We publish the address by Card Stanisław Ryłko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, at the end of the Congress of Asian Catholic Laity on the topic of “Proclaiming Jesus Christ in Asia today, which took place in the South Korean capital. In his final report, the prelate highlighted some important aspects that emerged during the proceedings, namely the wealth of local lay experiences of evangelisation in Asia, the need for hope in a continent and a world dominated by nihilism, the importance of a Christian identity that is expressed without complex or relativism, a synthesis between announcing the Good News and dialogue, movement and parishes. Despite martyrdom and the lack of religious freedom, lay Catholics have an irreplaceable role.
1. As the Congress of Catholic Laity in Asia draws to a close, our hearts are filled with joyful gratitude for the gift that it has been for each one of us and for the Church on this continent. The days we spent together have been truly blessed by the Lord. They have been a time of profound and unforgettable experience of ecclesial communion: bishops, priests, religious and laity gathered together—all listening attentively to what the Spirit has to say to the Church in Asia at this particular moment in history. There was an, almost tangible, atmosphere of Pentecost, confirming the words of Christ: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses [...] to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1.8). Moreover, during these days of intense work, we have felt spiritually accompanied by the legions of Asian saints, martyrs and confessors, who have been raised to the honours of the high altar, as well as all those “unknown soldiers of the great cause of God” (John Paul II) in Asia, whose names are known to the Eternal Father alone. And we have also been encouraged by the shining example of the great missionaries who brought the message of Jesus Christ to this boundless land: St. Francis Xavier, the Servant of God Father Matteo Ricci . . . .
Today, images of the moving liturgical celebrations, that marked the rhythm of our reflections, come to mind. The testimonies, the many personal interventions, conferences and round tables discussions we heard echo within us. This Congress has helped us to discover unsuspected aspects of the life and mission of the Church in Asia. It has revealed a variety and richness of content, which begs the question; what is the common denominator of experiences that have emerged? What has its leitmotif been? Well, I think the answer is contained in one word: “hope”. I think for everyone – pastors, religious and lay faithful – this Congress has been above all else, a school of hope, that hope of which Pope Benedict XVI masterfully speaks in his encyclical Spe Salvi. We live in a world that, despite its outstanding and celebrated scientific and technological progress, is permeated by a painful inability to hope. Postmodern humanity has forgotten God and burned by the failure of false paradises promised by the ideology of a not too distant past, it shows the signs of a profound loss of direction. All too often, it falls victim to a practical nihilism that renders its very existence meaningless. Because man cannot live without hope! The Pope writes: “anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life (cf. Eph 2.12). Man’s great, true hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God–God who has loved us and who continues to love us ‘to the end,’ until all ‘is accomplished’ (cf. Jn 13.1-19.30)”.1 The Holy Father tells us that this hope that comes from Christ is not only a hope for me, the individual, but for the entire community, because it “is linked to a lived union with a ‘people’, and for each individual it can only be attained within this ‘we’ ”.2 This is the hope that the Church and every Christian is called to witness to the world, making it an important service to humanity in our time. This is how St. Peter encourages the recipients of his first letter and indeed, all of us: “But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you! Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (1 Pt 3.13-15). This is the great mission that is looming before the Christians in Asia: they must account for the hope that is in them... This is the mandate that Christ gives us at the end of our Congress: announce hope to this continent. “Each Christian’s words and life must make this proclamation resound: God loves you, Christ came for you, Christ is for you ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life!’ (Jn 14:6)”,3 wrote the Servant of God John Paul II in Christifideles Laici. And this is always possible, even when we are denied religious freedom. But, let us consider together – and precisely in light of this word, hope – some of the key issues discussed during the Congress.
2. “The Church today ought to take a giant step forward in her evangelization effort, and enter into a new stage of history in her missionary dynamism”.4 This statement contained in Christifideles Laici is still very relevant today, and the role of lay Catholics in this process remains irreplaceable. For this reason during the Congress Christ’s invitation: “You too go into my vineyard” (Mt 20.3-4) resounded as a leitmotif, so that lay faithful – men and women – come to understand in increasing numbers that this is a clear call to them to take on their part of responsibility in the life and mission of the Church, namely in the life and mission of all Christian communities (dioceses and parishes) scattered throughout this vast continent and of which they are part. The commitment of the laity to the work of evangelization is in reality changing ecclesial life,5 and this is a great sign of hope for the Church in Asia.
