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Synodality

11/27/2019

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Continuing the theme of Praise & Criticism of the Pope and the Amazon Synod
Let me repeat again: Tom Kington (7 Sept 2019): wrote in The Times on the Amazon Synod: “A synod planned by Pope Francis … has provoked the fiercest clash yet between the pontiff and his conservative critics.” (emphasis added).
 
As Franciscans let us remember that the theme of the Amazon Synod was: “Amazon: New Paths for the Church and Integral Ecology” and one of its movers was Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, OFM, Archbishop Emeritus of São Paulo, Brazil and President of the Pan-Amazon Ecclesial Network (REPAM).
 
After reading an editorial in The Tablet, a prestigious British Catholic weekly supportive of synodality; and articles by two Americans: Dan Horan, OFM, supporter: “Synodality isn't just an option, it's the only way to be church” and George Weigel, critic: “The “synodality” masquerade”  I sought more information. This leads me to say this: some of the critics are definitely not in the Franciscan camp! As Franciscans we have to remember who we are and where Franciscan Tradition leads us. We should recognise and beware of the implied anti-Franciscan criticism such as that from Dr. Farrow, a Canadian.
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Emilie Callan, a synod delegate from Canada, second from right, attends a session of the Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and vocational discernment at the Vatican Oct. 11
What is Synodality?  If you do not know you are not alone! I only had the vaguest idea until after the Amazon Synod and apparently we are not alone. “It is absolutely surprising how very little so many bishops know about synodality, a method Pope Francis has sought to develop throughout his pontificate and a concept Catholic theologians have been discussing for at least a couple of decades… In order to understand how the pope's ecclesiology is currently being received, we should look back at the concept of episcopal collegiality as it was introduced at the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). … episcopal collegiality was not, in fact, some novelty, but part of the Church's deeper tradition.” [This concept is now under expansion to include ecclesial synodality i.e. collegiality not restricted just to bishops but including all the faithful, i.e. all the People of God]. See Massimo Faggioli’s: Pope Francis' struggle to bring forth a synodal Church: Synodality for Francis is not just a form of Church government but a way of being Church.
 
In fact synods predate the Constantinian shift to a monarchical church in the fourth century. The International Theological Commission’s March 2018 study “Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church” acknowledged: “Although synodality is not explicitly found as a term or as a concept in the teaching of Vatican II, it is fair to say that synodality is at the heart of the work of renewal the Council was encouraging” (n 6).

The concept of a synodal church was outlined by Pope Francis on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Synod of Bishops, 17 Oct 2015.

     "synodality" means "walking together"
        with every member of the church,..."
 


From The Catholic Register, a definition of synodality: “In simple terms, "synodality" means "walking together" with every member of the church, recognizing that the grace of baptism makes one part of the body of the church and, therefore, responsible for its life and mission.”
 
But this needs elaboration. So let me draw on The Tablet (2 Nov 2018): (emphasis added)
“the emerging theory of synodality – a favourite theme of Pope Francis – is about participation by the whole People of God and the sharing of responsibility at all levels. [My comment: does this sound a bit like the People of God’s “co-responsibility” that Benedict XVI mentioned. Also see CCCB
 
The days of confining church government only to bishops have to be over. Confidence in bishops acting alone has been severely undermined by their role in the scandal of child abuse by clergy, particularly by covering it up rather than straining every episcopal muscle to stamp it out. … [The Pope] can be expected to appeal to the world’s young Catholics to rediscover the excitement of the Gospel and fulfil their vocation to spread the Word, whatever their ecclesiastical status.
 
The Church is being reminded by Pope Francis of the insight of the Second Vatican Council, that the fundamental Christian sacrament is not ordination as priest or bishop, but baptism. All the baptised are responsible for the welfare of the household of the faith. So the Church’s missionary and pastoral priorities can no longer be imposed from above, but discerned by consultation with the faithful down to parish level. Nor can there be discrimination in those processes on the basis of gender, race, age, sexual orientation or any other grounds, for there is no discrimination in baptism itself.
Synodality, the word that describes all this, now has to be taken into the Church’s structures at national, diocesan and parish level. That is an immense challenge.”
 
