Statement

on the

MISSIONS

December, 1971

National Conference

of

Catholic Bishops



STATEMENT ON THE

MISSIONS

V
ATICAN II reminds us that "the pilgrim

Church is missionary by her very nature ." 1

It recalls that all bishops "are consecrated not

just for some one diocese, but for the salvation

of the entire world ."2 To accomplish this we,

the Catholic Bishops of the United States, need

the help of everyone in this country who shares

with us the life and mission of the Church.

Like her divine Founder, the Church must

continually share "the good news" of salvation

with all men of every race and nation, even in

the most remote corner of the earth . 3 jesus

came to save all men without exception. This

He did by His suffering, death and resurrection.

This "good news" He wants proclaimed to

all creation. He promises salvation to all who

hear, believe and live the message of this Gos-

pel .
4 We continue His mission by our lives

within the community served by His Church.

Salvation for some today means meeting

people's needs in the temporal order. For others

it cannot be found this side of eternity. The

meeting of these two points of view constitutes

the alleged conflict as to which is primary in the

missionary effort, the development or the

evangelization of people.

Some who emphasize the development of

people in the temporal order disagree as to the

proper means to this end. There are those who

feel violence must be done to existing social

structures in order to free people from the

tyranny of the past. Others would stop short of

violence. Still others see liberation as a peaceful

evolution under the guidance of the Gospel.

For those who carefully follow the social

teachings of Pope Paul and his beloved prede-

cessor, Pope John, the resolution of these ques-

tions should be clear. "There is no true human-

ism, but that which is open to the Absolute, and

is conscious of a vocation which gives human

life its true meaning ." 5



There can be little spiritual growth for

people unless temporal needs are first satisfied.

There can be no lasting spiritual growth for

them unless sights are fixed firmly on God and

an eventual union with Him. Missionaries gen-

erally were and are aware of these priorities .
6

Unfortunately, modern man too often for-

gets this necessary balance. It is imperative in

the missionary effort "to keep modern man . . .

from becoming a stranger to things divine
." 7

This is an urgent need for the "developed" as

well as the "underdeveloped" peoples. Too

many in both worlds look to science and tech-

nology as the only avenues to liberation.

We clearly hear the anguished cry of peo-
ple everywhere for a life of dignity, firmly

based on this missionary preaching. We sense
urgency in the Council's stress upon "reverence

for man
" 8 and upon the universal human

desire to be recognized individually as a human

person. We understand this desire to share
justly in the good things of the earth, so essen-

tial to this life of dignity.

We affirm the right of every individual to
this sharing, regardless of race, color, national

origin or religious convictions. This is a right

born of the inalienable demands of justice, for

things produced are for "the service of man ." 9

Its realization is assured only in a society which

honestly recognizes a mutual and unselfish love

among all people. It is the message of the

missionary that it is realistically attained only

in a society built on this sort of trust, under-

standing and love.

Every Christian, every Christian commun-

ity, and indeed the entire Christian Church

must by their very nature retain this missionary

sense. As true disciples of Christ, we have the

obligation to teach constantly this concept of

man and his destiny with God both in time and

in eternity .
10 There is no other way to true

happiness.

We must prepare the way for the faith, and
proclaim the Gospel message which is informed

by a living faith. We must pray, make continu-
ing sacrifices, and become personally involved

in ministering to the needs of our less fortunate

neighbors, wherever in this world they may live,

whatever might be their need. In what other

way can wars, racism, exaggerated nationalism,

violence and injustice, as well as the hunger,



disease, ignorance and misery they engender,

be conquered?

This missionary obligation of preaching the

Gospel message is shared by every member of

this pilgrim Church." This obligation

naturally differs according to our respective

roles in the Church. Whether bishops, priests,

religious or lay people, however, we must con-

stantly recognize our common obligation to

those who neither know nor feel the impact of

Christ and His love and peace in their lives.

Conscious of this shared responsibility, we

remind all the faithful of the need to support

the missionary effort of the Church. We urge a
renewed awareness of the missions and mis-

sionary activity in every Catholic parish and

institution in our country. We rejoice in our
people's constant concern for the continuing

needs of poor missionary churches on every

horizon of the world at home and abroad. This

concern is a ray of hope to suffering millions

floundering in a world without God.

In a very special way we wish to encourage

every legitimate effort to stir this sense of mis-

sion in all our priests, religious and laity. In

particular we reaffirm our commitment to pro-

mote in every diocese and parish in this country

the Society for the Propagation of the Faith

and the Association of the Holy Childhood, as

urged by Vatican II. 12 We are especially
grateful for the support given the national and

diocesan directors of these societies, whose

effort helps us meet our grave responsibility to

the churches which need our special help.

Both of these societies, approved by the

Holy See, involved the laity in their origin.

