Catholic Church During The Year Of Faith

Rev. Fr. Paul Lelen Haokip *

Manipur Catholic Mission Congress :: 10-13 December 2010

Introduction:

The previous Pope, His Holiness Pope Benedict VI announced the YEAR OF FAITH on the 11th October 2012 which will culminate on Christ the King feast on the 24th November 2013. In this year of retrospection, the 1.2 billion Catholics around the globe are exhorted to take a novel approach called 'new way of evangelization'. One may wonder, what could be that or those new way(s). Catholic Church has been one of the pioneers to use social media communication, inculturation etc., to spread the Gospel (go-spell) of Jesus to love and live, still the task ahead is a herculean challenge. Good luck workers in the vineyard of the Lord.

Involvement, Participation and Accountability:

The concept of Citizens' Charter was initiated following the Common Cause Initiative in the UK in 1994 during the regime of John Mayor. The Citizens' Charter is no doubt an innovative mechanism where the citizens (faithful) play an active role in giving timely and necessary feedback about services rendered by the government agencies (church personnel in different charisms of life). Greater concern for accountability to the public has led to innovative schemes in countries like the Philippines and Malaysia.

In 1994, the Philippines Civil Service Commission launched a citizens' satisfaction campaign called Citizen Now, Not Later. The campaign involved the adoption of standard norms of conduct and courtesy to clients. The Malaysian "Client's Charter', is a written commitment aiming at the delivery of outputs or services to an agency's clients.

Should an agency fail to comply with the stated quality standards, as per its Charter, the public can use this as a 'basis for complaints' against non-compliance. In the same vein, several other initiatives on citizens-administration interfaces are taking place worldwide.

If a mere earthly institution which is aiming for some monetary remuneration works so committed, how much more the church personnel have to work for the heavenly reward with more dedication and detachment. The Lord Jesus' principle stands, 'I came to serve, not to be served'.

The Catholic Church has been standing for non-violence. The late Pope John Paul II appealed for peace during the war against Afghanistan. This principle of non-violence is extended in the Catholic Church's stand against Abortion, Euthanasia, Homo-sexuality and many world evils. In spite of all this unfinished missions, they are further asked for new way of evangelization.

What a task ahead! Thirteen (13) is usually associated with unevenness, evil, bad omen etc. Let us see some 13s this year. This year is 2013, Ash Wednesday fell on 13 February 2013, Pope Benedict XVI resigned on 18th February 2013, Papacy was vacant for 13 days, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope on the 13th March 2013. Something new in what has been hitherto considered not so favorable!

On 16th March, Pope Francis called for "a poor Church for the poor" as he addressed the thousands of the world's press, saying he chose his papal name because St. Francis of Assisi shunned riches to help the destitute. The special audience with journalist in a Vatican auditorium was billed as another sign of the greater openness that has characterized the new pope's first days in office. That's a new of evangelization – spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.

In between bursts of applause from the audience, the 76 year old said his papacy was inspired by St. Francis of Assisi who was "a man of poverty and man of peace, a man who loved and protected Creation. Right now our relations with Creation are not going very well". "How I would like a poor Church for the poor!' he said. He urged the Catholic leaders to shun worldly glories and lead a spiritual renewal in the Church that will reach "the ends of the earth", or risk becoming little more than a charity with no spiritual foundation. Are all these acts, new ways of evangelization? Yes, they indeed are.

The courage and humility to face the new expectations and swift changes of society is one new way of evangelization (adaptation). Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species, 1959" was based on CHANGE AND CHANCE that led to evolution of organism. This also led to survival of the fittest or most adaptable. Participatory devices for the faithful to facilitate redressal of citizens' (faithful) grievances need to be introduced. This will revamp and strengthen the interface between citizens and administration (Church's various ministries) in the positive and interactive direction.

The western thought is full of ethical guidelines for rulers, whether in a monarchy or a democracy. Ethics is integral to public administration. In public administration, ethics focuses on how the public administrator should question and reflect in order to be able to act responsibly. We cannot simply bifurcate the two by saying that ethics deals with morals and values, while public administration is about actions and decisions. While being ministers of the sacraments of God, religious people need to be ethical and good administrators knowing the ethos and world views around them.

The Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (evangelization in the modern world), promulgated on the 8 December 1975 states that evangelization includes preaching, catechesis, liturgy, the sacramental life, popular piety and the witness of a Christian life. It has become the bounden duty of the Church to proclaim always and everywhere the Gospel of Jesus Christ. "Go therefore and make disciple of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).

The constant effort to answer or reflect about the questions in the context of the problems of humanity today brings us to the ideas of new religious behavior and spirituality that is positive and other oriented. There is a continuous need to device new ways of "Being Church" which avoids the dangers of sectarianism and a "civic religion", and allows the Church, in today's post-ideological era, to continue to maintain her identity as missionary.

Therefore the Church must not fail to be seen as a "domestic Church" and "The People of God". According to late Pope John Paul II, the "new evangelization" means to remake the Christian fabric of human society and the fabric of Christian communities themselves and to assist the Church to continue to be present "in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters" so as to animate their lives and guide them to the kingdom to come.

Conclusion:

New evangelization is not to run away from this world but to actively participate like God himself for its well being and sustenance. It is right reading of the signs of the time, asking pertinent questions and joining hands with every good soul to arrive at universal goodness and ecological up-keep. It is a chance for a deeper relationship with neighbors and even apparent enemies. More than distinction, acceptance and inclusion are the fabrics of New Evangelization. Till every means is exhausted, we keep working.