The scale of the evangelical harvest on this continent gives great urgency to the missionary mandate of the Divine Master: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mk 16.15). But today, unfortunately, even among Christians a relativistic mind-set that creates no small amount of confusion about mission has taken root and is spreading. Some examples: the propensity to replace mission with a dialogue in which all positions are equal, the tendency to reduce evangelization to the simple task of human development, believing that it is enough to help people to become more human or more faithful to their own religion, a false concept of respecting the freedom of others, which leads to a relinquishing of the call to conversion. The response to these and other doctrinal errors are contained firstly in the encyclical Redemptoris Missio and then the declaration Dominus Iesus, as well as the Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – all documents that deserve to be subjected to detailed study. Evangelization is an explicit mandate of Our Lord. Therefore, evangelization is not an ancillary activity of the Church, rather the very reason for being of the Church, the Sacrament of salvation. Evangelization, Redemptoris Missio states, is an issue of faith, “an accurate indicator of our faith in Christ and his love for us”.6 As Paul says, “love of Christ impels us” (2 Cor 5.14). Therefore it is not inappropriate to say that “There can be no true evangelization without the explicit proclamation of Jesus as Lord”7 by word and witness of life, since “people today put more trust in witnesses than in teachers, in experience than in teaching, and in life and action than in theories”.8 In addition – and again I quote Redemptoris Missio – “the Church sees no conflict between proclaiming Christ and engaging in interreligious dialogue. Instead, she feels the need to link the two in the context of her mission ad gentes. These two elements must maintain both their intimate connection and their distinctiveness; therefore they should not be confused, manipulated or regarded as identical, as though they were interchangeable”.9
3. The three fundamental laws of evangelization as set out by the future Benedict XVI in a lecture in 2000 are a helpful guide to our missionary commitment and worth remembering here. The first is what the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger called the law of expropriation. We Christians are not masters, but humble servants of the great cause of God in the world. St. Paul writes: “For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus” (2 Cor 4.5). Thus, Cardinal Ratzinger pointed out forcefully that “evangelizing is not merely a way of speaking, but a form of living: living in the listening and giving voice to the Father. ‘He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak,’ says the Lord about the Holy Spirit (Jn 16.13). Our Lord and the Holy Spirit build the Church, they communicate through the Church. Christ’s proclamation, the proclamation of the Kingdom of God supposes the listening to his voice in the voice of the Church. ‘He will not speak in his own name’ means: to speak in the mission of the Church”.10 Thus evangelization is never a private matter, because God is always behind it and there is the Church. Joseph Ratzinger said: “We ourselves cannot gather men. We must acquire them by God for God. All methods are empty without the foundation of prayer. The words of proclamation must always be bathed in an intense life of prayer”.11 This certainty is a great support for us and gives us the strength and courage needed to meet the challenges that the world places in the path of the mission of the Church.
The second law of evangelization is the one that emerges from the parable of the mustard seed “that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants” (Mk 4.31-32). “Great realities often have humble beginnings”,12 stressed the then Cardinal Ratzinger. Indeed, God has a particular predilection for the small “the small remnant of Israel”, bearer of hope for all the chosen people, the “little flock” of disciples that the Lord urges not be afraid, because it is to them the Father gifts his kingdom (cf. Lk 12.32). The parable of the mustard seed says those who proclaim the gospel must be humble; they should not expect immediate results – either qualitative or quantitative. Because the law of large numbers is not the law of the Church. And because the Lord of the harvest is God and he alone decides the pace, timing and mode of growth of the seed. Therefore, this law protects us from discouragement in our missionary commitment, without lessening our desire to give our all, because as St. Paul reminds us, “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor 9.6).
The third law of evangelization is, finally, the law of the grain of wheat that dies in order to bear fruit (cf. Jn 12, 24). Evangelization is always the logic of the Cross. Cardinal Ratzinger said: “Jesus did not redeem the world with beautiful words but with his suffering and his death. His Passion is the inexhaustible source of life for the world; the Passion gives power to his words”.13 Hence the weight of the martyrs witness to faith in the work of evangelization. The very reason for which Tertullian writes: “The more numerous we become, whenever we are cast down [...] the blood of Christians is seed”,14 a sentence more familiarly known in the version: “The blood of martyrs is seed of confessors”. The testimony of faith sealed with the blood of her many martyrs is the great spiritual patrimony of the Church in Asia and a bright sign of hope for its future. Together with the Apostle Paul, Christians in Asia may say, “We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Cor 4.8-10).
