Shared wisdom
    Shared experience

Scarboro Missions hosts the 2010 gathering of Superiors General and Council members of 22 Catholic missionary communities

By Jack Lynch, S.F.M.
September/October 2010

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The Superiors General and Council members of 22 Roman Catholic missionary communities honoured us with their presence at Scarboro Missions this past April for a four-day international meeting. It was a privilege for Scarboro to host and chair the gathering of 41 priests all of whom are leaders of missionary institutes that collectively represent 6,800 missionary priests working in diverse ministries around the world. From the largest and oldest to the smallest and newest, all communities benefited from the shared wisdom and experience present.

One of the assembly’s working groups made up of (L-R) Fr. Luis Carlos Fernandez Lopez, Vicar General of the Missionaries of Yarumal (Colombia); Fr. Kieran O’Reilly, Superior General of the Society of African Missions (Italy); and Fr. Jose Maria Rodríguez Redondo, General Secretary and Vicar of the Spanish Institute of Foreign Missions (Spain).

The umbrella name for the organization is MISAL (Missionary Societies of Apostolic Life) and the acronym in both French and Spanish is SOMIVA. All of us relate to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. We were pleased our Vatican liaison, Fr. Joseph Koonamparampil, CMF, was present and he extended greetings to ever yone on behalf of Cardinal Ivan Diaz, Prefect of the Congregation.

Two years ago the MISAL gathering was held in Nigeria with St. Paul’s Missionary Society as host. At that meeting Scarboro was selected for the next gathering and mission spirituality and personnel issues were the suggested topics.

On the first full day, Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto was invited to speak on, “Mission Spirituality in Multicultural Toronto”, while Sr. Lorraine Caza, an excel lent theologian and former Superior General of the Notre Dame Sisters, spoke on mission spirituality from the perspective of men and women in consecrated life. Mary Corkery, Executive Director of KAIROS, and Joe Gunn, Executive Director of Citizens for Public Justice, gave clear informed presentations on the challenges that they and other lay people face as committed Canadian Christians in their work both nationally and internationally.

The theme for the second day of presentations was entitled, “Healthy Ministry to Personnel”. Guiding the reflections were two professional clinicians, Phil Dobson who has years of experience, and Sr. Miriam Ukeritis, CSJ, the CEO of Southdown Treatment Centre in Aurora, Ontario, for men and women religious dealing with burnout, depression, addiction, and sexual issues. We most appreciated their professional input, but I would also add that we greatly benefited from the wealth of experience within the group in dealing with difficult personnel issues.

Prior to the gathering, we had asked that everyone bring copies of their protocols for dealing with the misconduct of their members and make these protocols available for the benefit of others who wanted to update and compliment their own policies. It was a wealth of information. Phil Dobson and Sr. Ukeritis both commented on the richness of the documents, many of which exceeded what they had ever seen before.

My own experience of attending six of these biennial assemblies is that the informal talks and gatherings over meals and coffee are just as valuable in terms of sharing information. But it is more than that. There is a great deal of cooperation and collaboration among all the mission institutes and much of this has taken place at these international meetings.

Joe Gunn, Executive Director of Citizens for Public Justice, addresses the gathering on the challenges he and other lay people face as committed Canadian Christians in their work nationally and internationally.

Fewer vocations and resources

Most of the missionary societies based in Europe and North America are facing the issues of an aging membership and a dearth of new vocations and resources to carry out many worthwhile projects in countries where consumerism and secularism are rampant. Added to this is the Church’s growing credibility gap with younger generations. We are called to cross new boundaries, borders, and barriers to proclaim the Good News.

New mission priorities

Many of the Societies based in Africa and Asia have new members but are having to define their roles in mission. Many of the larger international Societies are dealing with a shift from the North to the South in terms of new members and a shift away from the global north to the global south as the source of energy, new life, and creativity. The paradigm of mission has changed. While pastoral work is still essential, our priorities today are interreligious dialogue, and formation and empowerment of laity. Obviously any issue that affects the poor is of primary concern to all of us and consistent with our option for the poor and marginalized of the world.

I would like to conclude with a summary of the rich reflections on the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth that we heard from Sr. Lorraine Caza, CND. Her words touched all of us and are also part of a beautiful reflection given by Fr Gerard Chabanon, Superior General of the Missionaries of Africa, at the opening Mass of their recent General Chapter in Rome:

“The meeting between Mary and Elizabeth places us at the core of missionary spirituality because the meeting between the two mothers is in fact also between the two children whose mission the mothers both serve. John the Baptist, of whom the angel announced to Zachary that ‘even from his mother’s womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit’ inaugurates his mission, pointing out the Messiah by way of his mother’s words. Every meeting we have confirms us in our specific mission. We too bear in our hearts the Word of God and the Spirit of the Lord is at work in us.

“Elizabeth declared, ‘The moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy.’ Greeting someone, even simply saying hello, is how mission begins. Mary’s greeting penetrated Elizabeth’s womb; her whole being as well as her baby felt the vibration. As Christian de Chergé, one of the seven Trappist monks murdered in Algeria in 1966, put it so well, ‘Elizabeth released Mary’s Magnificat and this Magnificat became the church’s first Eucharist.’ This Magnificat is a thanksgiving psalm that sings of Mary’s personal gratitude. This visitation is a mission path: meeting, proclamation, thanksgiving. Everything is there.”

All of us present at the gathering of missionary institutes in April at Scarboro know that our mission will only be fruitful and authentic when the spiritual dimension is primary. The acknowledgment that “God’s mercy reaches from age to age” is an invitation to reveal ourselves in trust to God and to proclaim with greater clarity and conviction that we are disciples of Jesus called to witness to the Reign of God.

Scarboro missioner Fr. Ron MacDonell has been serving the people of Brazil since his ordination in 1986 and empowering the laity to fulfill their vocation.

The 2010 assembly of Superiors General and Council members of 22 Catholic Missionary Societies heldthis year in Canada at the Scarboro Missions Central House, Toronto

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