In number 46 of the Constitutions of the Claretian Missionaries, which defines the mission of the Congregation, we read: "Sharing the hopes and joys, the sorrows and trials of the people, especially those of the poor, we readily offer to join efforts with all who are striving to transform the world according to God's plan" (CC 46). Two actions are stressed: "share" and "join efforts." An objective is pointed out: "transformation of the world according to God's plan. A perspective is indicated for a better view: "that of the poor." This is a very important starting point.

I was asked for a reflection that, at the end of this meeting, might help clarify the theological and charismatic basis of our commitment for justice, peace and safeguard of creation, side by side with the poor. This is what I will try to do, sharing some thoughts with you. It will be a meditation rather than a conference. After so many conferences, analyses and proposals, it would be good to enter again into ourselves and see what echo all these words have in our believing heart.

1. The Reality that Challenges

I will start with an anecdote. I go back some twenty years, when I was working as a missionary in Japan. We Claretians, together with other religious congregations and members of other Christian denominations, were working as missionaries in a marginal zone of Osaka City, called Kamagasaki. Several thousand persons, mostly laborers, live there in very precarious conditions. They have no special problem as long as they can find work. But when, for various reasons, they cannot continue working, they are dragged to truly inhuman life conditions and many become street dwellers. The Christian association of Kamagasaki accompanied these people in their struggle for their rights, in addition to offering concrete responses to their more immediate needs.

A certain lay person, committed for several years to this activity, decided to leave his work and sell his house and his properties, in order to put himself totally at the service of these excluded persons. With the price of his sale he bought a spacious place in the village and had it fixed to be able to accommodate the homeless and to serve as a reference point for those who found themselves in any kind of trouble. As you can imagine, maintaining this type of structure requires a certain economic availability that he expected to obtain from the generosity of other people who were sensitive to the problems existing there. He asked me to help him speak to the meeting of the Major Superiors' Conference of the religious Congregations of Japan, of which I was a member. I accepted very gladly and asked him to prepare a report in order to present his proposal to the members of the Conference. On the second day of the Conference he gave me his report and asked for my opinion. We agreed to present it the following day.

They invited him to speak to the Assembly. I introduced him and he started to read his report. It was half a page, handwritten in quite large letters. I still remember it today. It read: "I am a son of God, I have a roof to shelter me at night and I can eat three times a day. In Kamagasaki there are many children of God who have no roof to shelter them at night and cannot eat even once a day. If I do nothing, can I continue calling myself son of God?" He added that he was asking for the collaboration of our Congregations in order to continue serving those children of God who were so strongly challenging him. There was total silence in the Assembly. It was that type of silence that shows the surprise and the confusion one feels in the face of questions that touch one's conscience. It is the kind of questions that make us become aware that the problem does not lie in finding a theoretical response or a convincing explanation, but rather in how to assume in our lives the challenge presented. We felt somewhat uneasy. For two days we had been studying the situation of our society and of the world, immersed in analyses and seeking ways of action. We even felt good and satisfied in this exercise. We were doing something that was just and correct, even necessary. Now however, a question had come to us. A question presented with great simplicity but, at the same time, with great force, from the testimony of a life totally dedicated to the excluded. It warned us on the need to take one step forward and to recover a very important dimension of the work we were doing, which was running the risk of getting lost in the midst of so many analyses, projects and campaigns. The length of the report was inversely proportional to the importance of the problem that was raised. Its few words, pronounced from a deep experience of faith and of commitment for the little ones and for justice, touched our hearts with a great challenging force. They bothered us, but they also helped us to deepen our reflection and to let our commitment touch ground.

2. The Starting Point

I am not opposed, far from it, to doing analyses and plannings. They are always necessary. One cannot work blindly. Nets have to be created to lend efficacy to our effort. I must insist, however, on that other more existential dimension that should constitute the starting point of a true Christian and, as we shall see later, also Claretian commitment for justice and peace.

Paul VI, in his Encyclical "Populorum Progressio," spoke of the shudder he felt at the cry of anguish of the persons and peoples that are living in situations of injustice and he made an appeal for a response to the clamor of those brethren. This "shudder" in the face of human injustice is the first step towards a serious commitment for justice, peace and the safeguard of creation. To this end, it is necessary to get close to the poor and the oppressed. Our society is driving us to very considerable degrees of insensitivity. We have information about everything. We can find numberless commentaries, studies and analyses about events and themes. To these we can still add our own. But if there is no nearness, if these sufferings do not reach the point of having a "face" for us, the whole thing will not go beyond a signature gathering campaign or, at the most, beyond a participation in some mass meeting or platform. The Christian contribution to the commitment for justice demands something more. And that "something more" is born of the encounter with the marginalized and of the its illumination from the outlook of the Word of God that makes us more sensitive to the deeper dimensions of the problems and reveals to us the true horizon of a fraternal history in solidarity.

Pope John Paul II in his apostolic letter for the third millennium invites us to a "new creativity in charity" that is expressed, first of all, in effectively getting close in solidarity with those who suffer. This is a necessary condition so that the hand that helps is seen as a sharing between brothers and sisters and not as a humiliating handout. In the complex social web of our history, this new creativity in charity becomes also a service to culture, to politics, to economy, to the family. Thus, in all these areas the rights of every person and of every nation will be respected, and a society will emerge that responds to "God's plans."