4. The correct approach to the relationship between faith and culture is of capital importance for the Church’s evangelizing mission. And this is especially true for Asia, the cradle of ancient cultures and religions. Great missionary figures understood this very well, such as Matteo Ricci, whose work Pope Benedict XVI has called “a unique case of a happy synthesis between the proclamation of the Gospel and dialogue with the culture of the people to whom he brought it; he is an example of balance between doctrinal clarity and prudent pastoral action”.15 This presents a vast and delicate field of mission for the laity and one that requires a sound and thorough theological training. The inculturation of the Christian proclamation is a very complex question, of strong doctrinal value, and not the result of mere logic of efficiency. It has been dealt with in the utmost clarity by the recent Popes. “What matters is to evangelize man’s culture and cultures (not in a purely decorative way, as it were, by applying a thin veneer, but in a vital way, in depth and right to their very roots)”,16 Paul VI wrote in the historic apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi. Because, he added, “the split between the Gospel and culture is without a doubt the drama of our time, just as it was of other times”. Again the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II devoted great attention to the issue, about which he stated, among other things, that “if [...] it is true that faith is not identified with any one culture and is independent of all cultures, then it is no less true that, for this very reason, faith is called upon to inspire, to impregnate every culture. Man in his entirety, in the reality of his daily existence, is saved by Christ and, therefore, it is man in his entirety who must realize himself in Christ. A faith that does not become culture is a faith that is not fully accepted, not entirely thought out, not faithfully lived”.18 And in Redemptoris Missio, a fundamental text for this issue, following on from Evangelii Nuntiandi he defined inculturation as “the intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity and the insertion of Christianity in the various human cultures”.19 Therefore, he added, “the process is thus a profound and all-embracing one, which involves the Christian message and also the Church’s reflection and practice. But at the same time it is a difficult process, for it must in no way compromise the distinctiveness and integrity of the Christian faith”.20 In fact the risk of a lurking syncretism and of a dangerous irenicism is ever present, as the2 International Theological Commission observes in the document Faith and Inculturation, where it states: “However great the respect should be for what is true and holy in the cultural heritage of a people, this attitude does not demand that one should lend an absolute character to this cultural heritage. No one can forget that from the beginning, the Gospel was a ‘scandal for the Jews and foolishness for the pagans’”.21 Even Joseph Ratzinger, as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, devoted memorable pages to the issue of inculturation. At a conference held in Hong Kong, addressing bishops of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), he stated that “we should no longer speak of inculturation but of the meeting of cultures or [...] ‘inter-culturality’. For ‘inculturation’ presupposes that, as it were, a culturally naked faith is transferred into a culture that is indifferent [...] But this description is first of all artificial and unreal, because there is no such thing as a culture-free faith and – outside modern technical civilisation – there is no such thing as religion-free culture”.22 He then went on to explain that “the first thing we must say [is] that faith itself is culture. It does not exist in a naked state, as sheer religion. Simply by telling man who he is and how he should go about being human, faith is creating culture, it is culture [...] It would accordingly be nonsense to offer a Christianity that was, so to speak, precultural or deculturalized, as such a Christianity would be deprived of its own historical power and reduced to an empty collection of ideas”.23 He then drew the important conclusion that “anyone entering the Church has to be aware that he is entering a separate, active cultural entity with her own many-layered intercultural character that has grown up in the course of history. Without a certain exodus, a breaking off with one’s life in all its aspects, one cannot become a Christian”.24 This statement is important and reminds us that our “being Christian” is born from our personal encounter with Christ and that it must always be accompanied by a profound wonder at the incredible newness of life the Master gifts his disciples in Baptism. In the Christian’s life of faith – as in the life of Abraham, our “father in faith” – everything starts from an exodus: “Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk...”. So when we speak of inculturation of the Gospel, we must never forget that faith is not identified with any one culture, but is capable of permeating all cultures.
