CCFMC News January 2010

A Change of Thinking and Acting against all prevailing Logic

It’s an old story: Problems grow more and more acute, and we always react using the same strategies although they have never before solved the problems. In the political scenario the parties’ political ideologies often come in as irreversible dogmas and prevent new ways of thinking. But the fear of changes that question the achieved paradigms and ways of living we have grown fond of is not alien to anyone of us. Of course there is need for climate protection, but not to the extent for me having to radically change my consumption or mobility habits. This is the dilemma. Problems need to be solved but please not to an extent where everything will change.

But this is exactly what Jesus expects of us. He lives in a disrupted and hate-filled world, Israel is an occupied and exploited country, the rulers safeguard their power with strict rules, and the poor are worthless. In this situation he virtually turns the valid paradigms upside down. When Jesus sees such many people with all their hardships he says quite unusual things. The poor, the mourning, the non-violent, and the starving will be praised; those who are gracious, those who bring about peace and who fight for justice, the Kingdom of Heaven will be theirs. It is the famous Sermon on the Mount that radically scrutinizes the prevailing thinking and behavior patterns. Its attention does not relate to the rich but to the poor. Since then the Sermon on the Mount has turned into the Magna Charta for a new way of thinking and acting. It is the dream of a different world, which people have repeatedly used as a guideline in the 2,000-year history of Christianity.

Mahatma Gandhi for example. He does not preach violence as a tool against violence but rather passive resistance and civil disobedience against the colonial masters. The movement he sets off leads to independence of the country in the end. When asked the question where his belief for the impossible comes from, the deeply religious Hindu answers: "Jesus’ Good News, as I understand it is contained in his Sermon on the Mount. If only the Sermon on the Mount and my own interpretation of it would lie before me I would say: I am a Christian.”

The peaceful revolution in Eastern Europe can also be added to this list. In Poland, the Czech Republic, East Germany many people drew strength from the Sermon on the Mount in order to fight against violence and rigid thinking in blocks of those in power. Michael Gorbatshow has punched the first crack into a closed system through his Perestroika and Glasnost, courageous Christians took the chance to break open and to change a world that hade been grown stiff in blocks.

The unthinkable also happened in South Africa when the white and conservative Boer and President Willem de Klerk ended Apartheid that had existed for centuries and released the freedom fighter Nelson Mandela who had been imprisoned for decades. When Mandela became President himself he also broke with the long-established logic. He did not suppress those who had been suppressors and did not propagate revenge but reconciliation.

Not least the Church itself has lived to see again and again that there had to courageous people, men and women whom it had to remind of the basic rules of the Gospel in order to break open long-established paradigms. Francis had reminded a feudal and powerful Church as his first recipients of the poor Jesus of Nazareth. By announcing the Vatican Council John XXIII has opened the doors and ways for a sustainable Church. The Latin American Church has broken with the 500-year practice of the patronage Church in Medellín and Puebla; by the relocation away from the rich and powerful to the side of the poor it permitted the creation of a „new kind of being Church“.

People are always needed to break through the prevailing logic – in politics, in society, in the Church. The mentioned examples show that rethinking is possible. It depends on us to make a contribution.

Andreas Müller OFM

CCFMC – Center

Meeting of the International Board in Frascati: Presentations

We had invited guests to our meeting who could inspire us and draw our attention to the special actuality of Franciscan theology and spirituality in the light of today’s challenges. The current and the next issue of the CCFMC News will contain summaries of these presentations. For a start, here the one by Professor Mario Cayota:

“Visions of lay Franciscans within the Church and around the World“

What is the role of the Franciscan lay movement today within the Catholic Church and around the world, what could or should be its role? What are the challenges it is faced with in light of the developments within the Church and around the world? Professor Mario Cayota, Ambassador of Uruguay to the Holy See, tried to answer these questions with his presentation to the participants of the International Board Meeting of the CCFMC at the end of October 2009 in Frascati. Mario Cayota is a member of the SFO, Professor for History, author on the history of Franciscan mission in Latin America; he was founder of the Christian Democratic Party and president of the parliament of Uruguay. The following is a summary of the concerns of this prominent member of the Franciscan lay movement. The entire presentation is available to our readers for download, using the link below.

