Fr Pascual Chavez speaks to Salesians at the UPS

Fr Pascual Chavez addresses the university community tonight

Tonight the rector major, Fr Pascual Chavez, has come to the UPS to share on the life of the Salesian  Society during 2012 and its potential impact on the university. This is something of an annual event, and I will try to record some of what he is saying on my iPad to post it all immediately.

Fr Pascual begins with a reflection on the New Evagelization. He remained perplexed, he says, because the emphasis of the Holy See seems to center on the new movements. This became very apparent during the recent synod of Bishops (held from 11-25 October this year). The synod made no place in its consideration for the contributions of religious communities to evangelization, past or present. It was only after the superiors general of women and men put together their own document and sent this to the synod that the bishops half-way mentioned the apostolic efforts of those in the consecrated life. However, the synod's acknowledgement was minimal, and if one goes back to the working documents of the assembly (the Instrumentum laboris), consecrated life seems to be totally ignored.

Fr Pascual Chavez, during a brief question period

The synod tries to respond to the changes in society, the diffidence and suspicion toward the Church seems to be on the rise in today's world, along with the growing secularization of society. The bishops spoke at length about secularization, but not about the causes for ill-feeling towards the Church. Yet, diffidence and secularization are themes that do not reflect the whole church. These represent mostlly what is happening in Europe and not on the other continents. The rector major asks, with a certain amount of apprehension, are we becoming euro-centric again?

New melody: The capacity of the Church to give  positive response to the needs of men and women today is something that the experience of the synod may call into question. There were a number of bishops (too many!) who wanted to sound the alarm or go on the offensive (against the world, against non-Christians, against secularists, in a new apologetics rather than a new Evangelization). The pope himself had to speak up to counter some of the strident rhetoric heard in the synod assembly. Pope Benedict asserted that the Church today must let the Gospel sound with a new melodies as a new song. Only if the Gospel is heard in a fresh way will the Word of Christ be in a position to enlighten the life of women and men today. This is the sense of Benedict XVI's call for an ongoing and constructive dialogue between Faith and Culture.

Hearts aflame: hearts renewed, pastoral ardor and missionary fervor. Ben 16 insists that there is an event at the start of faith, a meeting with a person that enchants you and fasinates you. No new E without conversion of the new evangelizer. this is not a new crusade, but a falling in love with Christ, who forces no one.

Resect fornew contexts and everty context -- absolutely  indispensible.

However, when B16 speaks in the light of Rede;ptoris Missio, he says in histoy there is a fiirst evanvggelization. with this is ordinary ministry in everyday circumstances.  NE is not for the new chuyrches, not for those that are getting strong and starting to becoe mature.  It is for those who used to be Xtian but of ancient Xtian tradition who have left the faith and the practice of the faith.

At the synod, there were those who thought NE is a new crusade (very negative) contrasted by other bishops > The best prepared bishops are the French bishops. Religious are very clear: great symphathy and empathy  with this world.  Is the church closed now?

If you do not have humility, you cannot respect God's way, who entered the world on his tiptoes.

The US bishops wanted new apologetics; the Asian bishops spoke of new humility. The French bishops contested this. So two aaproaches emerged. The message that comes out is that the Gospel is beautiful and enchanting. Let the Gospel speak to our  world.