Others have written that synodality incorporates: subsidiarity; decentralization; solidarity; and unity in diversity. Cardinal Marx has said. "The universal church can only exist in cooperation with the local churches – sub Petro et cum Petro –[under Peter and with Peter] as Pope Francis strongly worded it."
 
Why is synodality controversial?
Perhaps because as Dan Horan, OFM wrote, some are calling for “a broader embrace of … "the type of synodal pathway that the church in the Amazon has been undergoing.” ” 
 
Yes, indeed, but the controversy is not just restricted to the synodal way of governance (less clericalism; greater pastoral concern; consultation, listening, debate, discerning and final decision making by pastors & bishops (with the final say by the Bishop of Rome) but it is the results i.e. implementation of Laudato Si’s integral ecology; the possibility of a greater role for women & a married clergy & a new Amazonian liturgical rite that really excites the ire of the critics. They do not want all this i.e. what some call the “progressive agenda” to be an example and copied by the rest of the Catholic world.
 
But let us hear from Dan Horan, OFM: “A broader sense of synodality beyond that consultative body of bishops in Rome is about proper recognition of the place of all the baptized faithful in the prudential discernment about church decision-making and governance. It is not a call to do away with hierarchical leadership. No, the church is not a democracy. But neither is the church a monarchy wherein local bishops, bishops' conferences, or even the pope rules by fiat. The church is a "hierarchical communion," as Lumen Gentium explains, but one whose ministers arise from and are oriented to the service of all the baptized.” As the International Theological Commission in Synodality In The Life And Mission Of The Church, 2018  puts it:  
 “Communion, synodality, collegiality - 6. … In this ecclesiological context, synodality is the specific modus vivendi et operandi [way of life and operation] of the Church, the People of God, which reveals and gives substance to her being as communion when all her members journey together, gather in assembly and take an active part in her evangelising mission.”
None of this sounds heretical or off the wall to me; in fact it sounds very good and I would echo what Dan Horan, OFM says: “I would suggest that synodality is not merely an option to be recovered, but is in fact the only authentic way to be church.” [emphasis added]

 “I would suggest that synodality is not merely an option to be recovered, but is in fact the only authentic way to be church.”
 
George Weigel’s criticism.
I will offer only one short quote (always a dangerous thing!):
“Serious consultation and collaboration are essential to effective pastoral leadership, including the leadership of the Bishop of Rome. But over the 50-plus years of its existence, no one has figured out how to make the Synod of Bishops really work. Propaganda about “synodality” that functions as rhetorical cover for the imposition of the progressive Catholic agenda on the whole Church is not an improvement on that track record; it’s a masquerade, behind which is an agenda.”
 
As much as I respect George Wegel all I will say is I do not agree with his criticisms. Perhaps because from what I have heard I strongly approve the “progressive agenda” and its broadcasting of inconvenient truths. Those that do not approve generally also dislike Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ; Vatican II; Ilia Delio, OSF; Richard Rohr, OFM; Laudato Si’, and much of what Pope Francis espouses. Some do not like me, especially the one who verbally attacked me after mass one Sunday as I stood before my display about the Season of Creation for being a “radical,” which of course I am; radical being derived from the Latin radix meaning root i.e. treat root causes not just symptoms of problems.
 
Let us pray for Pope Francis:
Lord, give to Your shepherd, Francis, a spirit of courage, right judgement, knowledge & love. 
May he build Your church into a sacrament of unity, love, and peace for all the world. 
May he continue to lead us on new and challenging paths to walk together always guided by Your Holy Spirit to cherish, nurture, protect and sustain our Sister Mother Earth and work for the common good.
May the example of St Francis always inspire our Popes in new ways. Amen.
 