Let us briefly turn our eyes to the Word of God that illumines us. The Bible guides us to a comprehension of the Mystery of God in which some constants appear:

• It is the God who has created the human being to his image and likeness: "Let us make man in our image, to our likeness" (Gen 1,26); revelation of the human dignity of all human beings.
• It is the God who suffers when this dignity is not respected, and is moved to free the oppressed: "I have seen the humiliation of my people in Egypt and I hear their cry when they are cruelly treated by their taskmasters. I know their sufferings. I have come down to free them" (Ex 3,7).
• It is the God who wants a righteous people committed to others: "Justice! Seek justice if you want to live and inherit the land which Yahweh, your God, gives you" (Dt 16,20).
• It is the God who, in order to make it possible to walk in justice and fraternity, establishes a covenant with his people; "I will be their God and they will be my people" (Jer 31,33).
• It is the God who has sent his Son so that "all may have life, life in all its fullness" (Jn 10,10).

But the Covenant will only be able to accomplish its objective of generating the just and fraternal society of God's project, when God himself will change the heart of the people and will engrave in it the law of love. Working for a structural change is not enough; our contribution goes in the line of the "change of heart." This is the goal marked by the prophets, men and women with a deep experience of God. Possessed by that passionate love of God for his children, they denounce everything that opposes their dignity and destroys the harmony of Creation. They will call the people to conversion and to express that Covenant in their life and in their relation with their fellow humans (cf. Is 58,1-10). The message of the prophets is often hard, but it always ends with an announcement of salvation that opens our heart to hope and constitutes a forceful motivation to continue our commitment to the struggle for a just and fraternal society. The prophets are teachers of hope. The message of those indefatigable denouncers of oppression and promoters of social change touches the heart of people because it has sprung from their nearness to those who suffer the consequences of injustice and the urge for power. Their word, echo of the pain of God, who suffers with the pain of his children, seeks the change of hearts, which is the best guarantee of a permanent social change.

The unconditional faithfulness of God, which they themselves have been discovering in their own personal history and in the meditation of their people's history, keeps them firmly in their ministry, so often accompanied by experiences of rejection and persecution. It also calls them to become the memory of the reality of peace, justice, fraternity and harmony that God himself has placed as the goal of history.

• There will be a New Covenant, in which God will forgive our sin and will stir up a response in the heart of all humans (cf. Jer 23,1-8; 31,31-34).
• A New Temple and a New People will arise (cf. Ez 37, 1-4. 15-28).
• The Liberator will arrive bringing with him peace and justice (cf Is 9,1-6; 11,1-5).
• "The new heaven and the new earth" will become a reality, in which the deepest desires of theº human heart will be satisfied (cf. Is 65,17-25; Rev 21,1).

In the center of this whole message will be the person and its communion with God and with its fellow humans. In this communion, the human being will be able to find the response to the thirst for love, respect and justice that God himself planted in its heart. At the bottom of the message lies also the awareness of the need to maintain the harmony of the entire cosmos that the Creator entrusted to the care of humanity. The commitment for peace, justice and safeguard of creation is a part of our human vocation.

This is God’s project, that differs from political or any other type of projects that place their own ideology and their own objectives at the center and, for this very reason, they frequently end up being oppressors of those they pretend to liberate. This is clearly manifested by past history and reaffirmed by present reality. It is important that we stay put in this perspective, centered on the person, deeply rooted in God’s project, so that our contribution to the building up of a more just and more fraternal world may be genuinely Christian.

The nearness is a fundamental element. Jesus, the Word made flesh in the concrete history of our humankind, is the greatest expression of God’s nearness. Everything in Jesus speaks to us of that love of the Abba for his sons and daughters. Jesus came so that they "may have life, and life in all its fullness" (Jn 10,10). His actions and words convoke everyone to share this life in the new reality of the Kingdom: his powerful works, his acceptance of the marginalized, the announcement of the Kingdom of God that opens up our horizons of hope in the heart of the poor. Jesus is the Good Shepherd that goes out in search for the lost sheep, "abandoned" by its shepherds and fellow sheep, entrapped in an excruciating experience of loneliness and exclusion. Jesus reveals to us the heart of the Father that invites us to celebrate the return of the son "who was dead and has come back to life" (cf. Lk 15, 32). Jesus also denounces and fights against those traditions and structures that prevent that life from being lived with dignity and from developing all its capabilities. Jesus’ denunciations indicate that the messenger of the God of life cannot let the human being be permanently tortured by experiences of death.

Jesus leaves his "new commandment" as a sign of belonging to the Kingdom. In the parable of chapter 25 of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus points out to five fundamental elements to which every human person is entitled: food, shelter, clothing, health, freedom (cf. Mt 25, 35-36). The attitude towards "these little brethren," namely those whose rights are not respected, will be the criterion by which our life will be judged. When our lack of nearness brings us to live unconcerned for those brethren of ours, or when, aware of their presence, we do nothing, we are not honoring our responsibility as followers of Jesus and are excluding ourselves from the "banquet of the Kingdom." Furthermore, if we do not assume in our life the task of ensuring that those rights are respected in the concrete reality of the people with whom we share the walk through history, we are being unfaithful to the call we have received as human beings.

