Guidelines for Receiving Pastoral Ministers in the USA

Cooperating in missionary activity means not just giving but also receiving. All the particular Churches, both young and old, are called to give and to receive in the context of the universal mission, and none should be closed to the needs of others. The Council states: ‘By virtue of…catholicity, the individual parts bring their own gifts to the other parts and to the whole Church, in such a way that the whole and individual parts grow greater through the mutual communication of all and their united efforts toward fullness in unity . . . Between the different parts of the Church there are bonds of intimate communion with regard to spiritual riches, apostolic workers and temporal assistance.’ [ Lumen Gentium , no. 13] I exhort all the Churches, and the bishops, priests, religious and members of the laity, to be open to the Church’s universality , and to avoid every form of provincialism or exclusiveness, or feelings of self-sufficiency. 6 The exchange of gifts, including ministerial gifts, assumes an even more specific expression of solidar ity and communion in the context of the Church in the American hemisphere. In the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America , St. John Paul II writes: “I asked that the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops reflect on America as a single entity, by reason of all that is common to the peoples of the continent, including their shared Christian identity and their genuine attempt to strengthen the bonds of solidarity and communion between the different forms of the continent’s rich cultural heri tage.” 7 Later, he elaborates this direction and indi cates connections between our life in the Church and our sharing in Trinitarian life: The awareness of communion with Christ and with our brothers and sisters, for its part the fruit of conversion, leads to the service of our neighbors in all their needs, material and spiritual, since the face of Christ shines forth in every human being. “Solidarity is thus the fruit of the communion which is grounded in the mystery of the triune God, and in the Son of God who took flesh and died for all. It is expressed in Christian love which seeks the good of others, especially of those most

position in light of faith convictions about our life in communion in the Church. The Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of St. Paul show two simultaneous movements within the life of the Church at her very beginning: (1) mis sionary activity that spreads the Gospel and con nects communities of faith and (2) the cultivation of stable and settled communities of faith. Missionary activity brings Word and Sacrament to different communities in the Mediterranean world. As Paul and other apostles establish churches, for example, in Corinth or Philippi or Thessalonica, they also make provision for the stability of those commu nities by appointing local leadership. Even more, the Letters of Paul maintain a connection with the communities and encourage faithful adherence to their new life in Jesus Christ. Significantly, concern for established communities does not signal a halt to missionary activity, which continues. In our own time and circumstance, the ancient and perennial pattern that combines missionary activity and the supportive care of stable communities continues. The exchange of international pastoral ministers is a manifestation of this pattern, which embodies both mission and ongoing support. The universal Church understands and quali fies, for example, the sending of clergy from mission territories, so that these young Churches would not be deprived of their necessary care. 4 At the same time, the universal Church recognizes that pastoral ministers sent from the younger Churches, where priestly and religious vocations are more abun dant, can provide invaluable support in tradition ally Christian countries for efforts directed to the New Evangelization. 5 Both our history and a deep sense of our iden tity as Catholics lead us to embrace the exchange of international pastoral ministers as a gift and a necessity. The reciprocal giving and receiving of gifts expresses the reality of our communion and our soli darity with one another in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the exchange of pastoral ministers manifests a great sign of our cath olicity and the gospel-inspired hospitality that flows from catholicity. This vision of the Catholic Church assumes a central position in St. John Paul II’s expo sition of the missionary activity of the Church: 4 See the document from the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Instruction on the Sending Abroad and Sojourn of Diocesan Priests from Mission Territories , 2001. 5 See Pope Benedict XVI’s Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Africae Munus , no. 167.

6 Redemptoris Missio , no. 85. 7 Ecclesia in America , no. 5.

A-2 | Introduction