A hollow ring

...Vatican II...

...reli- the true church to which we invite others...

...in their own history, culture, and national bishop Weakland has written recently, What Virginia Sullivan Finn said of the character before they can fruitfully deal "When we read of the cruelties of the Vatican Lineamenta prepared for the with other cultures...

...Its purpose is "to stimulate and Catholic church...

...It also links its American Catholic historical experience...

...cannot spell out everything in detail...

...Economy...

...The church does not coerce others message to that of the pastorals, "The In fact, the point of view is largely unhis- (italics mine) to accept the Gospel and to Challenge of Peace" and "Catholic So- torical - a serious flaw when we re- join its ranks...

...member that the great contribution of the tion well, witnessing in the love of God But it side-steps many of the contempo- Judeo-Christian tradition is the belief that and the image of Christ, and with the fire rary issues which present problems for the Lord entered history as recorded in of the Holy Spirit, we have fulfilled Catholics today...

...When we speak of the European THE BISHOPS' STATEMENT ON MISSION miss loners who came to our shores with the tides of immigrants in the nineteenth century we must not ignore the twoN THEIR November meeting the was the desire of missioners to end the century-long struggle between those who Ibishops of the United States will vote scandal of Christian division, a stum- saw a positive climate for the church in on the third draft of a pastoral few of bling block for the people to whom they the pluralism of America and those us knew was being written: "To the Ends were sent...

...tience and strength it takes to achieve it in group of missioners and leaders of It goes without saying that a pastoral any culture...

...It held the church out the great non-Christian world religions...

...Surely which is beyond comprehension and sion...

...Implicit in it is a separation and missioners must be thoroughly grounded which we accept in faith...

...church organizations recently, I found it letter can only sketch and indicate...

...If cruelties, suppression, and coerthus scanting the ecumenical missionary cion exist within the church, how can it experience of the intervening years...

...If we extend an invitacial Teaching and the U.S...

...Spanish Inquisition, we say to ourselves Synod on the Laity - that it presents a When we think of the missionary that was another world, far from our own vision "without dealing seriously with...

...It is present a face of charity and communion surely worth remembering that one of the to others...

...In what sense is it to us and ended only - if it did end - with inspire all the Catholic faithful...

...As Archdistinction between priests and people...

...The length of the struggle for gious and laity, especially in their role as This question was valiantly addressed by "inculturation" in our own country catechists and educators, as well as mis- Sebastian Moore, O.S.B., in the October should give us some measure of the pasioners...

...seminaries were closed, theological The pastoral gives only passing lip periodicals suppressed, a network of service to ecumenism - to what we "informers" in each diocese organized, share with and learn from other Christian and "fear and distress were everywhere" communions - and the dialogue with took a terrible toll...

...of the tide of Christian growth and selfSuch language as there is is almost di- understanding for more than half a cenrectly drawn from the Vatican II Decree, tury...

...Asked to reflect on it with a 10 issue of Commonweal...

...the Hebrew Bible, entered time as man as Christ's mandate...

...This latof the Earth - A Pastoral Statement on unanswered question: Why do we ter struggle went on long enough to see World Missions by the Bishops of the evangelize in the name of the Roman the silencing of John Courtney Murray U.S...

...heroes cited in the letter such as Junipero Of several minds: Abigail McCarthy Serra and Isaac Jogues, we must also think of the Spanish and French destruction of native Indian cultures and, in retrospect, the failure of the twoA HOLLOW RING century-long effort to evangelize the Indians...

...Free acceptance of the It is still largely a clerical document we are told in the New Testament, and Gospel and conversion to Christ . . . is with little that speaks to the laity in mis- that the Holy Spirit leads us to the full- the work of God's grace, a mystery sion or specifically to the women in mis- ness of time, the end-of-time...

...There is, therefore, the big "Europeanizers" who did not...

...This to see how the pastoral could deal with The letter has certain strengths: It is letter, however, seems to address com- the problem, the present juridical oppresrichly scriptural in its sources and factual plexity with perhaps deceptive simplic- sion within the church gives a hollow and realistic in its description of the pres- ity, especially in the references to the ring to statements like the following: ent missionary situation...

...But the suppression in how it is to come about" - could be said the first decade of this century when of this document as well...

...strong impulses toward Christian unity ABIGAIL McCARTHY 7 November 1986: 585...

...it Lastly, although I admit it is difficult a disappointing document...

...a bad dream...