Claretian Missionary Plan for Nacla

1.SITUATIONAL FRAMEWORK IN NORTH AMERICA

1.1.Social Reality of North America

1.1.1.The People

Canada has a population of 30.7 million people, of which 70% are English speaking; 30% are French speaking. The majority of the French speaking live in the Province of Quebec (pop. 7.1 million). The increase in population has come primarily from immigration. Since 2001, 18.4% of Canadians were born outside Canada: 58% form Asia; 20% from Europe; 11% form Latin America; 8% from Africa.

The United States of America has a population of more than 296,000,000. (add other stats)

Immigrants from all over the world continue to come to the US. As the current growth continues, Latinos will continue to change the fabric of the country as well as the Church in the US. Immigration, refugees, whether documented or undocumented will continue to be major issues for us.

Urbanization has become an important social factor in the shifts in population. The growing populations in urban areas will challenge the resources and the will of the local people to the changing face of the cities.

The elderly are becoming increasingly present in the population in North America. The aging of the US population, especially the non immigrant segment, will continue in the US.

1.1.2.The Political Reality

The USA and Canada have considerable political influence through our histories of constitutional law. The representation of the population by elected officials work toward the ideal of government of the people, for the people, by the people. There are ideals of egalitarianism, democracy, freedom, personal responsibility, sovereignty of the states. Coupled with the economic and military powers that we have, the complexities of the political life in North America are vast; the ideals of our politics are often not seen in the real lives of many people.

In North America, the economy is fueled by production and consumption. Jobs, investments, trade, regulation and many other business factors affect the political reality. There is influence of big business and multinational corporations upon the political life.

Immigration, especially since 9-11, has had various political effects. The fear of terrorism has made the political atmosphere toward the world much more suspicious toward immigrants in general, especially Muslims. The ongoing and growing presence of undocumented immigrants continues to be a major issue in the political arena.

1.1.3.The Economic Reality

The USA and Canada are powerful economic countries. The wealth that can be seen is incredible. The workings of big and small business, the markets and trading, imports/exports, investments and research and development go far beyond our borders through globalization.

The economic systems in North America contribute to the problems of materialism and capitalism in our world

The disparity of wealth is becoming problematic in that the rich are getting richer while the poor are becoming poorer.

In part because of globalization, the reorganization of companies, and the technological growth, there has been an unemployment and underemployment increase, loss of jobs, outsourcing of jobs to developing countries. The US and Canada no longer manufacture products as in the past due to the higher cost of labor.

Immigrants, especially from Latin America, have filled the worker or gap in agricultural and service areas. The contribution of immigrant workers has been invaluable to the economy but also at odds with the political rhetoric that can be anti-immigrant.

1.1.4.Education

In Canada, there are public and private schools that the government supports. The private schools are subsidized 55%. In 2000, the public schools became non confessional and religious courses have weakened.

In the US, the education system in general is in flux. In urban and poor areas, schools are deeply affected from a lack of resources such as teachers and finances as well as poverty, family problems, discipline, violence and other social problems. The wealthier areas as well as the private schools give a good education although the USA is behind other industrial countries in achievement.

In the US, financial concerns have been the source of Catholic schools closing in poorer, urban areas.

1.1.5.Health Care

The USA and Canada have some of the best health care in the world. The advances in technology in the medical field have been grand. In Canada, the citizens have access to free health care although there is a trend toward privatization. In the US, there is no free health care. Those who do not have insurance do not have access to health care. There is an advanced movement toward privatization of health care in the US.

Health Maintenance Organizations have greatly affected health care decision making by bringing in the profit motive into insurance concerns. This in turn affects how doctors treat people who need medical attention.

1.1.6.Religious Situation

In Canada, the Christian churches are still the majority although there is a growing number of Muslims. The secularization of the society is rampant. Fewer people attend church services and marry in religious ceremonies.

In the US, while the majority of the population is Christian, there are countless denominations. Especially in urban areas, there are a number of religions present too. This pluralism has been a source of recent trends toward trying to establish the US as a “Christian” nation. The US has its own unique version of secularization that is perhaps the greater source of conflict in the area of religion.

In the US especially, there has been a resurgence of neo-conservatism in the churches Catholic and non Catholic alike.

1.2.Ecclesial Reality

About 24% of the total population is Roman Catholic. Researchers report that about 56% of Latinos identify themselves as Catholic.

