The
question of inculturation has received much attention in the Catholic Church in
recent years and until today, to the extent that it has even been given special
consideration by some of the Popes, especially the late Pope John Paul II.
Giving so much importance, “Pope John Paul II considers the question of
inculturation for the mission of the Church at the present time, that in 1982
he established at the Vatican a Pontifical Council for Culture.”[1] As the Roman Catholic
Church became visible with the presence and representation of so many different
cultures and tradition, Vatican II explores the implications of its documents
for mission and inculturation. “The council itself was an exercise in
inculturation as the Church tried to open its windows to the modern world, with
its joys and sorrows, hopes and anxieties. Many of the official documents of
the council should be studied with respect to their implications for
inculturation.”[2]
To
understand better, let us define “inculturation” first. “Inculturation is the
incarnation of Christian life and of the Christian message in a particular
cultural context, in such a way that this experience not only finds expression
through elements proper to the culture in question, but becomes a principle
that animates, directs and unifies the culture, transforming and remaking it so
as to bring about a ‘new creation’.”[3] This definition is
ultimately based upon to the incarnation of Christ that is “The word became
flesh and dwelt among us.”[4] Furthermore, “genuine
inculturation should be based upon the mystery of the incarnation, seen not
only as a mystery and as an event in the person of Jesus of Nazareth; but as a
process to be carried on history till the end of time. Thus our understanding
of the mystery of the incarnation should serve as the solid foundation for
understanding inculturation.”[5] In this manner, “the
notion of inculturation underlines the central role of the local Church and community
in the mission of the Church in the modern world.”[6]
As an
essential way in proclaiming the Gospel, inculturative process undertake many
challenges particularly to the evangelizers. These challenges would take into
consideration that “Inculturation, which you rightly promote, will truly be a
reflection of the incarnation of the world, when a culture, transformed and regenerated
by the gospel, brings forth from its own living tradition original expressions
of Christian life, celebration, and thought.”[7] As a general rule, “we are
asserting that inculturation should occur naturally and spontaneously, wherever
the gospel is lived and shared. It should not be something added on, something
optional, something for the classroom or laboratory, but rather the
ever-present attitude in all Christian life and mission. In the final analysis,
therefore, inculturation refers to the correct way of living and sharing one’s
Christian faith in a particular context or culture.”[8] According to Archbishop D.
S. Lourdusamy, every aspect of the life and activity of the Church should be
inculturated or indigenous - indigenous life style, indigenous arts, liturgy, and
spirituality, indigenous forms of religious life, indigenous organizations and
institutions.
Bearing
these greatest demands in the process of inculturation, there comes several
problems in promoting it. “The principles of Pastoral Constitution of the
Church in the Modern World clearly presented the emergence of the problems in
inculturation – when Christians (or Catholics) seek to bring the Faith to
people of a culture other than their own, they face the problem of determining
how the Faith is to express itself in this different way of life.”[9] To cater these problems,
some scholars presented ways to make inculturation process effective. Let us recognize
this thought, “every culture has its three levels: artifacts, espoused beliefs,
and values, underlying assumptions. On one hand, artifacts would include
visible organizational structures and processes. On the other hand, espoused
beliefs and values include strategies, goals, philosophies, and espoused
justification. Lastly, underlying assumptions comprise unconscious and
taken-for-granted beliefs, perceptions, thoughts, feelings and everything which
is considered to be the ultimate source of values and actions. In this regard, one
must get at the deeper levels of a culture to assess the functionality of the
assumptions made at that level and to deal with the anxiety that is unleashed
when those levels are challenge.”[10] This means that one must study the culture in
group prior to access inculturation.
The
definitions and ideas given above are intended to throw some light of
understanding in the development of inculturative process up to this time.
[1]
McGarry, Inculturation: Its Meaning and
Urgency, (1986:7)
[2]
Lucien Richard, Vatican II: The
Unfinished Agenda, (New York: Paulist, 1987)
[3] Pedro Arrupe, Letter to the Whole Society on Inculturation: In Studies in the
International Apostolate of Jesuits, 7 (June 1978): 9.
[4]
John 1:14
[5]
Okure (1990:57)
[6] Peter
Schineller, S.J., A handbook on
Inculturation, (Paulist Press New York, Mahwah, 1990)
[7] Pope
John Paul II, The African Bishops’
Challenge,no.6
[8] Aloysius
Pieris, In Mission in Dialogue, ed.
Mary Motte and Joseph R. Lang (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1982)
[9] Joseph P. Fitzpatrick, S.J. One Church Many Cultures: The Challenge of Diversity, (Sheed and
Ward, 1987)
[10] Edgar H. Schein, Organizational
culture and leadership, p. 27
