conversion to Christ and to the Catholic faith” (n. 3). In the second place, some believe that we should not proclaim Christ to non-Christians or favour the adhesion to the Church, “because it is possible to be saved even without an explicit knowledge of Christ and a formal incorporation to the Church” (n. 3).

The text of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith intends to answer these difficulties, respecting the conscience and freedom of each human person. Thus, it gives a hint about a triple aspect of evangelisation: anthropological, ecclesiological and ecumenical aspects.

Anthropological aspect of evangelisation  

Evangelisation is a gift offered to human freedom and to its capacity of knowing and loving whatever is good and true, above all if it is the matter of knowing and loving the saving truth and of adhering to the person of Christ the saviour. However –someone objects- is it legitimate today to propose to other persons what we consider true in itself? Is this not an attack to the freedom of others? In reality, the consideration of human freedom, unhooked from the unavoidable reference to the truth, is nothing but the expression of such a relativism as it acknowledges no truth, reducing everything to an undifferentiated pluralism. In other words, they deny in man the intrinsic capacity, namely, impossibility to know and to follow the truth. However, if man denies his fundamental capacity of the truth, if he becomes sceptic about his faculty of really knowing what is true, he finishes by losing something that can charm his intelligence in a unique way and fascinate his heart.  (n.4).

Moreover, in his search for the truth, man cannot trust his own strength, seen that from his very birth he does nothing but to welcome numerous traditions and multiple truths, constituting the store of his language as well as of his cultural and spiritual formation. Nobody can deny the fact that the truths simply “received” and “believed” are more numerous than those acquired through one’s own personal verification.

Now, this indispensable necessity to entrust oneself to the received notions is even more urgent when it is the matter of a truth apt to enlighten us and to guide the sense of our personal existence. The welcoming –through faith and absolute freedom of conscience- of the revealed truth is intrinsic in the dynamic that seeks the truth. The truth of the Gospel is imposed thanks to its own truth: “Therefore, to solicit honestly the intelligence and the freedom of a person towards the encounter with Christ and His Gospel is not an undue interference, but rather a legitimate offering and a service that may render the human relations more fruitful” (n. 5).

Moreover, evangelisation, namely the activity with which the Christian communicates the Gospel to others, favouring its acceptance, is not only in deep syntony with the nature of the human progress in dialogue and learning, but is also in line with another anthropological reality, that of sharing one’s good with others.

The Christian, fascinated by the Gospel, cannot help witnessing it and proposing it to his neighbours, “The revelation of the fundamental truths on God, on self and the world is a great wealth for every man; while, living in obscurity, without any truth about the last questions, is an evil, often at the origin of suffering and sometimes of dramatic slaveries. This is why St. Paul does not hesitate to describe the conversion to the Catholic faith as a liberation “from the kingdom of darkness” and an entry “into the kingdom of the beloved Son, in whom we have the redemption from our sins” (Col 1,13-14)» (n. 7). For this reason, the adhesion to Christ and to the truth of his Gospel, as well the entry to the Church, does not limit, but exalts our human freedom, orienting it towards its fulfilment. Evangelisation, even anthropologically speaking, is an inestimable gift that the Church offers to humanity in absolute gratuity and freedom, making it partaker of her richness of truth and grace. The original motive of evangelisation is, in fact, the love of Christ for the eternal salvation of all men.

 Ecclesiological aspect of evangelisation

A characteristic of evangelisation is the invitation to faith, to conversion and to the sequela Christi. If the appeal to conversion is valid for non-Christians, called to a free acceptance of grace, and for the Christians, called to a daily change of mentality, the incorporation to the Church is nothing but entering the communion with Jesus and the spiritual goods of God’s Kingdom. “The Kingdom of God is not –as somebody today  believes- a generic reality, above all the religious experiences and traditions, to which they should tend as to a universal and indistinct communion of all those who seek God; it is, above all a person, with the face and name of Jesus of Nazareth, image of the invisible God” (n. 9).

Incorporation to the Church, therefore, is entering the Kingdom and the communion with Christ. We cannot separate the Kingdom from the Church, just as we cannot separate Christ from the Kingdom and from the Church, His mystical body. With this regard we need to overcome another objection from the relativist and pluralist spirit, for which many faithful do not see clearly the reason of evangelisation; “They reach the extent of stating that the pretext of having received as a gift the fullness of God’s Revelation conceals an attitude of intolerance and a danger for peace (n. 10). In reality if freedom does not mean indifference, but tension towards good, the respect for the religious freedom of each human being must not make us indifferent before the truth and the good to be communicated in gratuity and charity, as well as in an absolute respect of the conscience of others.