Organization of the Catholic Church—In Canada, each parish is a legal entity; US each diocese is a corp.

1.2.1.Characteristics of the Church

Over the years, a more diverse Catholic church has emerged. There are more educated and wealthy Catholics in our society. There are also a great number of uneducated and poor Catholics too. The diversity also can be seen in ideological terms. Catholics run the spectrum of ultra liberal to ultra conservative. Although the complexity of people go beyond such labels. There is often an underlying ideological tension in mixed Catholic communities.

Immigrants still pour into the North American Church. ***Polish, Filipino,etc etc. The majority of the newer Catholic immigrants are Latino—a large proportion from Mexico. The changing face of the church continues to be not only a linguistic challenge to local dioceses and parishes, but also a cultural shift in our self understanding.

At all levels of the North American Church, there are “Cultural Catholics”. These can be characterized as those who have been baptized Catholic, but have not been evangelized nor catechized. Cultural Catholics will typically attend Mass at key events such as weddings or funerals, Ash Wednesday or Palm Sunday, Christmas and Easter. This has led to a great ambiguity of Catholic identity at many levels in North American culture.

The Catholic Church continues to experience a loss of credibility in society as well as within the Church. For many, starting with the Church’s teaching on artificial birth control almost three decades ago and more recently the mishandling of the sexual abuse issues by the hierarchy, the magisterial part of the Church is caricatured as irrelevant at best and inept, secretive and self-protecting at worst.

Of continuing concern in North America is the aging clergy and decline of Religious vocations. Although there has been a leveling off of losses and a resurgence of smaller, more traditional communities, the increase of the Catholic population puts increasing need for the Sacraments and thus the need for more ordained ministers in our Church. This trend will continue as more and more priests and Religious are retiring and dying and fewer ordinations occur to replace them.

1.2.2.Other churches/religions

There are several Protestant denominations in Canada: United Church of Canada, Anglican Church, Presbyterian Church, etc. Immigration from Arab countries has brought Muslin religion that is rapidly growing. Several sects have appeared in Quebec, more than 800 of them.

There are countless religions and denominations in the US. Especially in the cities, there are churches, synagogues, mosques. Compared with other industrial countries, church attendance is relatively high.

In the US, it has been a growth of Evangelical Christianity. This pluralism leading to cooperation on social issues has been uniting in one sense, but also has political consequences as well. The Christian church should not be aligned with any one political party.

Since 9-11, the US relations with Muslims have been strained. The fear of terrorism touted by the US Administration has made the general public more suspicious of Muslims in general especially middle easterners.

1.3.Congregational Reality

There are 114 Claretians in the US; 16 inCanada. While a great number of our men are aging and retiring, there are fewer ordinations to replace them. This change in personnel presents a great challenge for the Claretians in North America.

The Claretian presence in North America began in 1902 when a community began in San Antonio, TX from the Mexican province. From San Antonio the community spread to the thriving centers in Los Angeles and Chicago.

(History of US and Canada is presented as appendix)

1.4.Outlook for the Future

We will continue to work with the laity in our ministries whether in a specialized ministry or in our parishes. Lay people have a baptismal call to share their gifts for the up-building of the Kingdom of God. We desire to develop a real collegial relationship with the laity in decision making and shared power.

Among the laity, women exercise important roles in our ministries. We intend to recognize the inherent dignity of women and help overcome the sin of sexism within our society.

Our history and current focus has been with immigrants. With the growth of immigrants, especially the Spanish speaking, our ministry with people from outside North America will take on new and different forms as compared with the past.

Family life has been changing in North American society. There exist today many different types of household structures. Striving for the ideals of our faith with the Sacrament of Marriage and the proper care of children will be a challenge. These changes affect the youth in profound ways. We highlight the youth who are most vulnerable, the at-risk youth.

With the challenges in neighborhoods and families, the broad ministry of community development will continue to be important. The community is where the Gospel is lived out and we will continue to be present to those who need the Good News of Christ.

With the challenge of creating a culture of vocation, we realize that we need to broaden how vocation is viewed and encouraged. We need a renewal in our ability to discern well with people in order to help people truly respond to God’s call whether as a Claretian or another way of life.

We believe in the goal from our last General Chapter, That They May Have Life, of shared mission. The most productive use of personnel as well as our financial resources is paramount if we are to evangelize well in North America.

