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Catechism of the Catholic Church

Issues of Inculturation
and Our Common Faith

With profound gratitude to our Holy Father and to all the participants in this Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for America for the hope and enthusiasm for the "new evangelization" which you have enkindled in me. I want to address—in my own name—some additional aspects of two themes already discussed last week in this synod aula: first, the relation between evangelization and catechesis (instrumentum laboris, 25 and 26); and second, the papacy, which Cardinal Sales of Rio de Janeiro reminded us is an essential aspect of the ecclesial communion addressed by our synodal theme.

First, catechesis. I had intended to propose the thesis that the new evangelization requires as its "engine" a new catechesis which is based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church and which takes advantage of the new catechetical moment in the church afforded us by the publication last month of the new General Directory for Catechesis by the Congregation for the Clergy.

But I hesitated to do so when I heard Bishop Lugo of San Pedro, Paraguay, propose to us last week that we consider the comunidades eclesiales de base as "el motor de la nueva evangelizacion." On further reflection, however, I think I am on safe ground in saying that there is no opposition here, since whatever the ecclesial structures—parishes or comunidades de base—or the pastoral programs or activities, the key component must necessarily be to bring people to encounter the living Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the way, the truth and the life" and who is therefore the way to conversion, communion and solidarity in the new evangelization of America.

In Catechesi Tradendae and in the new catechism (No. 426), this point is made forcefully: "At the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a person, the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son from the Father . . . who suffered and died for us and who now, after rising, is living with us forever." Catechesis aims at putting "people . . . in communion . . . with Jesus Christ: Only he can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity." And No. 429 of the catechism explicitly links this encounter with evangelization: "From this loving knowledge of Christ springs the desire to proclaim him, to evangelize and to lead others to the yes of faith in Jesus Christ." How readily the example of our new doctor of the church, St. Therese of Lisieux, comes to mind: her intense love for Christ, which produced in her such an intense missionary spirit.

Christfideles Laici, referred to by Archbishop Giraldo of Medellin and others last week, suggests that the lay faithful have the primary responsibility for the transformation of the wo—their specifically "secular" vocation—by reason of their baptism and confirmation; it follows, then, that they should be the primary evangelizers of their culture. For this work of evangelization the laity need from their pastors a catechesis which "speaks the truth in love " which is both comprehensive and adapted to their needs, or inculturated. Above all, to be evangelizers they need a catechesis which forms in them an apostolic spirit, enabling them to hear Christ's own invitation—implicit in baptism and potentially made explicit in confirmation, the sacrament of Pentecost—to join in his mission to consecrate the world to his Father.

Over 100 years ago Cardinal John Henry Newman shared this vision in addressing a group of laity of his time: "I want a laity . . . who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their Creed so well that they can give an account of it and who know enough of history to defend it. I want an intelligent, well-instructed laity. . . . And one immediate effect of your being able to do all this will be your gaining that proper confidence in self that is so necessary for you."

What a great service—a true diakonia we bishops, who are the principal teachers in the church, together with our priests and catechists, would give to our people by making them confident evangelizers of their culture—empowering them to speak to their contemporaries about the vocation of marriage and work, about the dignity of life and human sexuality, to strategize in government and boardroom and marketplace about the obligations of justice and our mutual responsibility to provide for the poor as our brothers and sisters in the one family of God.

It is, moreover, a leitmotif of the new moment of catechetical renewal that the church's message must be "inculturated." Like you, perhaps, I grapple with what this means. Since cultures are by definition different expressions of our common humanity, an inculturated catechesis will involve different approaches, histories and themes. All the more important, then, that we bishops recall our primary duty as members of the apostolic college to preserve the unity of faith in our pastoral action.

Perhaps it will make some small contribution to our discussions in the next few days if I share with you four of my questions derived from last week's discussions in this aula—discussions of issues arising from a desire for inculturation but which touch our common faith. In mentioning these questions I count on the trust which undergirds our affective collegiality and which is so evident at this synod.

1. Might not a call for "dialogue" with women about their concerns, without explicitly saying that according to our faith holy orders can be received only by men, run the risk of creating ambiguity or be mistaken for lack of clarity or certitude, thus undermining a genuine evangelization?
2. If we "dialogue" about discrimination toward homosexuals, to cite another instance, do we not also have to "evangelize" them about the true meaning of human love and sexuality written in nature and revealed in Christ? My own experience in San Francisco has shown me how easily dialogue can be overtaken by political pressure: The city's Human Rights Commission named me as contributing to a "climate" of discrimination against homosexuals because I said public recognition should not be given to so-called "gay marriages."
3. Is not a compassionate pastoral ministry to persons in irregular marriages intimately linked with the question of evangelizing our cultures about the meaning of Christ's words, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another conunits adultery against her?" (Mk. 10: 11) even when, as in the United States, half of all marriages now end in divorce? Can one episcopal conference determine a response without impacting the unity of our faith?
4. Should this synod propose, in the face of the crushing poverty experienced by so many in our hemisphere, an "alternative" to economic liberalism or globalization, or should we invite our hemisphere to conversion by calling attention to the enormous injustices which occur when people ignore the vocation to co-responsibility for a living wage, just working conditions, health and retirement benefits, and care for a sustainable environment? In other words, should we offer the principles of Catholic social doctrine or invent strategies for applying them?

With regard to my second point, the papacy, I think the discussion of ecclesial communion (instrumentum laboris, 32) could usefully be strengthened for us in America by further developing the role of the pope. Some might see in the humble invitation of Pope John Paul in his encyclical letter Ut Unum Sint (No. 96) to "find a way of exercising the primacy . . . which is open to a new situation" mainly a call to curial reform or new powers for episcopal conferences. I think that what is truly new in today's situation of the papacy is what Jesuit Father Avery Dulles calls "the evangelical turn" in the exercise of the papacy by popes Paul VI and John Paul II. He calls this the most significant event in the church since Vatican II.

As bishops we have seen for ourselves in papal visits to our cities and countries, at events like World Youth Day, in the call to a "new evangelization" in preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 and the third millennium, and in his remarkable capacity to listen at synods like this, the work of a pope who "confirms his brothers" in our evangelizing work for the kingdom of God.