Study Days on the Salesian Mission and the Initial Proclamation of Christ in Oceania Acts of the Study Days on the Salesian Mission and the Initial Proclamation of Christ in Oceania in the Context of Traditional Religions and Cultures, and Cultures in the Process of Secularisation August 21 – 25, 2011 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea edited by Alfred Maravilla SDB Missions Department & FMA Sector for Mission ad/inter Gentes Rome 2013 Editrice S.D.B. Edizione extra commerciale Direzione Generale Opere Don Bosco Via della Pisana, 1111 Casella Postale 18333 00163 Roma Table of Contents INTRODUCTION Don Bosco come to Oceania!.. X The Study Days ........ X Rediscover the Dynamics of Initial Proclamation .... X Fr. Václav Klement SDB, General Councillor for the Missions What Do We “Say” about Jesus to the Peoples of Oceania?..... X Sr. Alaíde Deretti FMA, General Councillor for Mission ad/inter Gentes An Overview of the Topic of Study Days from Prague to Port Moresby ..... X Fr. Alfred Maravilla SDB PART I. ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION Initial Proclamation of Christ in Melanesia: A Situationer.. X Fr. John Cabrido SDB Towards a Common Understanding of Initial Proclamation in Oceania according to Church Documents and in Ecclesia in Oceania .... X Sr. Pamela Vecina FMA PART II. STUDY & REFLECTION Initial Proclamation of Christ in the Context of Traditional Cultures and Religions in Melanesia.... X Fr. Franco Zocca SVD A Response to Franco Zocca.... X Fr. Peter Baquero SDB Initial Proclamation in Societies in the Process of Secularisation.. X Fr. David Willis OP A Response to David Willis ...... X Sr. Margaret Bentley FMA PART III. FORMULATING CONCLUSIONS Catechesis and Evangelisation from a Salesian Perspective.. X Fr. Elio Capra SDB A Response to Elio Capra .... X Sr. Alice Fulgencio FMA Emerging Perspectives during these Study Days in view of a Renewed Missionary Praxis ..... X Sr. Pamela Vecina FMA & Fr. John Cabrido SDB Practical Proposals ..... .. X Practical Proposals – FMA Practical Proposals – SDB CLOSING REMARKS Three Concluding Concepts .... X Sr. Alaíde Deretti FMA Initial Proclamation Demands a New Mentality...... X Fr. Václav Klement SDB THE STUDY DAYS IN THE LIGHT OF THE WORD OF GOD Sr. Maria Ko Ha Fong FMA “Go Up and Join that Chariot!” (Acts 8, 2).... X How Many Loaves Do You Have? Go and See! (Mk 6, 30-44) ... X The Encounter of Jesus with Three Different Persons in Different Contexts (John 3-4) . X “What Are You Looking For?” “Come and See” (Jn 1, 35-42a) ......... X Mary the “first Evangelised” and the “first Evangeliser” (1Cor 8,1-23) X ACTIVITY SHEETS FOR COMMUNITY MEETINGS OF ONGOING FORMATION 1. Sharing the Word ........ X 2. Initial Proclamation: What is it?....................... X 3. GET UP and GO!.................... X 4. Saint Francis de Sales: Humanism as Initial Proclamation .... X 5. Seated in the Chariot, He was Reading the Scriptures .... X 6. A Constantly Changing Context ...... X 7. Reach Out! ..... X 8. Kindness as Initial Proclamation ..... X 9. The Challenges and Opportunities of our Secular Age .... X 10. Initial Proclamation and Catechesis ....... X APPENDICES 1. Priorities and Strategies of the Salesian Family Missionary Seminar (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, September 4-7, 2004) ... X 2. Young People and Religion in Our Secular Age ....... X 3. Initial Proclamation in Catholic Educational Institutions .... X Secrétariat Général de l'Enseignement Catholique, France 4. Nurturing the Faith ....... X Excerpts from the Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands on Catechetical Renewal 5. Catholic Schools at a Crossroads ....... X Excerpts from the Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of NSW and the ACT LIST OF PARTICIPANTS ........ X INTRODUCTION Don Bosco Come to Oceania! (Excerpts from the 4th missionary dream narrated by Don Bosco on July 2, 1885) Finally, I thought I was in Australia. Here too there was an Angel, but he had no name. He shepherded and marched, urging the people to march toward the south. Australia was not a continent, but a number of islands grouped together, whose inhabitants were varied in temperament and appearance. There was a big crowd of children living there who tried to come towards us, but could not because of the distance and the waters that separated them from us. Nevertheless, they held out their hands towards Don Bosco and the Salesians, saying:“Come and help us! Why do you not fulfil what your fathers have began”? Many held back, but others made every possible effort to push their way through the wild animals to reach the Salesians, who were unknown to me, and they began to sing “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” I little distance away I could see groups of many islands, but could not distinguish any details. I felt that all this indicated that Divine Providence was offering part of this evangelical field to the Salesians, but for some future period. Their efforts will bear fruit, for the