5. The question of the formation of a mature laity, conscious of their vocation and mission in the Church and the world was a central part of discussions during the Congress. The Fathers of the Synod on the laity have recommended that “the formation of the lay faithful must be placed among the priorities of a diocese. It ought to be so placed within the plan of pastoral action that the efforts of the whole community (clergy, lay faithful and religious) converge on this goal”.25 Formation is in fact a duty, and at the same time a right of the laity,26 and has as its aim to lead them to a constant review of their Christian commitment, active participation in the life of the Church and constant deepening of their shared responsibility for the Church’s mission in the world. Therefore, pastors must promote this process within the parish, entrusting to the laity those tasks, services and offices to which they are called in virtue of their Baptism. They must also aim to exploit the growing presence and contribution of women, as stated in Christifideles Laici, where we can read: “The acknowledgment in theory of the active and responsible presence of woman in the Church must be realized in practice”.27 In this collaboration of the laity we should nevertheless bear in mind the inter-dicasterial Instruction which refers to the need for “particular care to safeguard the nature and mission of sacred ministry and the vocation and secular character of the lay faithful. [Because] ‘collaboration with’ does not [...] mean ‘substitution for’”.28 It is also true that we must contrast a “clerical mentality” that at times renders priests unable to really collaborate with the laity. Nor is it less important to avoid a withdrawal of the Catholic laity within the Christian community. According to the opportunities guaranteed by the civil laws of respective countries, the lay faithful – because of their secular state – are in fact called upon to contribute in society, guided by the principles of the Church’s social doctrine, conveniently summarized in the renowned Compendium,29 and which are part of the process of evangelisation.30 Formation concerns everyone: lay people and clergy. Therefore, it is advisable that every new generation of priests and lay faithful take in hand the council documents that concern them and the lay faithful, in particular, the apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici, which is their real Magna Charta.
Parishes are the primary site of lay formation. Parishes are the true schools of Christian life, major points of reference, of communion and witness of faith. In them, the Church is embodied as a significant social fact. Faced with the challenges that the world launches at the Church today, in Asia too the parish must be supported and assisted in its mission to educate in the faith by small communities, such as the greatly appreciated “base ecclesial communities”. But not only. Here I would like to mention the new and flourishing era of group endeavours of the lay faithful, which are cause for great hopes for the Church.31 John Paul II wrote in Redemptoris Missio: “I call to mind, as a new development occurring in many churches in recent times, the rapid growth of ‘ecclesial movements’ filled with missionary dynamism. When these movements humbly seek to become part of the life of local churches and are welcomed by bishops and priests within diocesan and parish structures, they represent a true gift of God both for new evangelization and for missionary activity properly so-called. I therefore recommend – added the Venerable Servant of God – that they be spread, and that they be used to give fresh energy, especially among young people, to the Christian life and to evangelization, within a pluralistic view of the ways in which Christians can associate and express themselves”.32 How many people, adults and young people with these new gifts bestowed generously by the Holy Spirit upon the Church, have discovered the beauty of being Christians! How many baptized have found renewed missionary zeal and courage! Pope Benedict XVI sees in these new associations and communities, the renewing flame of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and encourages pastors to be ever more open to this great gift: “After the Council – he said – the Holy Spirit has given us the “movements” [...] places of faith where young people and adults try out a model of life in faith as an opportunity for life today. I therefore ask you to approach movements very lovingly. Here and there, they must be corrected or integrated into the overall context of the parish or Diocese. Yet, we must respect the specific character of their charism and rejoice in the birth of communitarian forms of faith in which the Word of God becomes life”.33 Therefore, my heartfelt thanks go to the representatives of ecclesial movements and new communities working on this continent. Thank you for the priceless testimony that you brought to our Congress and thank you for everything that you do to serve the Church in Asia, which can only benefit from these new charisms, from an ever greater openness, in pastoral charity, to this gift of the Holy Spirit that is a precious sign of the hope which does not deceive.