Jesus demands commitment from us. Jesus himself went to the extent of giving up his life so that this project might become a reality. But this commitment requires a change of heart. We must open wide our heart to the violent wind of the Spirit and let it snatch from it our reserves and our selfishness and silence our own plans and strategies, frequently tinted with more or less conscious personal interests. Let that Spirit enkindle in our heart that passion for God and his children (cf. Acts 2,1-14), that is translated in a radical commitment for the Kingdom of God and his justice. We need a profound faith to continue believing in the Kingdom today, when so many signs of death beset us. We need a great confidence in the Abba in order to obey today the words of Jesus inviting us to "seek first the Kingdom of God and his Justice" (Mt 6,33). But precisely because it is born of a profound faith in the Abba and of a nearness to his suffering children, the social commitment of Christians remains firm "in spite of everything" and seeks not only a change of structures, but a radical change of hearts. This change of hearts is the only thing that can guarantee the birth of structures that will not become oppressing at the end.

4. The Social Commitment of the Christian is a Faith Response to God's Project

For all these reasons, the social commitment of a Christian is more than just an "activity;" it is a fundamental aspect of his experience as a follower of Jesus, of his spirituality. It is indispensable "to be near the persons" with the same love with which the Father is near them; to perceive the pain caused by being out of the currents of life, of a relationship where the dignity of each one is respected, of the respectful interchange that makes people grow and makes one's life meaningful. It is there that Jesus placed himself. It is from this viewpoint that Jesus proclaimed the newness of the Kingdom. Together with the study and understanding of these situations and their causes, this is a necessary element for a truly humanizing work. Without a true nearness to the persons, the social commitment will not be able to transmit the Gospel and will be seen, at the most, as the realization of some social projects conceived from the starting point of concrete interests or ideological premises.

It is necessary to cultivate in each one of us and in our peers the perception of the sacrality of the person. Economy, ideologies, political systems, the very religions should be instruments at the service of the person and of the creation of just and fraternal relationships between persons and peoples, between human beings and the entire creation. This is what we can learn from the praxis of Jesus. The great sin consists precisely in subordinating the person to those instruments that become then enslaving. But in order to perceive the sacrality of the persons, it is necessary to be near them, especially near those whose dignity is not respected because of the injustices of their fellow humans. The commitment for peace and justice is, for Christians, a confession of their faith in the God of life.

It has been said that we are passing from an "ideological-moral" era to an "ethical-religious" era. The dying era believed that, with the propagation of great ideas and structural projects, reality was going to be transformed. This has not been the case. The excruciating events that continue marking this historical moment that we are now living are demanding that we listen to our heart and that we put all our capabilities to the task of creating an authentic humanity. Now then, this heart must be purified. The transformation of society certainly calls for strategies, but these will only work when they emanate from minds that are guided by a heart full of respect and love for the people. The fact that we have come to the knowledge of the love of the God-Abba, made present to us in Jesus, is a very great gift. It humanizes us and impels us to assume the responsibility of working for the humanization of history, until we make the fraternal and jointly shared project of the Father of all come true.

The words of Msgr. Clavérie, Bishop of Oran, one month before he was assassinated by fanatical Islamic groups of the GIA of Algeria in 1996, are enlightening: "The Church fulfils its vocation and its mission when it is present in the upheavals that crucify humanity... In Algeria we are on top of one of these lines that go across the world: Islam/West, North/South, rich/poor. We are in our place, since it is only by being here that we can glimpse the light of the Resurrection. We are in Algeria because of the crucified Messiah. There is no interest that we have to defend or to save. We are not here due to a masochist or suicide perversion. No, we are here as it were at the bedside of a sick friend or brother, silently grasping his hand, drying the perspiration of his brow... I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ dies when it is not sufficiently close to the cross of its Lord... The rest is nothing but dust in the eyes and worldly illusion. The Church is mistaken and errs when it stands as a power in the midst of other powers, as an evangelical movement on a large scale. It may perhaps glow, but it will not burn with the force of God’s love. The only reason we have to remain in Algeria is love, and only love. A passion for Jesus has given us the taste and marked out the way: there is no greater love than to give one’s life for the beloved."

The great challenge for the Christians in their social commitment consists, precisely, in assuming their own responsibility to promote the structural change that our world needs, by actively participating in the many existing movements for peace, justice, etc.. And this must be done without losing sight of the need for a change of heart that makes it possible and truly humanizing, for which the nearness to the marginalized and the communion with their pain is necessary. In this way, the social commitment becomes a fundamental part of the evangelizing mission of the Church. Paul VI insisted on this in his Evangelii Nuntiandi, when he explained the meaning of evangelization: "For the Church, evangelizing means bringing the Good News into all the strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming humanity from within and making it new... The best way of stating it would be to say that the Church evangelizes when she seeks to convert, solely through the divine power of the message she proclaims, both the personal and collective consciences of people, the activities in which they engage, and the lives and concrete milieu which are theirs."

Analyses and strategies will be needed, we will have to participate in nets and collaborate with others, but we should never forget what our specific contribution should be, that is, accompanying the persons toward a change of heart, of their deepest attitudes. Indeed, we are convinced that only in this way a new reality, more in accord with God's Project, will be possible. John Paul II insisted on this when, in his Encyclical "Sollicitudo rei socialis", he makes reference to the need for an analysis of the "moral causes" of the situations of injustice. "In a document of a pastoral nature such as this, an analysis limited exclusively to the economic and political causes of underdevelopment (and, with the necessary changes, of so-called superdevelopment) would be incomplete. It is therefore necessary to single out the moral causes which, with respect to the behavior of individuals considered as responsible persons, interfere in such a way as to slow down the course of development and hinder its full achievement." Only if we start from here shall we be able to work for an integral and lasting change.

