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News & Herald
Volume 2 Number 8 • October
Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte
Pumpkins
Galore...
More Light Than Shadow For Pope John Paul SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Re-
—
Papal speeches were
answer
not mention that these defenders of Indians
to criticisms
of evangelization and
good outshines
that the
reflects his theological
the bad.
view
It
also
that history has
the specific goal of leading
humanity to
From
who
criticized colonial abuses.
this perspective,
any
historical
500th anniversary
his
voyage when Columbus "arrived
first
Oct. 9-14 trip to the
Dominican
these lands and planted in Christ."
versary of evangelization gave the pope an
Americas, salvation history was extended,"
At a time when Columbus is being symbol of colonial abuses, the pope praised him because, he said, the explorer wrote that spreading the faith was
he told a major meeting of Latin American
a goal of his expeditions.
criticized as a
the
In an effort to clearly distinguish be-
To journalists flying with him to Santo Domingo he said that colonial abuses do not take
away from the historical importance of
Oct. 12, 1492. the
Americas," he said. Papal speeches throughout the
abuses
Aids Missions Around Globe
merce
his finger
Church.
—
lelps direct diocesan
organizations.
Their plea
on the pulse of the
As diocesan director for he Propagation of Faith, Msgr. Duncan 3astor of Holy Angels in Mount Airy jniversal
funding to world wide
sionary
With Bishop John F. Donoghue and Msgr. John J. McSweeney, vicar general land chancellor, Msgr. Duncan sifts through iozens of applications submitted from mis-
simple.
work must have
Struggling misfinancial backing
to survive.
In
some
diocesan efforts for
aspects,
the Propagation of Faith
go hand
in
hand
World Mission Sunday funds are channeled into a general fund in Rome, where monies are divvied up between all missionary causes.
Hundreds of missions benefit
communities around the globe,
From
is
with World Mission Sunday.
fnission efforts. i
sion
was a "shameful com-
which baptized people, who did their faith, took part," he told Afri-
the 75 communities that applied
small
way by World Mission
in
some
funding.
By
two-volume
se-
of papal documents from the era show
evangelization and coloniwere closely linked. In 1493 Pope Alexander VI blessed colonization in the New World in exchange zation
for royal pledges to spread Christianity,
in the
New World.
Pope Alexander threatened excommunication for any colonization or profit-mak-
ing activity in the
Indians were them were a result of people who lacked the love to understand that native peoples were their brothers and "children of God." Evangelization, on the other hand, was independent of such abuses and helped native peoples progress by deepening their spirituality and purifying their customs, he told that abuses against
Msgr. Arthur
caused the Church.
this
recently published
including the financial support of the Church
slave trade
can- Americans.
Associate Editor
ries
in
not live
By JOANN KEANE
problems
A
that, at the start,
trip
sins.
The
Duncan has
of the
emphasized that colonial abuses were committed by Europeans who misunderstood their Christian faith. The pope called these
Diocesan Propagation of Faith
pope did not mention the initial unity of Church and state in the New World and the
Americas
started together with the discovery
Photo by JOANNKEANE
tween evangelization and colonization, the
later
"The evangelization of
tMoween fun.
in
them the cross of
Republic to commemorate the 500th anni-
bishops.
into
Columbus on
second voyage.
The pope told the Latin American bish-
ample opportunity to outline his view. "With the arrival of the Gospel to
them
official
ops that evangelization started during the
The
will carve
1992 although
overpowering positive
aspect.
who
in
evangelization did not start until 1 493, when
event intrinsically tied to the spread of Christianity has an
enthusiastic youngsters
But he did
and African-Americans were opposed by other bishops, missionaries and theologians. The pope approved celebrating the
missionaries accompanied
salvation.
umpkins everywhere await adoption by
with praise
of bishops, missionaries and theologians
To the pope, it means more than saying
>
filled
(CNS) "More lights than shadows" has become Pope John Paul II 's short colonization in the Americas.
—
1992
Evangelization of Americas
public
CHARLOTTE
23,
said.
An evangelization that
'invites the aban-
doning of false concepts of God, unnatural conduct and abhorrent manipulation of
and Por-
tuguese crowns.
The result is that Church and state were often indistinguishable to the Indians at the
time and to
later scholars
examining the
period.
Subsequent popes
criticized colonial
abuses and tried to separate evangelization
from '
New World without the
special permission of the Spanish
state policy,
uneasy logical
relations.
causing long periods of
Pope John Paul's theo-
view emphasizes the positive
light
people" cannot be considered an abuse, he
of evangelization, but many people see this darkened by the long shadows of coloniza-
said.
tion.
j
(for
in
"We try to let
comparison, a handful of missions receive
we
an extra boost through diocesan Propaga-
1992, five were selected.
as
many communities
jVIsgr.
Duncan.
can," says
"We want to give the people
a concept of the Church (especially in
as
"World Mission Sunday funds widely distributed, that individual
mission lands."
The needs of
tion of Faith efforts.
in other countries,
missionaries vary from
nities receive
very
little.
are so
commu-
So many mission
"wilding churches to u-aining seminarians.
groups need help, that they wouldn't re-
\long the way, Msgr. Duncan infuses glo-
ceive enough," says Msgr. Duncan. "This
bal
Church awareness
responsiveness.
"We
to raise diocesan
try to select
from different parts of the world."
he South ries,
Pacific
another year
Central
America
groups
One year,
may become beneficiamay bring the plight of
Requests came in from communities
and from missions operating in countries where obstacles of danger fhat are suffering,
we need to support
fhem and enable them to bring the light and the message of Christ to the world."
Over
the course of the
an additional source of revenue."
Once Msgr. Duncan, Bishop Donoghue and Msgr. McSweeney select the communities,
summer, mis-
sion representatives traveled the diocese,
ppeaking during parish Masses for their
individual parishes are assigned a
particular mission. tries to
into focus.
pose a real threat. "So,
is
Msgr. Duncan says he
balance parishes
and small
—
—
large,
medium
so that each mission will
receive equal funding.
Bringing Propaga-
tion of Faith efforts closer to home, a natural
bond develops
as each parish shares in the
sponsorship. "It gives the people the opportunity to see for themselves the
Church
in
various parts of the world," says Msgr.
Duncan. See Duncan, Page 13
Msgr.Dimcan,BishopI>)noghueandMsgr.McSweeneyreceived75rnissionaryfu^ deciding on the five that benefied from 1992 diocesan Propagation of the Faith money. Photo by
JOANN KEANE