Redemptoris Missio
Overview
Pope John Paul II promulgated Redemptoris Missio (Mission of the Redeemer) in 1990. The encyclical is an urgent call for the Church to renew her commitment to evangelize the world. The letter is divided into two parts. The first part, made up of three sections, "Jesus Christ, The Only Savior," "The Kingdom of God," and "The Holy Spirit: The Principal Agent of Mission," presents a theological defense for the imperative of evangelization. The second part, made up of five sections, "The Vast Horizons of the Mission ad Gentes," "The Paths of Mission," "Leaders and Workers in the Missionary Apostolate," "Cooperation in Missionary Activity," and "Missionary Spirituality," provides guidelines for the application of the theology of mission to the contemporary Church.
Top Highlights
“God is opening before the Church the horizons of a humanity more fully prepared for the sowing of the Gospel. I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church’s energies to a new evangelization and to the mission ad gentes. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples.” (source)
“It is necessary to keep these two truths together, namely, the real possibility of salvation in Christ for all mankind and the necessity of the Church for salvation.” (source)
“The kingdom cannot be detached either from Christ or from the Church” (source)
“He has revealed to mankind who he is. This definitive self-revelation of God is the fundamental reason why the Church is missionary by her very nature. She cannot do other than proclaim the Gospel, that is, the fullness of the truth which God has enabled us to know about himself.” (source)
“Is missionary work among non-Christians still relevant? Has it not been replaced by inter-religious dialogue? Is not human development an adequate goal of the Church’s mission? Does not respect for conscience and for freedom exclude all efforts at conversion?” (source)