5. A Look at Claret

Let us consider, even briefly, since it cannot be otherwise in a talk such as this, some traits of the apostolic activity of Fr. Claret that will allow us to speak of his apostolate as of a prophetic ministry. Even knowing that his activity was developed in a social and ecclesial context very different from ours, this will help us discover some elements that should guide the social commitment of an evangelization that is animated by the Claretian charism.

We all know that the text of Luke 4,18, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to bring the Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives," guides in a very special way the spiritual and missionary experience of Claret. This passage of the Gospel of Luke, as we very well know, narrates Jesus' visit to the Synagogue of Nazareth and the reading that he made, on that occasion, of the text of Isaiah 61. It is a very beautiful text that summarizes the characteristics of the prophecy of the Old Testament. In assuming this text and referring it to himself, Jesus reveals his identity and manifests the meaning of his mission. By applying this text of Isaiah to himself, Jesus places himself in the core of the most genuine prophetic tradition of Israel. In a similar way, we could say that the reading and appropriation that Claret makes of this text (Lk 4,16-20) is what makes us place him within the "prophetic tradition" (Aut 118, 687), even though he never defines himself in this category. We are talking of some words about which Claret meditated for a long time and the meaning of which he discovered gradually throughout the various stages of his life. When Claret writes his Autobiography, at the age of 55-56, in a moment of maturity in his spiritual and apostolic life, he experiences a very special union with Jesus, anointed by the Spirit to announce the Gospel to the poor and to proclaim the year of grace. At that moment, Claret understands in a new way that this has also been his own vocation and mission, that this has been God's project for him, for which God prepared him since childhood. All the incidents of his life, everything that constitutes his rich experience, find in these words of Jesus a new key of interpretation. Starting from these words, his entire life and mission acquire a very strong unity and in them his charism is made explicit in a very relevant way. This is the vocation and the mission that Claret has wanted to share with his sons and daughters. This is the vocation and the mission of every Claretian. For this reason, the constant confrontation of the pastoral praxis of the Claretian with these Gospel words is the key to ascertain his fidelity to the mission that has been entrusted to him. Are we truly bringing the Good News to the poor and cooperating to the liberation of the oppressed? Are we committed to the building up of a world where this will be possible? This brings us to make some basic options in our evangelizing task and to prioritize our attention to some target persons. It is a clear consequence of the understanding that Claret had of the mission entrusted to him and to those who have been called to share his charism. It is here that the social commitment of the Claretian finds a strong motivation.

Claret accomplishes this mission in a very concrete social and religious context. The reading he makes of it and the consequences he derives to guide his action help us to discover more clearly those traits that should deeply characterize the evangelizing action of the Claretian, also in its social dimension.

We can discover the vision that Claret has of the reality of his time in many of his writings and, in a very special way, in the voluminous correspondence that we keep. I will only mention here two numbers of the Autobiography in which he describes the vision he had of the reality in a concrete mature moment of his life, after his various experiences in Catalonia, Canary Islands, Cuba and in that very special world of the court in Madrid. He transported this vision he of the reality to his time as missionary in Catalonia. Literally he says: "Seeing that the Lord, out of sheer good will and no merit on my part, was calling me to stem the torrent of corruption and cure the ills of a moribund society, I thought that I should dedicate myself to studying and gaining a thorough knowledge of the maladies of this social body. I did so, in fact, and found that this world is nothing but the love of riches, the love of honor, and the love of sensual pleasure. The human race has always been bent on this threefold lust, but in our day the thirst for material things is drying up the heart and bowels of modern societies… I have seen this era as one in which selfishness has made men forget their most sacred duties to their neighbors and brothers, for all of us are images of God, children of God, redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ and destined for heaven."

How did Claret try to respond to the challenges he discovered in his analysis? Through what activities and dynamisms did he express his prophetic mission in this context? Fr. Gustavo Alonso states that Claret’s condition as a prophet is rooted mainly on his way of life and, more specifically, on the service of the Word that he offered to his people in a concrete historical moment: the second half of the XIX century.

We could distinguish three fundamental traits that make explicit the prophetic aspect of the apostolic action of Fr. Claret, which are enlightening for our reflection:

1. The recovery of the Word. Claret considered his time as "troubled" (cf. Aut 292). The reality he finds is the fruit of the great confrontation that was taking place in Europe between the absolutism of the old regime and the revolution inspired in the Illustration. This was a battle that was fought not only in the fields of philosophical or political debate, but was carried also, mixed with dynastic problems, to the military realm. The Church, because of its links with the political power of one or the other side, was entrapped between the different fronts and had to pay a very high price. In effect, in addition to material losses, which later on we would be able to see as a blessing, it saw how its structures of evangelization were dismantled. From this starting point of a Church entrapped and paralyzed by the political situation, we can better understand Claret's often expressed option of not getting involved in politics. In the face of such situation, many in the Spanish Church of that time were concerned with safeguarding the historically acquired positions. A few, however, in that historical moment were able to discover a sign that invited them to follow other paths and perceived that hour as the "hour of change and conversion." Claret was one of them. He chose not to enter the political game, which entailed so many interests, and to dedicate himself exclusively to the ministry of the Word, because he considered it the only instrument capable of setting in motion the desired transformation. It was necessary to revive the faith of the people and, starting from there, to work for the necessary change. This was the fundamental "prophetic" option of Claret. It was imperative to announce the "project of God" with clarity in a moment of social transformation and ideological disorientation. Without the proclamation of the Word it would not be possible to change "that heart and those dry bowels of society." And without that, a true change was not possible. It would be up to the people themselves, once the Christian values were recovered, to bring about the social change that they entail.
2. The "popular" option. It was necessary to give back to the people the awareness of their Christian identity as the moving force of the reconstruction of society itself. Others opted for other spheres: political, intellectual, etc. Claret opts for the people, for getting closer to the concrete reality of the persons and helping them to remake that road to faith so that they may be again excited about the project of the Father. In Catalonia and in the Canary Islands he will be a popular preacher and the people will learn to identify him as such. Later on, in Cuba, the new reality he encounters brings to his horizon, with new colors, the reality of "the poor" (cf. Aut 562-572). Challenged by the situations of poverty and injustice that he meets, he will set in motion new missionary projects to respond to the new challenges. Evidence of this are both the initiatives of human promotion (the school-farm of Puerto Principe, the savings banks, etc.) and the defense of the slaves in the face of the constant abuses which they suffered, as can be seen in his correspondence with the Military Authorities of the Colony and other authorities. In addition, he carries on the great missionary activity that we all know, seeking again the way to bring to the people the Word of God. The fact is that he was convinced that in the Word of God was to be found the force capable of giving back to the people the awareness of their dignity, and of setting the people on the move towards a different project, more in accord with God's project. He knew how to assume the consequences of his option during all those years that he was in Cuba. Later on, in Madrid, he will strive to stand firm in the Christian values, which he considers to be the basis of social order, and will avoid to be involved in the political games of personal or party interests.
3. The option for "doing with others." The multiplication of evangelizing agents was one obsession of Claret's. This impels him to set in motion various initiatives, seeking new channels within the limits imposed by the ecclesiology of the moment. The "Fraternity of the Heart of Mary" (1847), the Academy of St. Michael (1858), etc. All this evolves in line with his search for the way to give a truly transforming response in the situation of the Church and the society of the moment. It is important to note his interest for the implication of the laity in this task. It is up to them to assume the responsibility of transforming into social, cultural or political projects the principles that the proclaimed Word teaches. They should nourish the life of those who want to "imitate Jesus," who placed his entire life at the service of the Kingdom and invited his disciples to "seek first the Kingdom of God and his Justice."

Lastly, before we propose some conclusions, it will be good to consider how the social commitment has been expressed in the apostolate of the Congregation, and what guidelines have been given to promote and guide it. We can distinguish several epochs regarding this theme in the history of the Congregation, but there are two that are quite clearly different from each other: the life of the Congregation in the pre-Vatican II period and that in the post-Vatican II period. The change that the Second Vatican Council brought about with respect to the vision of the Church and its mission, surely had a greater incidence in this field than in others.

Although it has not been explicitly referred to with this name, the commitment for justice and peace, the eagerness for building up a just society concerned with the situation of the poor has ever been present in the missionary history of the Congregation.

In the pre-Vatican II period, suffice it to recall, for example, the dauntless work of our missionaries towards the social promotion of the peoples to which they were sent. The history of the first Claretian missions in Africa, Latin America and Asia is an outstanding testimony of social commitment. We could say that as early as those first Claretian missions, an integral evangelization was undertaken, even though it did not receive that name. Naturally, our brothers had a concept of mission different from ours, but this was no hindrance for them to strive to make their evangelizing action reach the diverse dimensions of the life of the people. In fact, not infrequently they had to defend the interests of the native villages against the colonial power. They lived near the people and strove to establish a good foundation for their future development. The service to education, health, promotion of agriculture, etc., are clear indications of this undertaking. They loved the people and they were concerned for their language, their culture. In fact, the first serious studies about the culture of Equatorial Guinea (anthropology, vegetation, autochthonous languages, etc.) are the work of Claretian missionaries. The same could be said of the missions of Chocó in Colombia, of Darien in Panama, of São Tome in Africa, etc.

The work with immigrants, for example, at a time when they were not the object of attention by anyone, except by those who unjustly exploited them, was the beginning of some of our foundations. The Gospel was preached to them, and they were helped to improve their conditions of life. Witnesses to this would certainly be thousands of Mexicans that lived in the United States at the beginning of the XX century, when the Claretian presence began in that nation, and many emigrants will continue affirming it later in other parts of the world.

The evangelizing presence among the working world was shy, but it meant the opening of new ways of evangelization for some Claretians. Others, through preaching or education, strove to transmit those values that are the basis of a just and fraternal society, adjusted to the Gospel criteria. We could continue the list. There is no need.

However there is no doubt that there have also been many ambiguities. Some, perhaps, were fruit of the mentality of the time; others, the result of lack of vision or an excessive connivance with the powers that be on our part. We cannot deny that, all through our history, there have been instances and attitudes that cannot be placed in line with a clear option for the defense of human rights and of the peoples. In other cases, perhaps, the protagonists have at least shown themselves reluctant to take a position against the powerful of the moment.

In the post-Vatican II period, we may highlight also some good examples that help us to understand the extent of the commitment. Here is a sample list: the insertion communities, the commissions of Justice and Peace that began to function in a stable manner in 1979 and have kept being strengthened, the new planning of an integral evangelization in all the missions, the denunciation of situations of injustice and violation of human rights, the accompaniment to popular movements, the participation in campaigns and joint actions with other groups that work toward the same objectives... Certainly we can do more and better. But I believe that the global balance is positive.

Here too we will have to clearly distinguish the two periods that I mentioned in the previous section, with their point of separation in the Second Vatican Council.

