Synodevaders - 25 oktober 2008
Revelation was constituted by taking from the different human cultures the authentic values capable of expressing the truth that God communicated to men for our salvation (cf. "Dei Verbum," 11). The Word of God, in as much as revelation, introduced in cultures the knowledge of truth that would otherwise have been unknown and created cultural progress and development. The Lord's command to the Church to proclaim the Word of God implies taking the Word of God to all peoples on earth and their cultures. This implies the same process of inculturation of the Word of God as occurs in Revelation.
Hence, the Word of God must penetrate every environment so that culture produces original expressions of life, liturgy and Christian thought (cf. "Catechesi Tradendae," 53). This takes place when the Word of God, proposed to a culture, "fertilize as from within the spiritual qualities and traditions of each people, confirms them, perfects them and recapitulates them in Christ" ("Gaudium et Spes," 58), thus eliciting new expressions of Christian life.
For a genuine inculturation of the evangelical message, the formation of missionaries with adequate means must be ensured, to know in-depth the vital ambience and the socio-cultural conditions, so that they can be inserted in the environment, the language and the local cultures. It corresponds to the local Church in the first place to achieve a genuine inculturation of the evangelical message, paying attention of course to the risk of syncretism. The quality of inculturation depends on the degree of maturity of the evangelizing community.