When attempting to draw a comprehensive picture of the Church as well as of today’s world, we have to look into the past and into the time before the Vatican Council II, Cayota says. Already at that time there were “fruitful and powerful theological tendencies“, which were, however, exposed to the restrictions of those times. As an example he mentions the liturgical movement with the so-called “dialogue masses” that had been interdicted by Rome, where the epistle and Gospel were read in Latin first and then in the respective national language; the working priests who were prohibited to continue with their work; distinguished theologians such as Rahner, Cheng, Schillebeeckx, de Lubac, and Congar, who had been warned by the Vatican or had silence imposed on them.

Vatican Council II and its results are, according to Cayota quite fundamentally related to the personality of Cardinal Constantini. He was one of the closest confidants of Pope John XXIII; he shared the ideas – that had been forbidden at that time - of Fr. Antonio Rosmini, who has meanwhile been canonized. „Today it is almost a forgotten fact that in 1939, in a document that has been clearly allocated, he anticipated a Council and already formulates the issues that are fundamental for the vision and the reforms of Vatican Council II“, Cayota states literally. The “valuable results“ of this Council should be regarded as “the beginning and not as the highlight“ of a renewal movement. This point of view is one of the acute problems within the Church of today. Was the Council the highlight or only the beginning? This question affects the Church and its members. We note, however, that there are many areas in which there has not been any break with the Council. An example for this is the Basic Christian communities in Brazil.

„ ... I am convinced that Vatican Council II has not been concluded, and I am not referring to what it has taught but to how it has been put into practice. This obviously applies especially to laity. Wonderful ideas are contained in the Council documents. But presently we as laypersons do not have the position we deserve and we are not even listened to.“ With this challenging sentence Mario Cayota moves to the center of his presentation – the role of laity within the Church. Laity should just not accept the present situation. They should rather act at their own responsibility and get hold of the position they are entitled to. “We should simply be where the Council puts us,“ Cayota emphasizes. This especially applies to Franciscan laity, the SFO.

It is unfortunate to notice that recently there has been a tendency to “clericalize” laity. The wonderful document by Aparecida does unfortunately not give a clear statement on the role and the engagement of laity in the world, although this issue would have deserved a chapter of its own. Even the latest Encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI “Caritas in veritate“ lacks the explicit mention of the role of Christian laity; this is even more surprising as it is a social encyclical and it “is our task to be global witnesses of love in genuine truth.“

According to Mario Cayota it is essential for the Franciscan laity movement to strengthen spirituality through its own power resulting from the social obligations. He pleads that lay theologians should perform this task that had previously been carried out by priests and bishops for laity. Yet another important aspect is to finally put an end to the opinion that theology can only be competently practiced in Europe. This opinion had especially been manifested when dealing with the theology of liberation. Cultural colonization, Cayota emphasizes, “is always the worst. “

Given this situation it has to be one of the essential duties of a Franciscan to testify that the “option for the poor“ is still alive, that it has not been only a temporary matter, but that the “option for the poor” is rather always relevant, because it originates from the centre of the Gospel, from the Holy Scriptures. This option is of historic and existential importance to us as Franciscans; it is a part of us,“ Cayota emphasizes. In this context he calls on the priests, on the Franciscan religious to go ahead and further the engagement by the lay faithful, especially of the members of the SFO, regarding social and political action according to the Council documents and the Pontifical Letter „Christifideles laici”

In this connection it is important to know the Franciscan charism. The comprehensive course is of invaluable help in this, Mario Cayota comments. “We should by all means make use of this exceptional source of ideas to be able to grow in our authentic spirituality and to avoid that we resort to certain devious spiritualisms.“

The challenges of Franciscan laity in today’s world is not only social engagement even though this issue is very much at the forefront in light of the development of poverty, but also issues of genetic engineering, the transnational pharmaceutical industry, the migration problem, globalization, and fundamentalism. One issue of much importance is also the role of women in society and within the Church. There are several excellent ideas to be found in the Council documents.