        Peace & joy, Andrew, ofs
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PACT OF THE CATACOMBS - A rebuttal of criticism of the Pope and the Amazon Synod

11/21/2019

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​Let me repeat: Tom Kington (7 Sept 2019) wrote in The Times on the Amazon Synod: “A synod planned by Pope Francis … has provoked the fiercest clash yet between the pontiff and his conservative critics.” (emphasis added)
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Photo by Edward Pentin
Frankly, as a Laudato Si’ Animator, I am torn between ignoring or even rebutting such criticism and thinking I should at least know what is out there and perhaps alert others. It is in the spirit of the latter belief that I include the criticism. I do not write off the critics; just their criticism which I certainly do not share nor want to propagate.
 
As an example let me quote Prof Roberto de Mattei, a historian with a mixed past reputation who has been described as "a renowned apologist for ultra-traditional Catholicism" (and loud confirmed critic of Pope Francis): “The Amazon Synod is therefore the symbolic fulfillment of the Second Vatican Council, the realization of that “preferential option for the poor” for which Monsignor Helder Câmara, Don Giuseppe Dossetti, Cardinal Suenens and Cardinal Lercaro fought so hard for. The Amazonian Party …, by lining up its troops in the Catacombs of Domitilla, is sending the Church this message: “There is no going back.”. “And [it’s] only the beginning, for another 50 years” as Maurício López, Executive Secretary of REPAM, stated, during the signing of the new Pact of the Catacombs.”
 
What? Not Vatican II!  And Pact of the Catacombs! Oh no, woe unto us! (Pardon my sarcasm). You may recall that “preferential option for the poor” is actually a principle of Catholic Social Doctrine! Do such critics not reveal themselves by their own words, or merely the complexity of life as a Catholic? Some of what de Mattei abhors and castigates, I admire and promote. Such criticism (in Rorate Cæli, 21 Oct 2019) totally misses the mark and is lost on me.
 
In another example of Catholic ultra-right wing criticism of Pope Francis, the title says it all: “From the Pact of the Catacombs to the Amazon Synod The pope’s heretical assault on Catholicism was a long time coming.” by George Neumayr, 20 Oct 2019
 “Dom Hélder Câmara, a Brazilian archbishop who served as the head of the archdiocese of Olinda and Recife from 1964–85, was famous for his let-it-all-hang-out socialism and support for priests who joined armed revolutions. “My socialism is special, it’s a socialism that respects the human person and goes back to the Gospels. My socialism it is justice,” he said. “I respect priests with rifles on their shoulders; I never said that to use weapons against an oppressor is immoral or anti-Christian.” ”
My comment is that we know that many repressive regimes’ armies had Catholic military chaplains. I will just say one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
 
 
Criticism of the Synod came from many sides.

Not all were satisfied with the emphasis on the cry of the earth. Some thought it was not enough and some that it was too much. What is certain is that for many of the Amazonian people, while priests, deacons and role of women are important they must not overshadow the overriding importance of the earth and human rights. “While media focus on married priests and women deacons, "for us, that is a distraction, because the bottom line is life," says a Curripaco leader from Venezuela, "This synod for us is about the planet."   Read more
  
Many of them are willing to risk and lose their lives. Yet another loss has recently been reported: “Brazilian 'forest guardian' killed by illegal loggers in ambush. Paulo Paulino Guajajara was killed by armed loggers …” 
 
Paulo Paulino Guajajara is not the first. According to Global Witness, Brazil is the deadliest country in the world for environmental and land defenders with 44 killings recorded in 2017. Maranhão – the nation’s poorest state – is among the worst affected. There were more death threats and attacks on indigenous groups here than anywhere else in 2016, according to the Pastoral Land Commission.
 
A balanced voice of reason from a Franciscan Sister
(whom I met and worked with at the World Social Forum in 2016 in Montreal)
 
“Franciscan Sister Sheila Kinsey, executive pro-secretary of the justice, peace and integrity of creation commission of the Union of Superior Generals (USG) and International Union of Superior Generals (UISG), told the Register that, for her, the priority for the Amazon was ensuring that indigenous people have the benefits of their resources, especially in mining communities.
 
