On Wednesday, 17 June 2020, the General Curia of the Congregation of the Mission was honored by the visit of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The Superior General Fr. Tomaž Mavrič, CM together with other Curia members welcomed Cardinal Tagle to the house. The General Curia community had the privilege of having a dialogue with Cardinal Tagle on the theme New Evangelization. He started by saying that the Gospel remains the same for all ages. However the method of transmitting the gospel message have to be creatively attuned with the changing situations and circumstances. The best way of transmitting the gospel message is not only by preaching but also by our life and our works of charity.
In every important historical moments and changing situations the Holy Spirit continue to inspire us to come up with effective method of conveying the message of the gospel to others. We need to listen to the promptings of the spirit. During the time of Covid-19, for example, we see an increased demand from the faithful for gospel reflections. We should be prepared to give the spiritual nourishment to people through the increased use of modern technology. We need to come up with methods which works in the changing situations.
He also emphasized the need of forming dedicated and convinced evangelizers for the modern society. We all are entrusted with a great mission and our mission is to continue the work done by the apostles and disciples of Christ. In our formation houses and in our formation programs maximum emphasis has to be given for discipleship without ignoring, however, the importance of other academic disciplines.
The Superior General, during his dialogue with Cardinal Tagle, explained to him the new initiative taken by the Congregation, that is finding 1% of the confreres for mission ad gentes. This is a program for encouraging the confreres to opt for the mission ad gentes. The Cardinal Tagle said the more we give importance for mission ad gentes the stronger church becomes. He said he had the occasion to see the works of the Vincentians in Solomon Island and Papua New Guinea. It was a joy, he said, to see priests from different cultures and different countries working together with the single aim of giving the gospel message to the people. That is new evangelization.
He described his familiarity with the Vincentians in the Philippines and the great contribution they did and continue to do in the field of formation and in the field of social action.
Mathew Kallamakal, CM
Assistant général