We choose to focus on the poor and marginalized of North America. While we recognize that there are many legitimate needs in our society, we can only be effective if our efforts are streamlined. We will continue to be in solidarity and live with the poor and marginalized.

We realize that dialogue with other Christians and religions is another area that we cannot avoid. To be truly effective in ministries, we must work together with other faith communities for the good of people in society and against structures that bind and oppress God’s people.

2.THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION

The parable of the Rich man and the poor man, Lazarus in the Gospel of Luke chapter 16, can shed light upon the North American reality in which we Claretians live. Firstof all, there exists an overabundance of material wealth which come business and trade, economic transactions and market speculations. Much of this wealth is due to globalization and its effects.

These effects include a smaller group of people who have an incredible accumulation of wealth. Other effects include less concern for one’s neighbor, a loss of solidarity and people who are slaves to money. This can make for a certain type of blindness to the people who are right in front of us who have many needs. The human and spiritual dimensions are lost.

We are called to evangelized all who are lost within this reality so that they can discover the God of Life and so that they can encounter a greater human dignity and solidarity with the poor. Through this evangelization, we all can be closer to God.

Secondly, we are aware that there are more people who live like Lazarus among us: The indigenous who are displaced from their lands and are displaced within society. Many have not adapted to North American life.

African Americans whose difficult and complex situations are heartfelt and demand a compassionate response.

The middle class is shrinking and many are losing jobs. Trying to stay at this level has been proven to be difficult for many.

The immigrants look for opportunities to better their lives but often suffer discrimination and exploitation.

The marginalized are often seen as “Societal Garbage” The Claretians of North America desire to make “Shared Mission” a priority and our way of ministering to those whom we serve. We accept the ramifications of this priority in our spirituality, formation and vocation ministries, community life and ministries as well as in our Provincial and financial administration. (TTMHL #37) Exclusion has logically become a main consequence of the globalization process creating shortages and new types of poverty that surely lead to a progressive disregard for life. (TTMHL #38) Solidarity with the poor, the marginated, and those whose right to life is threatened and a commitment to their liberation are essential aspects of our faith on Christ and the prophetic dimension of our missionary life (TTMHL #39) We are aware that we must serve “Lazarus” among us. It is for them that we tale on these priorities of solidarity with the poor, marginated and those whose rights to a dignified life is threatened. We pray that this ministry will resound unto our personal and community lives, our apostolic mission, and our institutions.

2.1.Claretian Reflection

By desiring the conversion of the “Rich”, we in North America realize that evangelization must take on a new and prophetic meaning. In Claret’s spirit, we aim to be instruments of Christ’s liberating presence and as servants of the Word, we want to live our vowed life in accord to the demands of this transforming power in order to serve the poor, especially immigrants, through solidarity.

**ttmhl #17, 1 shared mission

The Word, the Eucharist and Mary form the core of our Claretian spirituality. We take on the mind of Christ through this call by the Holy Spirit.

3.CHALLENGES AND OPTIONS

3.1.Challenges

Challenges from the North American reality include the increased number of immigrants and refugees and the accompanying challenge of navigating in a multicultural, multilingual, pluralistic society. Since September 11th, 2001, the world has changed, and North America lives daily with the threat of terrorism. One of our responses, which some would call another form of terrorism, has been the ongoing war in Iraq, which has been very costly both in terms of economic and human resources. Morally, it sends a message that violence is somehow justified in a society in which violence, especially domestic violence, is escalating. Families are indeed at risk owing to fear, violence, and moral decay.

Fluctuations in the North American economy have led to increased poverty, unemployment, and, perhaps most noteworthy, underemployment. At the same time, corruption in public life and business has widened the gap between rich and poor.

Life in North America is increasingly at jeopardy owing to what John Paul II called a “culture of death” brought on by individualism, consumerism, racism, and the obsessive pursuit of money and power.

Challenges to the North American Church have arisen from the ambiguity of Catholic identity in our times. The “cafeteria Catholic” is indeed a North American reality. No longer the “church of the poor,” North American Catholics are more diverse than ever before. We span not only varying ethnic groups, but every economic, political, and social strata as well.Increasingly North American Catholics are better educated (some more so than the leadership). At the same time, many “cultural” Catholics are not well formed, or, indeed, are not practicing their faith.