The end goal of every itinerary of authentically Christian formation is holiness. It is important to speak about this at the end of this Congress, which saw the participation of a significant representation of the Catholic laity of Asia. As I said at the beginning, during these days we have felt supported by the saints, martyrs and confessors of the faith in Asia. And we felt their strong spiritual closeness, especially during the celebration in memory of the Korean Martyrs in the beautiful sanctuary dedicated to them. The saints are the great masters of Christian life. They speak of the centrality of God – the God who revealed himself in the face of Jesus Christ – in human life. They instil in us the courage to wager our entire existence on God and, by their example, confirm that it’s worth it, that it gives happiness. And in this way they challenge us to leave the prison of our human certainties, from a mediocrity that sees us put up with the spirit of this world, willing to compromise with the secular culture that now dominates the scene here in Asia too – a mediocrity which sees us become insignificant and invisible. The saints remind us that salt should give flavour and the lantern spread light. That following the Master involves radical choices, it means going against the trend, being a “sign of contradiction” there, where the Lord calls us to be. Not least, the saints – especially the martyrs – are extraordinary builders of unity. John Paul II spoke of the “ecumenism of the martyrs”: Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, united beyond confessions by the same love for Christ: “Amor Dei usque ad contemptum sui” (love of God even to contempt of self), as St. Augustine wrote in the City of God. Let us listen to the voices of saints, allow them to convince us that holiness is not a utopia, but the fascinating goal which Christ promises to all the baptized. Here, one more reason for hope that comes from this Congress.
6. The scope of the tasks facing the Church in Asia at the dawn of the third millennium of the Christian era leaves us feeling inadequate and powerless. The great cause of God and the Gospel in the world is constantly hampered and opposed by hostile forces of various natures. But the words of hope of Benedict XVI help us to take heart. He said in a homily on the “failures of God” during mass with the Swiss bishops on their ad Limina visit: “Initially God always fails, he lets human freedom exist and this freedom constantly says ‘no’; but God’s imagination, the creative power of his love, is greater than the human ‘no’ [...] What does all of this mean for us? First of all, it means one certainty: God does not fail. He ‘fails’ continuously, but it is because of this that he does not fail, because from this he creates new opportunities for ever greater mercy, and his imagination is inexhaustible. He does not fail because he always finds new ways to reach mankind and to open wide the doors of his great home to him”.34 This is why we should never be without hope. The Successor of Peter assures us that God “today too, [...] will find new ways to call men, and he wants to have us with him as his messengers and servants”.35
Dear brothers and sisters, I conclude by making my own the exhortation of the Apostle to the Gentiles: “So, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught” (Col 2. 6).
1 Benedict XVI, Encyclical letter Spe Salvi, n. 27.
2 Ibid, n. 14.
3 John Paul II, Apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici, n. 34.
4 Ibid, n. 35.
5 Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical letter Redemptoris Missio, n. 2.
6 Ibid, n. 11.
7 John Paul II, Apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Asia, n. 19.
8 John Paul II, Encyclical letter Redemptoris Missio, n. 42.
9 Ibid, n. 55.
0 10 J. Ratzinger, La nuova evangelizzazione, “L’Osservatore Romano”, 11-12 dicembre 2000, 11.
1 1 Ibid.
2 12 Ibid.
3 13 Ibid.
4 14 Tertullian, Liber apologeticus 50, 13.
5 15 Benedict XVI, Discorso durante l’udienza alle diocesi marchigiane per il quarto centenario della morte di Matteo Ricci, “L’Osservatore Romano”, 30 maggio 2010, 8.
6 16 Paul VI, Apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 20.
7 17 Ibid.
8 18 John Paul II, Ai partecipanti al Congresso nazionale del Movimento Ecclesiale di Impegno Culturale “Insegnamenti” V, 1 (1982), 131.
9 19 John Paul II, Encyclical letter Redemptoris Missio, n. 52.
0 20 Ibid.
1 21 International Theological Commission, Vol 1 Texts and Documents 1969-1985, Ignatius Press San Francisco 2009, 17.
2 2 J. Ratzinger, Truth and Toleration. Christian belief and world religions, Ignatius Press San Francisco 2004, 66.
3 23 Ibid, 70 and 72.
4 24 Ibid, 73.
5 25 John Paul II, Apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici, n. 57.
6 26 Cf. Ibid, n. 63.
7 27 Ibid, n. 51.
8 28 Instruction on Certain Questions regarding the Collaboration of Non-Ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of Priest, Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1997, 7.
9 29 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2004.
0 30 Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical letter Centesimus Annus, n. 5.
1 31 Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici, n. 29.
2 32 John Paul II, Encyclical letter Redemptoris Missio, n. 72.
3 3 Benedict XVI, Discorso ai presuli della Conferenza episcopale della Repubblica Federale di Germania in visita “ad limina”, “Insegnamenti” II, 2 (2006), 637.
4 34 Benedict XVI, Omelia durante la concelebrazione eucaristica con vescovi della Svizzera, “Insegnamenti” II, 2 (2006), 570 and 573.
5 35 Ibid.