They were concerned about providing concrete

help for early missionary evangelization in

America, among other places in the world.

From the very outset their approach was first of

all spiritual, emphasizing prayer and personal

sacrifice as indispensable in helping the mis-

sions. In addition it was universal, sharing sacri-

fices with all the missionaries of the world.

The Society for the Propagation of the

Faith and the Association of the Holy Childhood

retain this universal view. The Society for the

Propagation of the Faith, for example, provides

basic support for more than 819 Catholic mis-

sions in Asia, Africa, Oceania and every other

quarter of the world. Over 135,000 missionary



priests, brothers and sisters, and associates

from the laity, look to the Society to sustain and

develop their mission of mercy to the under-

privileged of the world. With special joy we

note in this blessed company some 8,373 native

Americans among our world missionaries. This

number includes 3,490 priests, 666 brothers, 90

scholastics, 3,824 sisters and 303 members of

the laity.
13

We salute in a very special way the men
and women religious who constitute the bulk of

this heroic missionary army overseas. We recog-
nize with gratitude the substantial help they

have received in recent years from the involve-

ment of diocesan priests and the laity in their

work. Over the years, however, it was the

prayer, the sweat and the toil of these religious,

committed to the missions by their religious

profession and their loyalty to the Holy Father,

which made unmistakably clear the sensitivity of

the American Church to the problems which

plague millions everywhere.
14

Symbolic and truly representative of these

sterling men and women religious is our vener-

able brother, Bishop James Edward Walsh.

We salute his admirable example of Christian
patience and fortitude in the face of trials which

missionaries are often called to bear. In him are

personified the missionaries who make them-

selves one with their people in every joy and

sorrow which comprise the daily human experi-

ence. We thank him and all who give witness
by their lives and work that the Church in

America, like the Church in other lands, does

seriously accept its missionary responsibility to

the world.

Urgently we ask young Americans to

recognize the missionary vocation as their own.

Signs of their commendable concern for reliev-

ing the needs of people, particularly the de-

prived whether young or old, are visible daily.

In praising their efforts to find positive solutions

to the problems of war, poverty and prejudice,

we also express the hope that many more of

these young people will personally close ranks

with missionaries by seeking solutions to such

problems in preaching, by word and example,

the Gospel message of salvation.

We are proud of our part in establishing
the United States Catholic Mission Council.

Together with the priests, religious and laity

with whom we worked, we hope it will achieve



its clear purpose. This Council is intended to

"provide a forum and organ for the evaluation,

co-ordination and fostering, in the United

States, of the worldwide missionary effort of

the Catholic Church.

"

1S

The recent statement of the Catholic Mis-

sion Council, "The Whole Missionary Church,"

succinctly reviews the teaching of Vatican II on

the missions and urges ways to implement that

teaching. The plans embodied there hold great

hope for the growth of mission awareness

among all American Catholics.

Of particular interest and importance are

the mission committees at the diocesan level.

These committees can be instruments for unit-

ing priests, religious and laity in the service of

the missions. They already exist in a number of

dioceses; and in every diocese the appointed

director of the papal mission-aid societies is

already guiding many of the undertakings pro-

posed for the committee. To avoid duplication

of structures it is desirable that the diocesan

committees develop in close collaboration with

the diocesan director.

We bishops are grateful for the support our
people have given the missions in the past. We
see this support as another evidence of their

generous response to people in need anywhere

and everywhere in the world. This help must

continue, so that together we can meet our

collegial responsibility to the whole missionary

Church. Through this response we trust we will

in fact be neighbors, as Jesus says, "to the least

of these brothers of mine." 16

Notes

1 Ad Gentes, 2

"The conditions of this age lend special ur-

gency to the Church's task of bringing all

men to full union with Christ, since man-

kind today is joined together more closely

than ever before by social, technical, and

cultural bonds." Lumen Gentium

,

1

2 Ad Gentes, 38

3 Revelation, 14:6

4 Mark, 16

5 Populorum Progressio, 42



6

Idem, 12

7 Ad Gentes, IT

8 Gaudium et Spes, 27

9 "The fundamental purpose of this produc-

tivity must not be the mere multiplication of

products. It must not be profit or domination.

Rather, it must be the service of man, and

indeed of the whole man, viewed in terms of

his material needs and the demands of his

intellectual, moral, spiritual, and religious

life. And when we say men, we mean every

man whatsoever and every group of men,

of whatever race and from whatever part

of the world." Idem, 64

10 Matthew, 28:19-20

11 Ad Gentes, 36

12 Idem

,

38

13
Statistics provided by the Society for the

Propagation of the Faith

14 Ad Gentes, 27

15 Preamble to the By-Laws of the United

States Catholic Mission Council

16
Luke, 10:29-31; Matthew, 25:31-46



1971

Publications Office

UNITED STATES CATHOLIC CONFERENCE

1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005