On criticism that the synod has, for some, seemed to be more about politics and social justice than worship, faith and salvation of souls, Sister Sheila said it is important, “through faith, to find ways to work together.” This is how those against the faith “destroy: They politicize issues that are really of our faith, and we get caught up in that,” said Sister Sheila, who is not taking part in the synod. “That’s how they co-opt our message — the two extremes, both on the left and on the right, on both sides.”
The answer, she said, was “to be clear: It’s about caring for each other and how we can do that” and putting “Christ at the center.” It is about “bringing Christ’s presence to one another, the presence of Jesus who is within our hearts,” Sister Sheila said. “The presence of Christ whom we receive in the Eucharist needs to be our life, the center of our lives.”
 
N.B. The (US) National Catholic Register is owned by the Eternal World Television Network which many consider to be notably aligned with the conservative wing of the church and to an extent critical of Pope Francis and JPIC as espoused by him and his supporters such as FVC, FAN or GCCM (in spite of EWTN being Franciscan).
  

PACT OF THE CATACOMBS

You may have read this in Understanding JPIC (at 3.2.12.b.):
“… about 40 bishops … signed what they called "the Pact of the Catacombs." The "Pact" was conceived as a challenge to the "brothers in the episcopacy" to lead a "life of poverty" and to be a "poor servant" Church, as was the desire of John XXIII. Here are some excerpts:
“ … conscious of the deficiencies of our lifestyle in terms of evangelical poverty. … We will try to live according to the ordinary manner of our people in all that concerns housing, food, means of transport, and related matters. … We renounce forever the appearance and the substance of wealth, especially in clothing (rich vestments, loud colors) and symbols made of precious metals (these signs should certainly be evangelical). …
We do not want to be addressed verbally or in writing with names and titles that express prominence and power (such as Eminence, Excellency, Lordship).
…. We will do everything possible so that those responsible for our governments and our public services establish and enforce the laws, social structures, and institutions that are necessary for justice, equality, and the integral, harmonious development of the whole person and of all persons, and thus for the advent of a new social order, worthy of the children of God. 
(Kloppenburg, OFM, 1966 & Sobrino, SJ, 2009)
 
Now, more than fifty years later, a new version has been signed by some bishops attending the Amazon Synod. On 16 November 1965, just a few days before the closing of the Second Vatican Council, forty-two Council Fathers celebrated Mass in the Catacombs of Domitilla, to ask God for the grace “to be faithful to the spirit of Jesus” in the service of the poor. After the celebration of the liturgy, they signed the “Catacombs’ Pact of the Poor and Servant Church”. Later, more than 500 Council Fathers added their names to the pact.
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More than 50 years later and following in the footsteps of the Council Fathers, tracing out new paths, [20 Oct 2019] the legacy of those Council Fathers was taken up by a group of participants in the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, which is focused on the theme “New paths for the Church and for an integral ecology”. Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, OFM, the General relator for the Synod, presided at Mass in the catacombs, after which the Synod Fathers present signed a new “Pact of the Catacombs for the Common Home for a Church with an Amazonian face, poor and servant, prophetic and Samaritan”. [N.B: Signatories included lay people, some referring to themselves as “synod mothers”, and non-Catholics]
 
To read the full texts of the two Pacts of the Catacombs go to:
Original: Pacts of the Catacombs 1965
New: Pacts of the Catacombs 2019
 
 
Here is an outline of the New Pact of the Catacombs
 
“Modelled on the original Pact of the Catacombs for a Poor and Servant Church, the signatories of the new pact commit themselves to defend the Amazon jungle in the face of global warming and the depletion of natural resources. They recognise that they “are not the owners of Mother Earth but rather the sons and daughters formed from the dust of the ground” as the biblical text of Genesis implies. They call for a renewal of God’s covenant with all of creation.
 
They also call for a renewal of the Church’s preferential option for the poor, especially for native peoples. In particular, they call for the abandonment of a “colonist mentality” and denounce aggression against indigenous communities. The bishops insist on welcoming “the other”, namely those who are different and call on Catholics “to walk ecumenically with other Christian communities in the inculturation and liberating proclamation of the Gospel.”
 
