BECOMING MISSIONARY LOCAL CHURCHES (2003)
Asia, where Jesus was born and where Christianity began is a vast continent that is home to nearly two-thirds of humanity. Asia is also a rich mosaic of many cultures, languages, beliefs and traditions. Although the local churches of Asia form only a small minority among Asia’s diverse peoples, these same Churches desire to be communities “aflame with missionary zeal to make Jesus known, loved and followed” (EA 10).
This context formed the setting for the fourth biennial continental assembly of AMSAL, the organization of the Asian Missionary Societies of Apostolic Life. This fourth AMSAL assembly (previous gatherings: Thailand, 1997, Philippines, 1999; India, 2001) was hosted by the Korean Foreign Society. Currently, AMSAL has five active Asian-born missionary groups, all of which were founded in the Vatican II era: Mission Society of the Philippines: MSP (1965); Missionary Society of Saint Thomas the Apostle: MST (1968); Catholic Foreign Mission Society of Korea: KMS (1975); Thailand Mission Society: TMS (1990); and Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society: LRMS (1997). All five societies joined the September 6- 11, 2003 assembly, held at the Maryknoll Regional House in Seoul, Korea.
The 2003 AMSAL gathering focused its attention on the theme: The Relationship of Our Mission Society with Our Local Church of Origin: Successes and Challenges . Although this theme is wide and contains many dimensions, the central focus always revolved around the role of each “Asia-born” missionary society in helping its local Church become, in the words of Vatican II, “missionary by her very nature” (AG 2).
As background to the discussion, the insights of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) on the local Church are enlightening. FABC asserts that “the primary focus of our task of evangelization… is the building up of a truly local Church” (FABC I, 12). FABC is quick to point out that a mature local Church necessarily is a missionary Church on all levels: “This local church, which is the acting subject of mission, is the people of God in a given milieu, the whole Christian community-laity, Religious and clergy” (FABC V, 3.3.2). There is an urgency expressed by the FABC: If the AsianChurch do not discover their own identity, they will have no future (ACMC 14). Indeed, the AMSAL gathering explored the role of the mission society in assisting each local Church to realize the FABC dream of becoming a “local-church-in-mission.”
Several days of discussion identified many “successes” on the part of the “Asian-born” missionary societies to facilitate the emergence of missionary local Churches in their midst in addition, may remaining “challenges” surfaced. With joy, the AMSAL assembly noted: >the gradual, steady growth in the number of members of each of these young mission societies; > the positive, affirming relationship with local bishops’ conference and the diocesan clergy; … the active moral and material support of the laity of these “local-born” mission societies; > the generous financial assistance given by lay benefactors for mission projects; > the continued request for Asian missionaries from bishops around the world; > the concrete mission service given in such lands as Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Japan, China, Russia, India, the Pacific Islands; > the happiness and fulfillment of the individual missionaries living their special vocation; > the importance of mission in today’s world seeing mission as ”an exchange of gifts between sister local Churches.” These specific points are a few among the many positive elements noted by the AMSAL participants.
Missionaries, in addition to being visionaries, are also grounded in daily realities. The AMSAL delegates realistically noted several challenges: > the waning support of many bishops who seem to have forgotten that most of the Asian missionary societies were founded by the episcopal conference (e.g., Philippines, Korea, Thailand): the local missionary society is often seen as “one more religious group” having no special connection to the local Church; > the diocesan clergy who have an almost exclusive local focus on the parish or diocese, even viewing mission efforts as a type of competition to diocesan projects; > the local Church leaders who view their responsibility as focused only on the Christians, although they live surrounded by peoples of other faiths; > the growing difficulties in recruiting new members from families with few children who are also influenced by secular values; > the rising costs of supporting all the legitimate expenses of doing mission today (e.g. education, health, travel, living in a foreign countries, retirement, insurance, etc.); > the view among some Christians that mission is no longer a task of the Church or that mission is a thing of the past.
AMSAL members, cognizant of both the successes and challenges of their chosen way of life, found themselves strengthened and encouraged by their exchange of experiences. They profited much from each other’s insight. They were inspired anew by the words of Pope John Paul II: “I can not fail to urge the Church in Asia to send forth missionaries, even though she herself needs laborers in the vineyard. I am glad to see that in several Asian countries missionary institutes of apostolic life have recently been founded in recognition of the Church’s missionary character and of the responsibility of the particular Churches in Asia to preach the Gospel to the whole world” (EA 44).
The 2003 AMSAL participants enjoyed a visit to the formation house of the Korean Mission Society in Suwon and were greeted warmly by the students. There were visits to the NationalMuseum, a typical Korean restaurant, and to the central headquarters of the Korean Mission Society. The 2005 AMSAL gathering will be hosted by Thailand Mission Society; Jim Kroeger was reaffirmed as the AMSAL secretary-convenor.
A special highlight of AMSAL 2003 was the pilgrimage to the Martyrs’ Shrine in Seoul; all missionaries deeply appreciate that mission today means joyful witness to their faith in the person of Jesus, a faith-witness heroically given by the great host of Asian martyrs. “And may the blood of Asia’s martyrs be now as always the seed of new life for the Church in every corner of the continent” (EA 49).