The Pact of the Catacombs.pdf 1 22/9/15 13:23 Xabier Pikaza (eds.) José Antunes da Silva (eds.) n 2015 the Catholic Church is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Second Vatican Council, a I council that was a landmark in the two thousand years of the Church’s history. At the end of the Council, inspired The Pact by what was being done and said in the Council hall, some forty bishops from various countries of the world met in the Catacombs of Domitilla to sign what is today known as The Xabier Pikaza of the Catacombs Pact of the Catacombs, a text and programme that sets out the mission of the poor in the Church. The mission of the poor in the Church The spirit of the Pact of the Catacombs has guided some of José Antunes da Silva the best Christian initiatives of the last fifty years, not only in Latin America, where it had particular impact, but throu- C ghout the Catholic Church, so that its witness (its inspira- M tion and its text) have become one of the most influential and important signs of twentieth-century Catholicism. Y CM MY CY CMY K THE PACT OF CATACOMBS The Pact of the Catacombs The mission of the poor in the Church Xabier Pikaza José Antunes da Silva (eds.) The Pact of the Catacombs The mission of the poor in the Church Editorial Verbo Divino Avenida de Pamplona, 41 31200 Estella (Navarra), Spain Phone: 948 55 65 11 Fax: 948 55 45 06 www.verbodivino.es [email protected] 1st edition (October 2015) Cover design: Chapitel Comunicación Cover image: Fresco in the Catacombs of San Domitilla © Editorial Verbo Divino, 2015 Photocomposition: NovaText, Mutilva Baja (Navarra) Printed by: Gráficas Astarriaga, S.L., Abárzuza (Navarra) Printed in Spain Legal deposit: NA. 1.774-2015 ISBN: 978-84-9073-188-8 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright. Consult CEDRO (www.conlicencia.com) in case you need to photocopy or scan any excerpt of this publication. Contents Presentation .................................................................... 11 1. Context .................................................................. 11 2. The text ................................................................. 14 3. Signatories ............................................................ 17 Introduction (Heinz Kulüke) ........................................ 21 1. Church of the poor. One of the signatories of the Pact (Luigi Bettazzi) ............................................................... 27 1. The Church of the poor at the Council: the begin- nings ............................................................................ 29 2. The Church of the poor at the Council: the developments ............................................................. 33 3. The Church of the poor at the Council – looking back ............................................................................. 34 2. A biblical pact. The Church of the poor in the New Testament (Xabier Pikaza) ........................................... 43 1. A biblical pact without quotations from Church tradition ...................................................................... 44 2. Biblical texts of the Pact. A vision of poverty in twelve points .............................................................. 51 3. Widening the view. Other texts on poverty ........... 64 4. Conclusion. A pact open to the universal Church 70 3. The framers of the Pact. Origin, evolution and decline of the group called “the Church of the poor” (Joan Planellas Barnosell) ............................................ 73 1. Introduction ............................................................... 73 2. The formation of the “Church of the poor” group 74 3. The group starts work. Two different views of the question of poverty ................................................... 80 8 The Pact of the Catacombs 4. A document addressed to Pope Paul VI (13 Nov 1964) ............................................................ 88 5. The activities of Paul Gauthier during the last stage of the Council .................................................. 91 6. The final stage of the Council and the Pact of the Catacombs ................................................................. 95 4. “For a Church of poverty and service”. The Pact of the Catacombs – a subversive legacy of Vatican II (Norbert Arntz) .............................................................. 101 1. The “Church of the poor” group at the Council ... 102 2. The Pact of the Catacombs of 16 November 1965 106 3. Effects on politics inside and outside the Church . 107 5. The “Church of the Poor” did not Prosper at Vati- can II (Jon Sobrino) ....................................................... 111 1. The Church of the poor, the Council and the Cata- combs Pact ................................................................ 112 2. Conciliar innovations empowered in the Church of the poor and becoming historical fact ................ 117 3. Beyond the Council and without support. “The crucified people” ....................................................... 120 6. The Pact of the Catacombs. Implications for the Church’s mission (Stephen Bevans) ............................ 123 1. Introduction: The Pact of the Catacombs – A Document on Mission .............................................. 123 2. Renouncing the Appearance and the Substance of Wealth: Becoming a Credible Witness .............. 126 3. The Ministry of a Poor Church: The Praxis of Jus- tice ............................................................................... 131 4. Mission Inter Pauperes: Mission Moving beyond the Pact of the Catacombs ....................................... 136 5. Conclusion: “May God help us to be faithful” ...... 140 7. The Pact of the Catacombs and the Church in Africa (Mary-Noelle Ethel Ezeh) ............................................ 143 1. Introduction ............................................................... 143 2. Background to the Pact of the Catacombs Domi- tilla: the ideals of Vatican II on socio-economic life 145 2.1. The Common Destination of Earthly Goods .. 145 Contents 9 2.2. Reform of lifestyle ............................................. 148 2.3. Change of Structures and Policies to Benefit the Poor .............................................................. 150 3. The Pact of the Catacombs Domitilla: an episco- pal mea culpa, metanoia and commitment ............ 151 3.1. A simple Lifestyle .............................................. 152 3.2. Participatory/Collaborative Leadership ......... 153 3.3. Creation of a New-Social Order ...................... 154 4. The Challenge of the Pact of Catacombs Domitilla to the Church in Africa ............................................ 155 5. Attitude to Wealth and Lifestyle in an African context ........................................................................ 157 6. Attitude to Authority and Power ........................... 162 7. Conclusion ................................................................. 164 8. Mission of the Church in an Indian Church of Poor People (Virginia Saldanha) ........................................... 165 1. Start of Mission in India ........................................... 166 2. The Positive Contribution of the Catholic Church in India ....................................................................... 167 3. Institutions challenge or boon to mission? ............ 169 4. Our Faulty Understanding of Mission ................... 171 5. The New Vision of Church for Mission in Asia and India .................................................................... 173 6. Challenges that Keep the Indian Church from Moving forward towards the Reign of God ........... 174 6.1. To Become a Church of the Poor .................... 174 6.2. To Become an Inculturated Church ................ 178 6.3. To Actively Participate in the Struggles of Peoples for Justice, Dignity and Equality ....... 180 7. Conclusion ................................................................. 182 9. The Catacomb’s Pact is to Speak to Us Now (in China) (Paul Han) .......................................................... 185 10. Broadening the Pact. Egalitarian roots and back- grounds in Jesus’ movement (Mercedes Navarro Puerto) ............................................................................... 191 1. The wisdom stream in the Hebrew bible ............... 194 1.1. Lady Wisdom ..................................................... 195 10 The Pact of the Catacombs 1.2. The legacy of Sophia ......................................... 199 2. Wisdom and the gospels ........................................... 200 2.1. The core metaphor of the gospels .................... 200 2.2. The wisdom dimension of Jesus transmitted by the gospels ..................................................... 203 3. The difficult equality of primitive Christianity ....... 204 3.1. The women’s claims .......................................... 205 3.2. Contrasts and socio-cultural influences ........... 206 3.3. The way ahead of us .......................................... 208 11. A pact for consecrated life. Return to the Gospel, prepare the future (José Antunes da Silva) ................ 211 1. Challenges of the Pact of the Catacombs ............... 211 1.1. Return to the sources ........................................