Safeguarding what I have said about the social commitment in so many apostolic works of the Congregation, there was in it a rather traditional attitude in this regard. Fr. Jesús Álvarez makes a brief comment about it in his book Claretian Missionaries II, Transmission and Reception of the Claretian Charism. This attitude was just a reflection of the official position of the Church at that time. Fr. Martín Alsina, Superior General from 1906 to 1922, repeatedly urged the missionaries to be very cautious in this matter. His directives included the position of the Holy See, what was established in the Constitutions and in the General Chapter of 1912. If he insisted on the matter, it was probably because there were Claretians who were concerned about it, who were integrating it in their ministry. In fact, the General Chapter of 1912 spoke of the difficulty of dealing on "a theme as thorny and controversial as the intervention of the priest in social questions." Now then, the priority dedication to itinerant preaching implied special demands regarding this matter that, very likely, differed from the orientation that would have been given to it in apostolic activities with greater local stability. At any rate, this rather traditional position marked the going of the Congregation for many years, especially in Spain where most of the members of the Institute were located. At that same time, some initiatives of social ministry emerged in the Spanish Church, which began to hint new paths that the Congregation did not join. Such were, for example, the "Social Popular Action" of Fr. Palau in Barcelona in the year 1907, the independent mining union founded in Asturias by canon Maximiliano Arboleya in 1912. The social encyclicals, successors to that "Rerum Novarum" of Leo XIII (1891) contributed to creating a new sensitivity towards the social theme in the Church. With the teaching of John XXIII and the constitution "Gaudium et Spes" of the Second Vatican Council, that new sensitivity that had been brewing for some time is confirmed, and a new epoch begins, full of bold initiatives in this pastoral field.

I want to comment on the congregational path in the post-conciliar period, by going through the documents of the General Chapters that followed the Council, because they contain the opinion of the Congregation and open it to new missionary horizons. The process of Church renewal and the new evangelizing awareness that sprang up forcefully both in the universal and in the continental churches have been the reference points in the course followed by the Congregation during these years. The teaching authority and the pastoral praxis of those particular churches, especially on the continental level, have exerted a powerful influence in our own reflection and in the organization of the work for Justice and Peace within the Congregation. Let us think very concretely of the documents of Medellín, Puebla and Santo Domingo, of CELAM; of the documents of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), etc.

It is also truly important to recall the new awareness that, on a cultural level, springs up and grows around the theme of human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the year 1948 constitutes a necessary reference point for the majority of the indwellers of our planet. To this fact, a growing ecological awareness has recently been added on the part of many people. This awareness has been expressed in various documents, such as the Earth Letter, etc.

The First Chapter of the Process of Renewal, in the year 1967, makes a very important assertion that will become the basis of all later congregational reflection: "Apostolate is every contribution to the Kingdom of God." Echoing the conciliar Constitution GAUDIUM ET SPES, the Chapter affirms "that there is nothing truly human that does not find an echo in our heart," and that our missionary charism will impel us to strive "to give a Christian solution to all our brethren, our fellow humans (cf AG 10)." But it is in n. 35 of the decree on Apostolate that we find the clearest reference to our theme: "We must involve ourselves apostolically in the current fields of social action. This includes the direction of thought and formation of consciences, as well as a decided reform of our own testimony. This will affect both the policies according to which we accept foundations and ministries and the manner of fulfilling them, in order to perfect the wok of justice under the inspiration of charity" (GS 72; cf. Populorum Progessio).

The Chapter of 1973 is still clearer. In the decree on apostolate , at the time of presenting the basic lines of the apostolic project of the Congregation, it begins with an analysis of reality, brief by necessity, as it will always happen in this type of documents. It speaks clearly of the challenge implied by the proclamation of the Gospel in the midst of "structures of injustice and systems of alienation." In the programmatic part it offers criteria of action that stress the need of denouncing everything that hurts the dignity of God's children. It invites us to assume the pastoral lines of a liberating evangelization and it insists in the capacity to provoke the social change that the proclamation of the Gospel implies. We are again in line with the "change of heart."

The Chapter of 1979 contains a novelty with respect to the previous Chapters. The Congregation adopts a missionary project that embraces, globally and articulately, all the aspects of missionary life: spirituality, community, formation, apostolate, economy and government. The document "THE MISSION OF THE CLARETIAN TODAY" (I will use the abbreviation MCT), first analyzes the reality of the world and offers a new reading of the Claretian missionary charism within the new evangelizing awareness of the Church. Then it points out some missionary options that should indelibly mark all apostolic actions of the Congregation. It does not any more speak of pastoral structures, but of basic options and preferential targets. The options should inform any work and be the criterion of its Claretian quality. And the works should respond to the preferential targets, which will have to be concretized in each place and circumstance. The theme of Justice and Peace is already very much present, although the expression is not excessively used.

The starting point of the MCT is important: the Congregation allows itself to be deeply questioned by the situation of the world, above all, by the situation of the people (MCT 4). The points that arise from the analysis of reality speak of a great social sensitivity and show a clear presence of the Congregation among those who suffer the consequences of an unjust order. In this sense, the commitment to adapt this unjust order to the demands of the Gospel will be present, even implicitly, throughout the document. The ecological concern is already perceived as a concern of justice and as an aspect to be taken into consideration in our evangelizing task (MCT 13). In one of the titles of the analytical part of the document the theme we are dealing with is very well captured: "The Difficult Task of Living Together in Justice and Peace" (MCT 17).

