Second Session of the Synod on Synodality 2024: Contribution of the Cardijn Community International Africa
Introduction
The Cardijn Community International (CCI) is a network of Christians committed to promoting the vision, spirituality and methods of apostolic formation of lay people initiated by Cardinal Joseph Cardijn, founder of the Young Christian Workers (JOC) movement.
Cardinal Joseph CARDIJN was also the inspiration for the creation of other specialized Catholic action movements such as the Young Christian Students (YCS), WMCW, MIAMSI, FIMARC, MIDADE, etc.
He is regarded as one of the main actors in the social engagement of the Catholic Church in the 20th century.
The members of the Cardijn Community Africa, like those of other continents, are dedicated to action on the ground where they ensure coherence and linkage between social realities and the message of the Gospel offering an alternative vision of life to men and women of today… They thus contribute to the “social duty of Christians to respect and awaken in each person the love of truth and good.”
At the Second Vatican Council, Cardijn played an important role as a member of the Preparatory Commission on the Lay Apostolate, peritus in the corresponding conciliar commission and finally as Father of the Council after Pope Paul VI appointed him cardinal in February 1965. Cardinal Cardijn chose as his episcopal motto “Evangelizare pauperibus” an expression from Isaiah that Jesus took up for himself (Lk 4:18): “The Spirit of the Lord has sent me to bring good news to the poor.”
This contribution which is submitted to the Second Assembly of the Synod on Synodality will focus on three points:
a) The promotion of the lay apostolate as envisaged by Vatican II
b) The importance of formation for the lay apostolate
c) The role of lay apostolic movements whose mission is centered on the above objectives
The Apostolate of the Laity
The Vatican II vision of the lay apostolate is set out very clearly in chapter 4 of the dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, notably in §31, which states:
What specifically characterizes the laity is their secular nature…but the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and ordering them according to God’s plan. They live in the world, that is to say in each of the profane professions and trades. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life… They are called there by God so that they work from within for the sanctification of the world like leaven… In this way, they can make Christ known to others, notably through the testimony of their lives… The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in Today’s World, Gaudium et Spes, reinforces this in §43:
Secular duties and activities belong properly, but not exclusively, to the laity. Acting as citizens of the world, whether individually or socially, they will respect the laws specific to each discipline, and will strive to acquire real expertise… They will willingly work with people pursuing the same objectives…
The Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, Apostolicam Actuositatem, further confirms this conception, qualifying it as the “proper and indispensable role” of the laity in the mission of the Church.
The Cardijn Community International Africa supports this vision and calls on the Synod to make the promotion of the lay apostolate a priority in every diocese and parish in the world. To make this a reality, CCI Africa proposes that the universal Church declare November 18, the date of the promulgation of the Apostolicam Actuositatem, as the International Day of the Lay Apostolate which will be celebrated each year by the Church throughout the world.
CCI Africa urges its Archbishops, Bishops and Parish Priests to:
Establish Councils for lay people in places under their responsibilities and where this does not yet exist,
Closely associate the laity, in co-responsibility with them, in the conduct and management of the temporal affairs of the churches through economic and social councils,
Grant lay people the opportunity to take part in decisions concerning the management of churches and, if necessary, allow them to ensure the necessary controls.
Ensure that lay people, in addition to the services they provide to the Church as questers, readers, choristers, order service, engage in the name of their faith in pastoral projects for the service of communities.
Formation in the Apostolate of the Laity
Chapter 6 of the Apostolicam Actuositatem notes that the lay apostolate can “achieve its maximum effectiveness only through diversified and in-depth formation.” (§28). He adds in § 30 that this formation must embrace a conception of the lay apostolate which encompasses “all circumstances of all life, in particular professional and social life.”
Apostolicam Actuositatem further notes in §29 that this training should not be limited to “mere theoretical teaching.” Here it specifically endorses the see-judge-act training method inspired by Cardijn, stating that:
From the beginning of their formation, lay people must gradually and cautiously learn to see, judge and do all things in the light of faith, as well as to develop and improve themselves with others through action, thus entering in active service to the Church.
However, this can only happen if priests, religious, lay ministers and educators are themselves trained in the above methods. Unfortunately, we find that few Catholic universities, seminaries and colleges currently offer courses on the lay apostolate or methods of training for the lay apostolate.
We therefore ask the Synod to ensure that training for the apostolate of the laity is a priority for the entire Church and, in particular, a subject to be taught in major seminaries or religious institutes.
This training must integrate seeing, judging, and acting, which is a dynamic and daring approach to understanding realities with a view to their transformation.
The role of lay apostolic movements
As members of the Cardijn Community, we have all testified to the importance of the formation of Specialized Catholic Action movements in our own lives. Likewise, Apostolicam Actuositatem has also highlighted the importance of lay apostolic groups and movements in promoting the lay apostolate.
In §26, it calls on the Church to “cooperate with the laity” (cum laicis) for the promotion of the lay apostolate, to create councils of the lay apostolate at all levels of the Church, from parish to the global level, in order to foster cooperation with and between lay groups and movements. Unfortunately, we find that this has not been followed in most dioceses around the world.
Apostolicam Actuositatem also called for the creation of a “special secretariat” in the Holy See to share information on secular apostolic initiatives, promote research on problems in this area and, advise secular movements in this area.
However, we note that lay movements are still not represented as such within the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. Furthermore, we note that lay apostolate movements in general are very poorly represented at the Synod.
We therefore call for new impetus towards the creation of councils of the lay apostolate at all levels of the Church, and for greater representation of lay movements at the Second Assembly of the Synod on Synodality.
Cardijn Community International Africa