ENCOUNTER AND DIALOGUE

ENCOUNTER AND DIALOGUE:

HOW CAN WE HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN?

At their General Chapter of 1998, the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) chose dialogue and encounter as one of their mission priorities over the next few years. In this article Fr. Bill Russell, who has been asked to co-ordinate their efforts in this regard in Zambia. places this option in the wider context of the African Synod, and explains some aspects of what the Missionaries of Africa hope to do.

The notions of faith and commitment are inseparable. Faith itself is a commitment, and there are many further commitments, which follow on from it. To paraphrase the Letter of James, "faith without commitment is dead".

The African Synod (1994) indicated the most important commitments that we are called to make today. The five "pillars" of the Synod are our commitment i) to proclamation of the Gospel, ii) to justice and peace, iii) to dialogue, iv) to inculturation, and v) to an authentically Christian use of the social means of communication.

To these five "pillars" the Synod added two further commitments. The first is to ensure that the Church in Africa become increasingly a missionary, sending Church, which will go out to evangelise others. The second, inseparable from the first, is to build up the Church as the "Family of God".

If we call the first five points the "pillars" of the Synod, these other two can be termed, respectively, the "roof" and the "floor". This is the Church - the House - that God is building in Africa. For this House to emerge in all its fullness a response of faith is required on the part of all of us. These commitments have to become our commitments. As the People of God, the "faith-full" in Africa, are we not the bricks?

It is natural that we may be attracted to some of these commitments more than to others. Different people will have different preferences. However, we should remember that all seven are inter-related. They affect, influence and sustain each other: they stand, or fall, together.

The seven commitments form a coherent and integrated vision for the Church's pastoral activity on the African continent. They are vital elements in pastoral work, the means to evangelise both ourselves and others. Living these commitments will develop, deepen and spread the faith we have received, so that we become truly the Lord's witnesses.

The remainder of this article concerns just one of the seven commitments, dialogue. If we isolate it in order to understand it better, we should not forget the inter-connectedness of all seven. As we enter more deeply into any one of the commitments, new insights into the remaining six will also be given to us. There is no conflict between them. In God's House the floor, the pillars, the roof and the bricks are all of a piece.

The Synod sketches four big areas of dialogue (see Ecclesia in Africa, nos. 65-66). The first is within the Catholic Church itself, between its own members. We must develop our sense of being a real community, belonging to one another. All of us.

The second is the ecumenical dialogue in the proper sense of the term, with Christians of other denominations. We already share a partial communion with them, incomplete but nonetheless real, on account of the elements of Christian faith we hold in common.

From these two aspects of "inter-Christian" dialogue, the document then moves to the dialogue between the Church and other religions. Two further areas are highlighted. The first is the dialogue with Islam, and the second that with African Traditional Religions and culture. The purpose of these two inter-religious dialogues is to promote peace, justice and mutual respect. The dialogue with African religions is also vital to ensure that our efforts at inculturation bear fruit. The inter-relation between dialogue, inculturation and justice and peace is clear here (see Ecclesia in Africa, no. 66).

Underneath these four particular kinds of dialogue, there is a general statement that might be called the African Church's charter for dialogue. "Openness to dialogue", says the Synod, "is the Christian's attitude" (Ecclesia in Africa, no. 65). In that simple statement, we may discern a whole spiritual and theological programme. (Ecclesia in Africa", no. 65).

What do we need to do to develop this attitude, and make it more of a reality in our lives? What needs to change in our thinking, in our action, in our prayer, in our understanding of ourselves and our mission so that this attitude may deepen within us, and become truly our own?

In 1998 the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) took "dialogue" or, as they termed it, "encounter with the other", as a priority for the next few years. After some discernment, the Zambian Province of the Missionaries of Africa will be launching into this objective from January 2001 onwards.

What I offer below is an outline of how we intend to go about it. Ours is only one small contribution to the efforts of the Church in Zambia to get moving on this Synod commitment. But it may be of interest to others already engaged - and quite likely further advanced - in the same field.

There can be no one "programme" for "encountering the other". The members of our Society are spread over six dioceses. Our efforts will have to be set up locally. They will differ from one place to another.

This will depend on local circumstances, the particular churches and religious groups present in each area, the history of relations between such groups and the Catholic Church in that locality, diocesan regulations and priorities in regard to "dialogue", the special interests or experience of each confrere, the degree to which local lay leaders are already involved in this apostolate, and a host of other factors.

There is enough variety among our confreres, and in the situations in which they work, to ensure that several different kinds and areas of dialogue will be explored in the course of the project. So that gives us two principles to begin with: first, initiatives must be set up locally, according to local circumstances and possibilities; and second, confreres must be allowed and encouraged to develop their own particular interests in this field of "dialogue".

It is a huge field, there is enormous scope: let people cultivate relations with groups or churches or religions that really interest them. No one can do everything, and there is room for everyone. There is a question here that we can all ask ourselves: Which church, group, community or religion would I like to know better, and have more contact with?

It is obvious that priests in parishes are busy people. They haven't got a lot of free time to read up on the groups or churches that interest them. I have therefore been appointed as a full-time resource person to assist the confreres. Although living in Lusaka, at Regiment Parish, I will periodically visit the Missionaries of Africa communities around the country.

My job in Lusaka will include building up relations with other churches and religious groups, and collecting information about them which can then be disseminated to confreres. I will also receive from the confreres similar information gathered from within their local situations. This two-way flow of information will allow us to build up some useful documentation, and gain a deeper insight into the religious scene in Zambia.