The MCT very clearly affirms that the Church "takes the part of those who suffer margination or oppression and places itself at the service of a humanity that longs for a more just and orderly way of living together" (MCT 23). I think it is important to underline this aspect because, too often, under the pretext of an alleged "neutrality," it seems as if we were trying to escape the responsibility that is ours as radical followers of Jesus. At the same time, this affirmation disqualifies those who opt for social, political or economic models that are not in favor of those for whom the Church is taking sides. Number 25 insists: "This interrelatedness of justice and evangelization affects us as Claretians, so that we may not remain indifferent in the face of situations which contradict the plan of the Creator, divine sonship and human brotherhood. As religious, we cannot close our ears to the cry of the poor or forget that the service of justice must be an inherent element in the practice of consecrated poverty" (MCT 25).

In number 100, the document summarizes the reflection of the Church on this matter, assuming it as the necessary reference point to reinterpret in this historical moment our evangelizing charism. The number ends with a quotation from the introduction of the Synod of 1971 on Justice, which is perfectly clear. "Action in favor of justice and participation in the transformation of the world clearly strike us as a constituent dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, namely, the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation" (MCT 100). This is an area where the laity has a very specific mission which should be respected and fostered (cf. MCT 115).

Later on, speaking of the characteristics of our following of Jesus in an evangelized and evangelizing community, it goes on presenting the consecration, the community and the vows in a social key. It seems to me that this is an aspect to be taken into account, and to be meditated more deeply on our part (cf. MCT 149).

The clarification of the options for mission constitutes the core of the document, because it gives a programmatic shape to the reflection it contains. Among them, the option for a prophetic and liberating evangelization is clearly in this line. It speaks of "lifting up the light of the Gospel with all its saving power to denounce and announce"; of "accepting the risks" that such an option entails. It states that we wish for solidarity with the human being to whom we have been sent, "sharing" in their anguish, their privations and their hopes, and that we hope "to put an end to injustice" (cf. MCH 169-172). The option for an evangelization from the viewpoint of the poor and the needy leads us also towards a bold action for Justice and Peace. The situation of the poor and the oppressed gives us the perspective from which we are to proclaim the message and the point of reference to conform our life and plan our pastoral action (cf. MCT 173-176). Therefore, the nearness to the excluded certainly is an essential element of our social commitment.

The Chapter of 1985 retakes the themes of the postconciliar renewal and, in particular of the MCT, and recognizes the necessity of personally assuming the process that the Congregation is living. It invites us also to improve the analyses that are at the base of our pastoral projects. Special emphasis is given to the theme of the communities of insertion. "Each organism, but above all those located in the Third World, should give concrete shape to our missionary option for the poor. In the future they should create a greater number of communities that are inserted among the poor, that really share their lot, and that accompany them in their efforts for advancement and liberation, so that each Claretian, acting from within the perspective of the poor, might be a credible advocate of their cause" (CPR 80). As for the Claretians that work in the First World, it tells them that they should present a new profile of their missionary being, vis-a-vis "the world of margination and drugs and an attitude of solidarity with movements in defense of life, human rights, peace" (CPR 81). The Chapter calls us to strengthen our missionary presence in Asia and Africa. It also states that "in those countries where the people suffer under totalitarian regimes, we should be witnesses of the living and liberating God" (CPR 82).

The Chapter of 1991, in the document Servants of the Word, invites us to make of the Word of God the true center and moving force of our spirituality, of our community and of our evangelizing action. The Word of God should illumine our vision of reality and guide us in our options and activities. Many are the orientations it offers, always insisting on the necessity of getting near the poor and the marginated and of accompanying them in their struggle for liberation. The Chapter understands that the expression of the social commitment must have its own particular stresses, according to the situations of the different continents. After the Chapter, the Congregation starts the Word-Mission Project, the objective of which is to accompany the Claretians, by means of a reading of the Word done in a missionary key. I am convinced that the Word-Mission project, especially from the viewpoint of its situational and existential keys, has been useful to create a mentality that has prepared many Claretians to assume the commitment for Justice and Peace in their lives and ministries. The contact with the Word, read from the viewpoint of the poor and the excluded, has prepared us for the social commitment more than other campaigns, programs, short courses or publications. It is an important element because it helps us to tackle the theme of the work for Justice, Peace and Safeguard of Creation from the perspective that is proper to it within the realm of the work of evangelization.

Finally, the last General Chapter of 1997 wants to help place the Congregation "in prophetic mission." Thus, through the testimony of the personal and community testimony of life of the Claretians and their ministry, we will be able to announce "the new heaven and the new earth" that humanity is longing for, and contribute to make it a reality in our history. The Chapter document gives practical guidelines to give the social commitment of the Congregation a structure of more operative animation by strengthening the General Secretariat of Justice and Peace. It urges us to participate actively in movements that, both in the Church and in civil society, strive to create a more fraternal world that works jointly with others. Concrete mention is made of joining the movement for the cancellation of foreign debt of the poor countries and of integrating in this area the ecological concern. The document insists once more on the necessity of getting near the excluded and accompanying them in their efforts to create conditions of life that are more in consonance with human dignity. It reaffirms the necessity of adjusting the social commitment in the different continents in accordance with the needs discovered in the analysis of the situation in which they find themselves.

I believe that it is important to mention that other groups born of the missionary charism of Saint Anthony Mary Claret have also kept on integrating this dimension in their life and in their apostolic action. We may mention, among others, the Claretian Missionary Sisters, the Lay Claretians, the Cordimarian Filiation and other branches of the Claretian Family. The Lay Claretians, for example, in their last two General Assemblies have reflected on how they can be in today's world a "Community of contrast" (General Assembly of Campinas, Brazil, 1995) or a "Community of contrast in prophetic mission" (General Assembly of Santo Domingo, 1999).