Within the Church, the bishops call for “a synodal lifestyle where representatives of original peoples, missionaries, lay people, because of their baptism and in communion with their pastors, have voice and vote in the diocesan assemblies, in pastoral and parish councils and, ultimately, everything that concerns the governance of the communities.” And they call for urgent recognition of “the ecclesial ministries that already exist in the communities, exercised by pastoral agents, indigenous catechists, ministers of the Word.”
 
The bishops also call for recognition of “the services and real diakonia of a great number of women who today direct communities in the Amazon and seek to consolidate them with an adequate ministry of women leaders of the community.”
 
The bishops call for “new paths of pastoral action in the cities where we operate, with the prominence of the laity, with attention to the peripheries and migrants, workers and the unemployed, students, educators, researchers and the world of culture and communication.”
 
In the face of a consumeristic society, they also call for “a happily sober lifestyle, simple and in solidarity with those who have little or nothing; to reduce the production of garbage and the use of plastics, favoring the production and commercialization of agro-ecological products, and using public transport whenever possible.”
 
Finally, the Amazon bishops insist on placing themselves on the side of those who are persecuted for their prophetic service of denouncing and repaying injustices, of defending the earth and the rights of the poor, of welcoming and supporting migrants and refugees.”
 
 In this context, it is worth remembering the original Pact of the Catacombs proposed by Archbishop Helder Camara at the end of Vatican II. This was in turn inspired by Cardijn’s own 1903 consecration of his life to the working class on the deathbed of his father.”
 
From: [Cardijn was the Belgian priest, later ​Cardinal, Joseph Cardijn who is an originator of the See, Judge, Act methodology. [See Understanding JPIC, 3.2.104]. For more on the Pact, see option for the poor and Vatican II.

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News from the Amazon Synod

11/11/2019

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Let us dwell on just two points: Simplicity and Inculturation
 
Simplicity: The following quotation summarizes one of the two themes of the Synod.

“17. The listening to the clamor of the earth and the cry of the poor and of the peoples of Amazonia with those that walk with us, calls us to a true integral conversion, with a simple and 
sober life, all nourished by a mystical spirituality in the style of Saint Francis of Assisi,
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Photo: nationalreview.com
example of integral conversion with joy and Christian enjoyment (Cf. LS 20-120). A prayerful reading of the Word of God will help us to reflect further and discover the groans of the Spirit and will encourage us in the commitment to look after the “common home.” ” (emphasis added)  (Zenit Translation of the Final Document by Virginia M. Forrester, 6 November 2019).
 
Inculturation: Bishop David Martìnez De Aguirre Guinea, Apostolic Vicar of Puerto Maldonado in Peru, said one of the strongest themes to come out of the Synod was inculturation, or how to harmonize local cultures with the Church.
 
Inculturation is the acquisition of the characteristics and norms of a culture by another culture, and, in the context of this article, the adaptation of the way Church teachings are presented to other, non-Christian, cultures and, in turn, the influence of those cultures on the evolution of these teachings. Historical examples would be the influence of Greek pagan philosphers (e.g. Plato & Aristotle) on Catholic doctrine; and the timing of Christmas to coincide with the winter solstice (Yule) or celebration of the pagan Roman Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun) i.e. Christianity appropriated pagan ideas by adopting new meaning or adapting meaning or events to coincide and harmonise with Christian beliefs.
 
All human experience occurs within a cultural setting. The Gospels’ background was Judaic and Greco-Roman. The Catholic Church is by definition universal, in which case should it not take all cultures into consideration? Does it?
 
Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, OFM spoke at a mass 20 Oct 2019 where a new Pact of the Catacombs [next blog posting] was signed: “welcoming and valuing cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity in a respectful dialogue with all spiritual traditions." Synod members pledged simplicity, & closeness to the poor (Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service 10.21.2019)
 
‘The Cry of the Poor, Together with that of the Earth, Has Reached Us from the Amazon . . . We Cannot Pretend We Haven’t Heard It’ (Pope Francis, Before the Angelus, Zenit, 27 Oct 2019) Let us ask ourselves today: “What good thing can I do for the Gospel?” We were asked this in the Synod, desiring to open new pathways for the proclamation of the Gospel. … For the journey ahead, we invoke the Virgin Mary, venerated and loved as Queen of Amazonia. She became so not by conquering but by “inculturating herself”: with the humble courage of a mother, she became the protectress of her little ones, the defense of the oppressed.” [emphasis added.]
 