hand of God will be constantly outstretched over them, unless they become unworthy of His graces (Biographical Memoirs, XVII, 595) The Study Days The Study Days are a development of the Seminar for Missionary Animation and Formation organised by the SDB and FMA Missions Departments for many years now. However, unlike the Seminar, the Study Days are not intended as occasion for the animation and formation of missionaries. These Study Days are meant, rather, to foster reflective discussions and a deeper contextualised reflection on the initial proclamation of Christ in Oceania in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of the challenges and discover new insights and perspectives in view of a rediscovering its relevance today. Hence, the Study Days are directed primarily to Salesians and Daughters of Mary Help of Christians as well as other members of the Salesian Family with a certain level of either theological, missiological, anthropological or academic formation. For this six-year period initial proclamation, as the start of the rich, dynamic, and complex process of evangelisation, was chosen as the overriding theme of the SDB-FMA Study Days in all continents. These Study Days build on the Missionary Animation Seminar on The Challenges of the Mission “Ad gentes” in Oceania” (2004). But is the topic on initial proclamation relevant in Oceania where a great majority are baptised Christians? It is important to recall that at baptism the child received the habitus of the faith (the capacity to believe), but not the personal act of faith (the firm commitment to orient one’s own life according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ). However, in the context of Oceania’s traditional societies and secularised cultures today, the initial proclamation a child receives in the family is often not adequate to become the foundation of a robust faith. Without this initial conversion and initial personal faith, catechesis risks becoming sterile. In this light, even Oceania’s Catholics who frequent our parishes and Religious Education classes in our schools as well as other Christians who frequent our youth centres all need initial proclamation of the Gospel in view of developing their faith and personal adhesion to Christ. This booklet reflects the three moments of the Study Days: I. Analysis of the Situation II. Study & Reflection III. Formulation of Conclusions. It also contains the prayerful reading of the Word of God through the biblical reflection at the start of each day. Most speakers were chosen purposely outside the Salesian Family circle in order to hear a ‘different voice’ regarding the topic and help the participants to ‘think out of the box’ and provoke a deeper reflection and analysis of the situation and help participants discover new insights and perspectives. After the presentation of the speaker, one of the participants (who had read and studied the presentation well in advance) presented a prepared response in a form of a critical reaction to the talk outlining its possible challenges and opportunities from the Salesian perspective so as to stimulate further discussion and deeper reflection among the participants. Besides Sr. Anna Maria Gervasone FMA and Fr. Alfred Maravilla SDB as moderators of the Study Days, Sr. Pamela Vecina FMA and Fr. John Cabrido SDB, as facilitators, had the crucial task 1) of collating the situation reports of participants and present their synthesis at the start of the Study Days, 2) of synthesizing the discussions each day and point out emerging insights and perspectives expressed by the different perspectives of the participants 3) and of formulating a final synthesis of the whole Study Days outlining the challenges as well as new missiological and theological insights and perspectives regarding initial proclamation in Oceania. These Acts of the Study Days are published with various activity sheets which would enable the local communities (even those in other contexts) to use the materials for the on-going formation of their members and, hence, foster a deeper and wider reception among Salesians, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the Salesian Family of Oceania of the new perspectives and insights emerging from these Study Days. Rediscover the Dynamics of the Initial Proclamation Fr. Václav Klement SDB General Councillor for the Missions Good morning and welcome to everyone! Before my coming to East Asia and Oceania I was in Taizé for three days praying with 5000 young people from all around the world. Then I attended in France for 5 days a meeting of 70 Salesians from Western Europe to discuss the ‘Project Europe’ together with the Rector Major, Fr. Pascual Chávez. I bring his warm greetings and blessing to all of you! After many months of preparation, we are together here in the Emmaus Haus at Boroko East, Port Moresby: Salesians of Don Bosco, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Caritas Sisters of Jesus, Salesian Cooperators and Don Bosco Past Pupils from different countries of Oceania.