Finally Mario Cayota addressed the question about the tasks of Franciscan laity nowadays. His reply: “we should be Jesus’ witness to the world ... The original meaning of the term martyr is witness. With our “martyrdom” let us be light and salt in the world we live in...“

Download:

http://www.ccfmc.net/wEnglish/ccfmc/bibliothek/charisma_2008/Visions_Cayota.shtml?navid=107

http://www.ccfmc.net/wEnglish/ccfmc/bibliothek/charisma_2008/Visions_Cayota.pdf

Follow-up

Following the presentation the concerns and suggestions by Mario Cayota were discussed and intensified in small working groups. The experienced University Professor Cayota had given the following questions to the groups:

·     What are possible responses to consumerism and individualism? Will a personal response be sufficient?

·     How can social movements be supported that follow values of solidarity?

·     What are the chances to continue Franciscan prophecy that has played such an important role in history?

·     How can laity receive further training?

·     How can poverty be fought against?

·     What are possibilities for the advancement of women?

·     How can Franciscan-clarean spirituality be lived in the 21^st Century?

The discussion quickly revealed that it is not that easy to measure one’s own life as a Franciscan when applying anyone of these questions, or to get measured. To be honest, we have first of all to admit that we also get tempted by individualism and the modern consumer society and thus we are no longer free and independent in making our own decisions. The Franciscan response should be life within a community in which everyone is aware that he/she always has to set a convincing example in ways of modesty, sustainability, and resource-protecting consumer behavior. This is necessary especially in the light of the annually rising number of people living in utter poverty, the imminent climate catastrophe, when the well-to-do will not change their consumer behavior in view of the ever growing gap between rich and poor.

There were critical comments about spiritual formation within the Franciscan family, which is often still outdated and formalistic and does not take a look at these current problems, and changes were requested in this respect. Unisonous opinion was that this would especially apply to the formation of member of the SFO. „The world of laity has to be de-clericalized,“ i.e. waiting for the priest cannot be the solution. “We need more trained laity“. The CCFMC is a suitable and important tool to achieve this goal. It helps us to rediscover the wealth of Franciscan spirituality and to translate it into our times in order to accept and to respond to today’s challenges. We need people who bear witness to their Franciscan calling; People who do not regard this calling as a way to their own happiness, but as a mission to make the world a little fairer. Networks are required to accomplish this. The numerous movements and organizations engaging in peace, justice, and the integrity of creation need to know that we stand at their side when we take our Franciscan mission seriously nowadays. There are encouraging examples that the CCFMC is able to transmit exactly this kind of competence, when Sisters and Brothers are courageous enough understand their “global mission” in this manner.

Haiti: Franciscans report from earthquake zone

There has been enormous damage to Franciscan facilities but luckily no victims among the Brothers. These are the first news from our Franciscan Brothers from the Caribbean State of Haiti that has been shaken by the earthquake catastrophe. The Franciscans (OFM) in Haiti belong to a foundation by the provincial order in Central America. Regional religious is Fr. Sergio Fallas, who is also part of the provincial administration.

Three Franciscan OFM facilities are located in the capital of Port-au-Prince: The Saint-Alexandre-Building has been completely destroyed, the Parish „Cruz de Misión“ as well as the Convent of the Brothers have been heavily damaged. Merely a building at the edge of town still stands.

The news from Haiti has been passed on by the Curator of the Franciscans in the Caribbean region located in Puerto Rico, Fr. A. Darío Carrero. At the time of the earthquake he was staying in Haiti and could therefore take pictures portraying the entire extent of the damage to the Franciscan facilities. He then forwarded the information after his return.

To date we were not able to find out, despite the vast information ties with the large relief organizations, what has happened to the other congregations of the Franciscan Family in the country, especially to the numerous members of SFO. We can only hope that they were just as lucky as the OFM Brothers.

We are taken aback by the untold misery of the people and would like to express our deepest sympathies to our Sisters and Brothers in Haiti. We hope and pray that they will find the courage for a good new start.

A heartfelt pace e bene,

The team at the CCFMC-Center in Würzburg