Unfortunately, an issue of controversy concerning inculturation has been reported. As a Laudato Si’ Animator, I am torn between ignoring or even rebutting such criticism and thinking I should at least know what is out there and perhaps alert others. It is in the spirit of the latter belief that I include the criticism. I do not write off the critics; just their criticism which I certainly do not share nor want to propagate.
 Pope Francis told bishops at theInculturation: Pachamama
 
A two-foot-high wooden carving of a naked pregnant woman was presented as "Our Lady of the Amazon" to Pope Francis on the first day of the synod (Oct. 4), at a tree-planting ceremony at the Vatican Gardens. The statue was part of exhibits on the Amazon region displayed in the Church of St. Mary in Traspontina during the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon in Rome.

​A video of the event immediately created a kerfuffle among some Catholics, who criticized it as a pagan symbol and an attempt by the current pontificate to undermine the Catholic faith. Other Catholics defended the carving, which was said to represent the Incan goddess Pachamama, as an acknowledgement of the culture of the indigenous people in the Amazon. Opponents of this view stole the statues and threw them into the river Tiber.   READ MORE

Referring to the statue as "Pachamama," like many media had done, Pope Francis told bishops at the synod that the statues had
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​Pachamama
CNS photo/Paul Haring
been displayed in the Rome church "without any idolatrous intention," although the men who took the statues claimed on social media that they did so because the statues were idols. "Pachamama" is a term for "Mother Earth" used by some South American indigenous people.  (Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, October 25, 2019)
 
The pope also said that the statues, which floated, had been recovered by Italian police. The statues, "which created such a media clamor," he said, "were not damaged." 
​
The Vatican press department dismissed the notion that the pope was endorsing paganism, but in a synod that has raised questions of married priests and infusing indigenous culture into Catholic rites, Pachamama nevertheless immediately became a symbol of the ideological wars surrounding the synod. 

Why the opposition to this statue? Was it Pachamama or has it become Our Lady of the Amazon? I would suggest that like beauty, surely the answer lies in the mind of the beholder! To me, if Pachamama is a reflection of South American, including Amazonian, Indigenous spirituality and pre Christian paganism, let us rejoice because through inculturation does it not closely resemble Franciscan spirituality as exemplified by “Our Sister Mother Earth” in the Canticle of the Creatures: “Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth who sustains and governs us, …?”
 
Are we Franciscans accused of syncretism, pantheism, paganism or idolatory? If so, let me borrow the recent words of Greta Thunberg and apply them (albeit in a different context): “How dare you!” And how much more pro-life can the depiction of a pregnant women be? Or is a pregnant woman not pro-life and made in the image of God if she is pagan? Does not God also love pagans?
 
All this opposition comes from Catholics some of whom link the Amazon Synod to liberation theology, Marxism, even to Mikhail Gorbachev; in spite of the fact that one of the “founders” of liberation theology, Fr Gustavo Gutiérrez (who later became a Dominican), said liberation theology was 90% “preferential option for the poor” which you may recognise is a principle of Catholic Social Doctrine. Do the opponents have a narrow view of Catholicism and not understand the realities of the Amazon within the universal nature of the Church or accept the concept or necessity of inculturation? Since when is theft, vandalism and ignorant insularity the answer?

