Cross Catholic Outreach: In the Light of the Decree Ad Gentes, On the Mission Activity of the Church

Cross Catholic Outreach: 

In the Light of the Decree Ad Gentes, On the Mission Activity of the Church

The Second Vatican Council
    Promulgated by Pope Saint Paul VI on 7 December 1965

 
Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:18-20 (New American Bible, Revised Edition)

Introduction

 
“Cross Catholic Outreach launched its ministry in 2001 to provide material and spiritual blessings to those in need around the world. Since then, thousands of lives and communities have been transformed by God working through its mission of mercy”(crosscatholic.org).

In what is now over two decades of commitment to the poor, Cross Catholic Outreach (CCO), has assisted eighty-five countries with over three billion dollars of aid.  

The Decree Ad Gentes of the Second Vatican Council was promulgated in the final year of the Council.  It represented the focus of the Council as one of engagement with the wider world outside of only traditionally Catholic areas.  It became one of the central documents of the Council that spawned the New Evangelization efforts of the Popes since the Council.  

How does Cross Catholic Outreach contribute to this central ministry of the post Vatican II Church?  A succinct answer can be found in its mission statement:

 
Our Mission: We mobilize the global Catholic Church to transform the poor and their communities materially and spiritually for the glory of Jesus Christ.  Our Vision: All Catholics around the world united in overcoming material and spiritual poverty.  

Core Values: (a) Obedience to God, (b) Catholic Identity, (c) Empowering, (d) Joyful Service, (e) Excellence in Stewardship, (f) Preference for the Poor (g) Love for Others (cross catholic.org).   

 
The New Evangelization spawned from the Second Vatican Council and the teachings of Pope Saint Paul VI immediately after the Council, teaches the necessity of the Church witnessing to the truth through word and action, prayer and charity; thus forming a modern theology of mission, rooted in the Apostolic Mission of the New Testament Church.  This is what Cross Catholic Outreach has responded to this calling and has exemplified in its many years, a theology in action.

 
Cooperation

 
Chapter VI, number 36 of Ad Gentes best describes the type of Catholic mission, Cross Catholic Outreach has endeavored to be.  The Council teaches:

36. As members of the living Christ, incorporated into Him and made like unto Him through baptism and through confirmation and the Eucharist, all the faithful are duty - bound to cooperate in the expansion and spreading out of His Body, to bring it to fullness as soon as may be (Eph. 4:13)

Therefore, all sons (and daughters) of the Church should have a lively awareness of their responsibility to the world; they should foster in themselves a truly catholic spirit; they should spend their forces in the work of evangelization. And yet, let everyone know that their first and most important obligation for the spread of the Faith is this: to lead a profoundly Christian life. For their fervor in the service of God and their charity toward others will cause a new spiritual wind to blow for the whole Church, which will then appear as a sign lifted up among the nations (cf. Is. 11:12), "the light of the world" (Matt. 5:14) and "the salt of the earth" (Matt. 5:13). This testimony of a good life will more easily have its effect if it is given in unison with other Christian communities, according to the norms of the Decree on Ecumenism, 12.(1) From this renewed spirit, prayer and works of penance will be spontaneously offered to God that He may fructify the missionaries' work with His grace; and then there will be missionary vocations, and the material subsidies which the missions need will be forthcoming.

But in order that each and every one of the Christian faithful may he fully acquainted with the present condition of the Church in the world, and may hear the voice of the multitudes who cry "Help us!" (cf. Acts 16:9), modern means of social communication should be used to furnish such mission information that the faithful may feel this mission work to be their very own, and may open their hearts to such vast and profound human needs, and may come to their assistance.

It is also necessary to coordinate the information, and to cooperate with national and international agencies (Ad Gentes, chapter VI, number 36).

 
Reflection upon Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, the Council Fathers speak of our duty as the members of Christ’s Body, the Church, to spread the truth.  This is accomplished by an “awareness of their responsibility to the world.”  Cross Catholic Outreach, as it is stated in the brochure for donors: 

 
…is approved by the Holy Father as an official Catholic charity and has received multiple Vatican endorsements, including from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.  Around the world and with your help, we bring food, water, shelter, education, orphan support, medical care, elderly care, micro-enterprise and disaster relief to the poorest of the poor (Cross Catholic Donor Brochure)

 
Ad Gentes further states that the “first and most important obligation for the spread of the Faith is this: to lead a profoundly Christian life.” Cross Catholic Outreach is in many ways wrapped in an environment of prayer and spirituality aimed at service to the poor.  Daily prayer, Bible Study, spiritual conversation and interaction; for those who minister at Cross Catholic it is more than a job, it is very much a ministry and a society.  Formed by the commitment of laity, clergy, men, women, married and single; it is a microcosm of the Church, whose members can be found in the main offices in Florida, to the priests around the United States who are invited to parishes to raise money and inspire projects for the poor.  

Ad Gentes 36 speaks to us of being aware of “the present condition of the Church in the world, and may hear the voice of the multitudes who cry “Help us!” Possibly above all else this is the mission and ministry of Cross Catholic Outreach, to awaken within the Catholic Church in the United States, that there are many in out world crying for help.  Therefore, we can foster a spirit of charity in the People of God, we can help create in our brothers and sisters in Christ that commitment for the poor, for being committed to those who cry help, is more than a matter of a monetary donation, it is a way of spiritual growth.  Through prayer, awareness of the needs of others, giving money, time, and talent, for those who cry help need each of us in so many ways.  

 
Conclusion  

 
The Second Vatican Council ended twenty years after the terrible carnage of the Second World War.  Two World Wars, coupled with the beginnings of the technology age and mass communication, placed the Church within a new context for ministry and evangelization.  A world that had become smaller, a new world that was seeking to understand the place of men and women within it.  In response to this new era of the human race, the Catholic Church called a Council, not so much to proclaim dogmas or excommunicate heresy as was the usually the case before for Ecumenical Councils, but to speak about the Church’s engagement in this world and to become especially a voice for the voiceless.   

In his Encyclical Populorum Progressio, Pope Saint Paul VI writing just two years after the Council said:

 
76. Excessive economic, social and cultural inequalities among peoples arouse tensions and conflicts, and are a danger to peace. As We said to the Fathers of the Council when We returned from Our journey of peace to the United Nations: “The condition of the peoples in process of development ought to be the object of our consideration; or better: our charity for the poor in the world — and there are multitudes of them — must become more considerate, more active, more generous”. To wage war on misery and to struggle against injustice is to promote, along with improved conditions, the human and spiritual progress of all men, and therefore the common good of humanity. Peace cannot be limited to a mere absence of war, the result of an ever precarious balance of forces. No, peace is something that is built up day after day, in the pursuit of an order intended by God, which implies a more perfect form of justice among men (Populorum Progressio, 76.).

There cannot be peace in our world until there is justice.  A justice that is inspired by faith in God.  A justice that embraces the concerns of all men and women from all the parts of the globe.  Ultimately, this is the ministry of Cross Catholic Outreach, to bring justice, to unite the People of God through awareness of the needs of all.  

Rev. David A. Fisher,