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The Second Vatican Council was the inspired initiative of Pope St. John XXIII, who wished to open the windows of the Church to let the fresh air come in. Vatican II asked religious congregations to update and renew their structures in keeping with their charism. They also sought to adapt their life and work to the challenges of the times. How did religious orders respond?

The Responses

  • Special chapters were held in every congregation which re-considered and changed their prayer life, governance, formation etc.
  • Conferences of Religious like the USG, UISG, AMOR, CRIwere founded at various levels to interpret the spirit of Vatican II and were recognized by the Church. They started programmes for the initial and on-going formation of religious through seminars and workshops showing the new direction for them.
  • As a result,formation was updated with common formation programmes and specially trained formators. Seminars showed a new openness to the Spirit.
  • Training centres, like seminaries for priests, were opened for women religious as well as the laity. Contextualized religious studies were undertaken.
  • Programmes for inculturation affected not only the dress, but also spirituality, theology, ways of praying and living and the choice of ministries. Women and laity started specializing in theology, Scripture, etc, and even started preaching retreats and teaching in the seminaries.
  • Religious adapted a simple life-style and some chose to live in flats and slums with people. They joined dharnas and rallies taking up justice and human rights issues.
  • With a sense of freedom, they handed over huge institutions which were no more relevant to the present times and started new ministries or new ways of doing the existing ministries. New questions were asked in the context of the modern world.
  • Many went on mission to other countries and adapted themselves to new cultures and situations with courage and faith in the Lord of History.

 Positive Trends

  • Looking at the rate of growth of vocations to religious life today in proportion to the small number of Catholics in India, one has reasons to be hopeful about the future.The recent three decades have seen an increase in the number of International Congregations in our country, as well as local congregations.
  • We have responded to the call of Vatican II very enthusiastically and made lots of efforts to contextualize and to radically interpret the Founders’ Charism. This has resulted in greater involvement of religious in social and frontline ministries. In general, many religious congregations have taken seriously the continuing renewal of their members, investing much time and resources.
  • A new development in the history of Consecrated Life in India is the growth in the number of Indian religious being sent on mission outside the country.
  • The Church acknowledges in a special way the contributions made by women religious for the growth and renewal of the Church. Women are also gaining confidence in their own abilities and are coming forward to accept responsibilities in the Church.
  • Another positive trend is the increase in the number of members from “minority cultures,” that is, tribes and other groups. Living in a multi-cultural environment is enriching, though it poses some major challenges to their ministries, community life, formation and administration.
  • We see an Integrated Spirituality with a genuine hunger to search for God in the realities of the world. There is a shift from working for the marginalized through institutions to being with, being evangelized by and working with In fact the poor are our benefactors!

Challenges

In this process of renewal, challenges, however, are not lacking.

  • The spirit of the secular world seems to have entered into religious life, the religious becoming victims of liberalization with flashy buildings and institutions.
  •  In the fast growing Indian economy, the temptation is to be satisfied with some charity activities, like house visits, running projects of donor agencies with the latest jargons, competing to work in cities, to run English medium schools and multi-specialty hospitals in which the poor cannot enter.
  • Freedom is misunderstood.  Is it, especially in the area of sexuality and celibacy, making us lose a sense of sin?
  • Professionalism and careerism seem to have replaced a passion for the Kingdom of God and for humanity.
  • -A spirit of individualism has crept in, to the detriment of community life.
  •  We have given up traditional ways of praying.Have we also given up prayer altogether? We come across to peopleas service providers, pious persons but not as ‘renounced persons’ or as ‘persons of God’.

Needs

What do we need today?

Today we are called for re-vitalization, re-charging, re-energizing, renewing, re-casting, re-founding, re-evangelizing, re-visiting, re-structuring and re-imaging consecrated life, re-looking into important aspects like spirituality, contemplation, renunciation, etc., andre-visioning our mission, formation and life-style, and moving beyond.

More about this in the coming issues.


Sr. Inigo SSA was Superior General of her congregation for two terms, and also secretary of the Women’s Section of National CRI. She represented the religious of South Asia at the Synod of Bishops on Religious Life, and is a sought-after resource person for Chapters and seminars. She spent years ministering to prisoner in Tihar Jail, Delhi.

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