After I wrote this I received the following from a Mexican Bishop I had met in Chiapas: Is ‘Pachamama’ a Goddess? Asks Monsignor Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel. See also: Sometimes a Statue is Just a Statue

Inculturation: An Episcopal Consecration
 
Dom Pedro Casaldáliga, a Catalan Cordimarian religious was consecrated bishop in 1971 in the city of São Felix do Araguaia in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso by Pope Paul VI. A prominent representative of Liberation Theology, Archbishop Tomás Balduino, Bishop Emeritus of Goiás Velho … reported: “Pedro… was surrounded by the poor people of that region. He received the liturgical symbols that were inculturated in the cultures of indigenous and peasant peoples. The mitre was a straw hat, the staff a tapirape oar, and the ring was made of tucum becoming, on his finger and those of many pastoral agents, a sign of his commitment to the journey of liberation.”
 
Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga transferred the diocesan government to his successor, Bishop Leonardo Steiner: “[Pedro], on handing Leonardo the tucum ring, recalled that the causes we defend define who we are and that the causes of this Church are known to all: the option for the poor, defense of indigenous peoples, commitment to farmers and the landless, formation of inculturated and participatory communities, effective living of solidarity.” ”            ....READ MORE

Inculturation: Our Lady of Guadalupe
 
Here is another (and for me personally extremely powerful – but that’s another story) example of inculturation. It is a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in a remote Chiapas, Mexican community home that I visited in 2002 where She is draped in the local womens’ tilma (shawl or cloak) of the 45 indigenous Mayan Tzotzil people who were massacred in Acteal in 1999 thus making Our Lady of Guadalupe one of their own and a perfect example of inculturation.
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Our Lady of Guadalupe, 2002 and Acteal market, 1999. Photos by Andrew Conradi, ofs
Finally while thinking of Mexico let us remember this:
​
“With the carnage of World War I in mind, Pope Benedict XV extended All Souls Day to the whole Catholic Church in 1915. On All Souls people of faith remember those believers who have gone before them and ask God to welcome them as they enter their final journey to be with God forever.
 
While Día de los Muertos also remembers the dead, it celebrates their living memory as well. Gatherings at gravesides become family reunion picnics—with the dead invited. Food, drink, music, flowers, and fireworks are part of the celebration. It is a kind of party during which the dead are remembered and rejoiced over. In the home, altars decorated with flowers, photos of the deceased, and a variety of food offerings for the dead extend hospitality to the deceased and recall their presence. …

Catholicism embraces all these dimensions of remembering the dead. Whether in prayer for all the faithful departed on All Souls or in the customs of Día de los Muertos, the past enters into the present. Families and the larger family of faith gather around altars and places where the deceased rest to affirm life in the midst of death and joy in sorrow. A memory celebrated becomes a living hope for eternal life.” (emphasis added)   .....READ MORE

                                                            - Andrew Conradi, ofs, Laudato Si’ Animator, Global Catholic Climate Movement 

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    Homeless Jesus - Jesuits.ca

    Andrew Conradi, ofs

    ​What makes me tick is Catholic Social Teaching, now encapsulated in Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti. My view is that while the OFS Rule & Constitutions call us to courageous action in JPIC it seems to me our infrastructure, while saying the right things, is not always acting with the required urgency and forcefulness. It seems at times to be more self-sustaining and self-perpetuating and about the status quo. This risks being seen as irrelevant in the eyes of some, especially youth.

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    ​In encouraging us to be aware and act with urgency and forcefulness I can be seen to be a bit of a joyful nuisance. Forgive me for not apologising. “Jesus himself warns us that the path he proposes goes against the flow, even making us challenge society by the way we live and, as a result, becoming a nuisance.”
    (Pope Francis, 2018, Gaudete et exultate – Rejoice & be glad, n 90)
    After all, Our Seraphic Father Francis was a rebel (check out the 2018 book Francesco il ribelle by Enzo Fortunato, OFM Conv)
    Picture
    ​(Poster from Canadian Jesuits)
    BTW I am a Brit immigrant, ex Canadian high school geography and history teacher and Cold War armoured reconnaissance soldier. Other accomplishments include OFM JPIC Animators course 2014, Pontifical University Antonianum, Rome; JPIC Animator; Provocateur (Challenger); Enfant Terrible and sometimes definitely a deliberate NUISANCE! I am open to correction, chastisement, and/or teaching by email!
     apconradi@telus.net

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