Contemporary US Catholic Collaborative Mission

International Bulletin of Mission Research, 2019

From the start of his pontificate, Pope Francis has pursued a reform of the Catholic Church aimed at revitalizing Catholic engagement in mission. He has pursued this reform in three areas. He has sought, first, to clarify to all Christians the nature of their task; second, to motivate all Christians to carry out this task; and third, to correct a recurring set of countermissionary attitudes and practices within the church that damage the church's missionary efforts.

International Faculty of Theological Studies Buenos Aires

Claritas: Journal of Dialogue and Culture, Vol. 6, No. 2 (October 2017) 36–42 © 2017.

Abstract: The author begins with a personal testimony of his thirteen-year relationship with Cardinal Bergoglio in Argentina prior to his becoming Pope Francis. He presents the cardinal’s growing relationship with the evangelical community as well as the joint projects they carried out in their city. The author then speaks about his discernment of the signs of the times that Evangelicals can see in Pope Francis: the power of love, a Christian witness of life, the value of Christian poverty, and a leadership of service. He concludes with what he feels called to by the example of Pope Francis: preaching with passion, living the word of God, loving more radically, and returning to the simplicity of the Gospel life.

Asian Horizons, Vol. 14, No. 1, March 2020 Pages: 119-136, 2020

Pope Francis believes that the Church of the third millennium must be Synodal, an ‘inverted pyramid.’ This prophetic and courageous step in Church reform by Pope Francis is in close continuity with the ancient and rich synodal tradition of the Early Church and the unfinished agenda of the Second Vatican Council. In a hierarchical Church the Pope and Bishops are privileged listeners to the Holy Spirit and are mandated to teach the people of God, whereas in the sSynodal church the magisterium listens to the Holy Spirit speaking to them through the people of God (LG 12) as well and, thus, includes a two-way process of common listening to the Spirit and communal discernment (sensus fidei) by the entire people of God who journey together to evangelize and bring about the Kingdom of God. It is a revolutionary move towards de-centralisation of the Catholic church which opens up fresh questions about the role of pope and papal primacy, the juridical status of the local and regional bishops’ conferences and the participation of the laity, especially women, in doctrinal formulation and ecclesiastical administration. In this article, I seek to outline and explain Pope Francis’ vision of a synodal church on the basis his own teachings. Keywords: Catholic Church; Church Governance; Collegiality; Communion; Ecclesiology; Hierarchy; Listening Church; Papal Primacy; Pope Francis, Sensus Fidei; Synodal Church; Synodality

2013

The Ecumenical Movement was born outside the Roman Catholic Church, just over a century ago. The impetus of this Movement officially came in touch with the Catholic Church during the relatively short, yet eventful Pontificate, of Pope John XXIII. The incipit of each of the five Pontificates since then has been analysed for the ecumenical credentials of each of the men who was elected Bishop of Rome. On the 13th March 2013, we witnessed the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new Pope. In the few months which have passed since the election of Pope Francis, we have been able to focus our attention upon the few, yet highly important, ecumenical pronouncements he has made.

2004

In this article, Michael W. Goheen summarizes and evaluates a debate between ecumenical pioneer Lesslie Newbigin and former WCC general secretary Konrad Raiser. Raiser exemplifies a trinitarian approach to ecumenism and mission that recognizes the universal presence of the Holy Spirit among all peoples and religions, and so would cease to have a Ghristocentric focus. For Newbigin, while a trinitarian approach to ecumenism and mission is of paramount importance, an abandonment of the centrality and universality of Jesus Christ is something that cannot be abandoned. In the end, says Goheen, the differences between Raiser and Newbigin are differences revolving around the meaning of Jesus Christ and his atoning work on the cross.

International Review of Mission - Wiley Article Share link , 2022

Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has embarked upon a significant program of teaching, exhortation, and internal church critique aimed at stimulating the missionary reform of the Catholic Church. This article provides an overview of his contributions in this area with attention to his efforts to promote the greater involvement of all the baptized in mission, a deeper spirituality of mission across the church, and renewed practices of proclamation and social outreach. The fundamentally practice-oriented nature of Francis’ teaching is highlighted and a framework for conceiving the central facets of his mission theology is proposed. Article Share link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/UXAPCHGE764Z5CYTGK3G?target=10.1111/irom.12434

2013

Edinburgh, was a suggestive moment for many people seeking direction for Christian mission in the twenty-first century. Several different constituencies within world Christianity held significant events around 2010. From 2005, an international group worked collaboratively to develop an intercontinental and multi-denominational project, known as Edinburgh 2010, and based at New College, University of Edinburgh. This initiative brought together representatives of twenty different global Christian bodies, representing all major Christian denominations and confessions, and many different strands of mission and church life, to mark the Centenary. Essential to the work of the Edinburgh 1910 Conference, and of abiding value, were the findings of the eight think-tanks or 'commissions'. These inspired the idea of a new round of collaborative reflection on Christian mission-but now focused on nine themes identified as being key to mission in the twenty-first century. The study process was polycentric, open-ended, and as inclusive as possible of the different genders, regions of the world, and theological and confessional perspectives in today's church. It was overseen by the Study

Internationale Kirchliche Zeitschrift 103 (2012), 64-89, 2012

The core of this article will consist in an analysis of the attention (or the partial lack thereof) for the link between unity and mission in three ecumenical dialogues, the Faith&Order dialogue process on The Nature and Mission of the Church and two bilateral dialogues with Roman Catholic participation: the Anglican-Roman Catholic one – with special attention to the 2007 document Growing Together in Unity and Mission – and the Orthodox-Roman Catholic one. I start however with looking back at the ecclesiological tradition of my own Church. In anticipation of the upcoming celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council I will ask whether this Council has managed in its major documents to keep the concerns of mission and unity together.