Every so often the co-ordinator will send a newsletter round to the confreres, explaining what efforts are being made in the different communities in which the Missionaries of Africa are working. We expect a variety of approaches and concerns to emerge. The newsletter will help the confreres to be aware of this, and they will be able to appreciate and learn from each other's initiatives.

When compiled, a description of these various efforts might eventually form part of a Directory of Local Encounter (or Dialogue) Projects in Zambia. Perhaps others, beyond the Missionaries of Africa, would also contribute descriptions of their own ecumenical initiatives to such a Directory. If such a publication did appear, it would be a very useful resource for encouraging our commitment to dialogue in Zambia, helping us to emulate each other's efforts.

Another more long-term hope is that the information built up in the course of the project will eventually become a documentation service on Christianity and Other Religions in Zambia, available not only to the Missionaries of Africa but to everyone engaged in the dialogue apostolate.

Possible ways of linking up what we are doing with the academic world are also being explored. Such academic involvement, however, would not be an end in itself; it would always be in view of facilitating and fostering the Church's pastoral commitment to dialogue and encounter, in each locality.

Formation for dialogue is vital. Besides helping the Missionaries of Africa to form themselves in this apostolate - mostly a matter of learning by doing, and building on what has already been done - the project will also involve itself with the formation of laity.

Many lay people already have real experience in this field, because they live in daily contact with their non-Catholic neighbours and relations. Lay formation will mean helping people become more aware of the implications of a reality they are already involved in. Some explicit grounding in the meaning of and reasons for the Church's commitment to dialogue will be necessary. A deeper knowledge of the non-Catholic communities present in their particular area should also be acquired.

Lay formation programmes will have to be worked out locally, according to local circumstances. As co-ordinator, I will keep each Missionaries of Africa community informed of what the other Missionaries of Africa communities are doing in this line. Hopefully, quite a variety of lay formation programmes for the dialogue apostolate will emerge.

Dialogue will help our Christians know better their own Church's teachings. With vociferously anti-Catholic groups, they will have to learn how to defend and explain their faith, politely but firmly. This too is a form of "encounter".

However, even where a more apologetic approach is necessary, the aim will still be to open up the possibility of a more fruitful encounter, whether now or some time in the future. There is already one example where a confrere was able to elicit some mutual and constructive co-operation between the Catholic community and the Jehovah's Witnesses in tackling a social issue. Such co-operation may be unusual, but it should not be dismissed as impossible from the outset.

In regard to clerical formation for dialogue, I am also involved in giving a one-week seminar on ecumenism to the senior seminarians at St. Dominic's. Various topics are studied and discussed, including the distinction between ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, the history both of our divisions and of the rise of the modern ecumenical movement, the implications of the common baptism which we share with many Christians of other denominations, the Biblical bases for the Church's commitment to ecumenism, and relevant magisterial documents, especially the Papal encyclical Ut Unum Sint and the appropriate sections of Ecclesia in Africa.

Another feature of this introductory course is an exploration of different approaches to ecumenism. The doctrinal, social action (J&P), liturgical, historical, Biblical and spiritual approaches, although complementary and inter-connected, are distinguished and delineated.

Each student is then asked to identify which approach he prefers and which non Catholic church or community most interests him. We then try to find for each student an article which will match his two preferred interests. This usually allows him to study an article or document which goes in the line that most interests him, and comes from, or is concerned with the church of his choice.

There are many different entry-points for getting engaged in the Church's commitment to ecumenism, and the idea is to try to find one that suits each student, to get him started. The same principle can be applied to any of us, not just seminarians, and would be as relevant to inter-religious as it is to ecumenical dialogue.

Concretely, commitment to dialogue starts at some particular point, not everywhere at once. The apostolate of encounter is a highly varied and multi-faceted thing. The purpose of these courses is to create an interest in the student, which will lead to a genuine commitment and real personal involvement later on.

A second week is now being added to this introductory course, for the deacons, with input from leaders and seminary professors from other churches. The Anglicans, the UCZ, the RCZ, the Evangelical Church in Zambia, the Baptists, the Lutheran Church of Central Africa and the Evangelical Fellowship will all be involved. Many other churches would gladly have participated, if time had allowed.

Perhaps one of the problems with the dialogue apostolate, whether ecumenical or inter-religious, is that many have felt that it is only for experts. The African Synod makes it clear that it is the business of all of us. Along with the other 6 commitments, and inter-connected with them, it stands at the heart of a Pastoral Plan for the whole of the Church in Africa.

It involves the laity just as much as the clergy and the Religious. The fostering of dialogue, and of the "attitude" and "openness" which make dialogue possible, are henceforth an integral part of African Christian spirituality, of concern to us all.

The commitment to dialogue is not simply an intellectual exercise for a few specialists and academics. In fact it is not an intellectual initiative at all, but a pastoral one, concerned with the faith and mission of each one of us. The measure of the success or failure of our initiative will depend not just on how it influences the Missionaries of Africa themselves, but also on whether or not there is some permanent and on-going fruitfulness for the communities they serve, and for the Church at large in Zambia.

If the Missionaries of Africa have to take dialogue and encounter seriously it is not just because it is the option of their Chapter, but above all because it is the option of the Church in Africa, including the Church here in Zambia. This the Synod itself, and the ongoing follow-up thereto, have made plain.