As I was saying, all these documents are important because they reflect the way of thinking of our community and constitute the criteria that direct the community and pastoral plannings. There is still a long way to go and many initiatives to consolidate. What is indeed clear is that the social commitment should find in them a concrete expression.

I want to finish by sharing some points that I deem important with a view to the future, since it is a matter of some fundamental characteristics that should always be present, inspiring the social commitment of the Claretians. I will only hint at them. The constant reflection on the situations of the world and on the challenges that we discover in them when we ponder them in the light of the Word of God and from the viewpoint of our missionary charism, will introduce us to the discernment of the actions that we should carry out.

1. First of all, the nearness to the people is important. The "popular" element that we discovered in Claret and which maintained him in prophetic tension; a very special nearness to the poor and the excluded. They are the ones that through their life manifest the urgent need to announce and build up the Kingdom in the concrete reality of our history. It is they that always question the sincerity of our analyses, options and evangelizing commitments.
2. The constant reference to the Word of God. In it we see clearly explained "God's project," in which we find the criteria that should inspire our social commitment and the parameter with which we should always confront our realizations.
3. The trait that we identified as one of the prophetic elements in Claret's apostolate finds here a very fitting field: doing with others. Working in a team is basic for the effectiveness of our actions on behalf of peace and justice, especially when we are dealing with problems that we could call "global." There are some that would like to do something that is "peculiar to us" in this field. We could certainly point out certain areas as the object of priority attention on the part of the Claretians, keeping always in mind, even in these cases, the diversity with which they should be treated in the different contexts. However, I believe that our tendency goes more in the direction of being inserted in the local churches, in their commissions of Justice and Peace and in their social apostolate. We should also be open to the cooperation with other entities of civil society that work on these objectives in the places where we work. This goes much more in line with the directives of our Constitutions that ask us to be "steadfast helpers of the Shepherds." When we focus too much on our own programs and objectives, there is always the danger that our own concerns take the priority in front of the necessities and urgencies that arise from the concrete reality in which we live.
4. Learning to work in shared mission, each one contributing what is ours from the viewpoint of our own vocation in the Church. We priests and religious find it difficult to learn to respect the leadership that corresponds to the laity, in this field more than in others. Frequently we want to lead, rather than support. It would be good to study this theme in the realm of the Claretian Family, and see how we can help one another in each zone to give a more qualified answer in this area of Justice and Peace, always in collaboration with others.
5. Sharing the different experiences. This widens our horizon, enriches and encourages us. We are present in very diverse situations, with very concrete problems that we should try to understand. It will not be rare, however, to discover a strong connection among many of the situations because the tentacles of neoliberalism reach to the farthest areas of our planet. Sharing experiences helps us to understand better the different dimensions of the problems and urges our creativity in the search for ways of action. Knowing that we are close to the struggle of our brethren makes us feel that we are part of a wider commitment for the Kingdom. For this to happen, however, it is necessary to learn how to listen with respect and free ourselves of prejudices and other stereotypes.
6. Taking a stand in the face of problems that are created. To do this, reflection and analysis are necessary. It implies the use of some techniques and, above all, having clear criteria. We cannot let ourselves be pushed around by ideologies and systems of one sign or the other. We lean on the values of the Kingdom, which are, on the other hand, the basic values of the human person. The fact that we have to take a stand in the face of problems will demand from us a more serious and deep study of the social doctrine of the Church, where we will find an invaluable treasure for our reflection. Maintaining always the viewpoint of the Gospel, we should be ready to denounce what has to be denounced, assuming the consequences that may derive from it.
7. Assuming the solidarity with the excluded and the work in JPIC as a transverse axis in our life: spirituality, community, pastoral projects. From the standpoint of the poor, the call of Jesus comes to us with greater force and clarity. We must respond to it with the "new creativity in charity" to which John Paul II invites us and which finds a privileged place of expression in the commitment for Justice, Peace and Safeguard of Creation.
8. The Christian contribution to the social commitment seeks the "change of heart," which I have mentioned several times. It must be clear to us that we cannot limit ourselves to collaborate with a structural change or to obtain some concrete objectives in a particular moment. Our action is directed towards the building up of that "civilization of love," so often mentioned by the Pope, that will only be possible when we open our heart to the powerful action of the Spirit. To this end, a fearless proclamation of the Gospel is necessary, endorsed by the testimony of life and the concrete commitment in the great causes of humanity.

We find ourselves faced with problems that surpass our capacity. We feel too small before the task entrusted to us. We should not be worried. Proclaiming the Kingdom from a situation of smallness and weakness was the option of Jesus. It will be the strength of the poor and the excluded, their wisdom, that will change history. When the ideologies, the political and economic systems learn to listen to their voice and will not simply try to take their place or, worse yet, manipulate them, only then will change be possible. The poor and the "poor in spirit," those who identify themselves with the poor and accompany them in their struggle, are the only ones that can make the novelty of the kingdom emerge, because, as Jesus said, "theirs is the Kingdom of heaven" (cf. Mt 5). We know that we are part of a world movement that longs to create a more just and fraternal world, which seeks a more harmonious relationship with the Creation. This fills us with hope.

The Lord invited his disciples to put out into the deep. At the beginning of the third millennium, John Paul II repeats this call. The Claretian Family wants to take it up.