In the contemporary “desert” of the obscurity of God, the emptiness of conscience and human dignity, the evangelising proposal is a generous act of charity and at the same time a right and an irremissible duty of the free man. “This right, unluckily, is not yet recognised in some parts of the world and in other parts it is not actually respected” (n. 10). Moreover, the evangelisation can be realised through the public preaching of the Gospel as well as through the personal testimony of faithfulness, coherence and holiness. Word and testimony enlighten each other. If the word is denied by the conduct, it is sterile, but also if the testimony is not supported by a clear and unequivocal proclamation of the Lord Jesus, it remains powerless.

Ecumenical aspect of evangelisation  

The evangelisation promoted by the Church has a universal ray and is realised in different ways, according to the human and religious communities to which it is addressed. Proposing the concrete evangelisation in countries of old Christian tradition, the document reminds the respect for one’s own traditions and their spiritual richness. It states afresh also the urgency of ecumenical commitment through listening, theological discussion and testimony. With this regard it is reiterated that the faithful, wherever he is and whenever he wants it, has the right and the duty to witness and to proclaim his faith fully.

This is why we cannot accuse the Catholic faithful of proselytism –in the worst sense of the term, namely as unduly pressuring the conscience of others- if he, in freedom, in respect and gratuity of charity, manifests his Catholic faith through his word and testimony. “With this regard it is to be noted that if a non-Catholic Christian, for reasons of conscience  and convinced of the Catholic truth, asks to enter the full communion with the Catholic Church, this is to be respected as the work of the Holy Spirit and as an expression of the freedom of conscience and religion. This is not proselytism, in the negative sense attributed to this term. The decree on ecumenism of Vatican II has explicitly acknowledged that “it is clear that the work of preparation and reconciliation of the individual persons who desire the full Catholic communion is by its very nature distinct from the ecumenical initiative; however, there is no opposition, since both of them proceed from an admirable disposition of God”. Thus, this initiative does not deprive us of our right or exempt us from the responsibility of proclaiming the Catholic faith in its fullness to other Christians who freely accept of welcoming it” (n. 12).

The testimony of the truth is not to be given forcefully or with undue artificial means, but in freedom and respect for the conscience of others. It is the Word of God, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, that convinces and converts the hearts and the minds, “The Christian mission rests in the power of the Holy Spirit and of the proclaimed truth.” (n. 12).

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The Note of the Congregation for the Doctrine of faith intends to remind the Catholic faithful, above all the consecrated, of their missionary commitment. After a period of ideological and practical scattering, perhaps the moment has arrived of re-launching the evangelisation, seen that entire continents, for instance Asia, keep on waiting for the Word of life and the truth of Jesus.

The consecrated persons are particularly questioned by this document, because in the Church-History Providence has entrusted the wonderful gift of evangelisation to Orders and Congregations, as proclamation as well as testimony. This can be proved by the missionary presence of consecrated persons in every continent marked by the map of the globe. This is a richness of the Catholic Church and an unsurpassable testimony on behalf of the consecrated religious, of whom we cannot help to be proud.

Moreover, evangelisation is not only a socio-assistance task, but rather a properly apostolic one; it is a task of human promotion, yes, but also, and above all,  of handing over the word of eternal life to persons and peoples needing the light of the Gospel  and the saving grace of Jesus. Near the gift of food, of assistance, of human instruction, the missionary cannot deprive the neighbours of the great gift of knowing Jesus, of incorporation in the communion with Him and the Church through Baptism and the invitation to holiness of life

We can consider young Zeffirino Namuncurà, beatified on November 11 2007 at Chumpay, Argentina, as one of the many fruit of Catholic evangelisation. He was the son of a great Mapuche, converted to Christianity by the Salesian missionaries; he wanted to be a priest to defend his tribe from the abuses of the powerful persons, but above all to promote the human and spiritual dignity of his people, through the teaching of the Gospel and the communion with Jesus, to whom he was heroically faithful until death. Thousands of youths throughout the world are waiting for the Word of Jesus and his grace. Let us not remain deaf before this reminder

  Angelo Amato
Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith  
Piazza Città Leonina, 1 - 00193 Roma

 Note

1. Congregation for the Doctrine of faith,Nota dottrinale su alcuni aspetti della evangelizzazione – 3 dicembre 2007 (Doctrinal Note on some aspects of evangelisation –December 3, 2007)