Celebrating 100th Anniversary of SVD Ministry

The great distances, the scarce population density and the fear of the Amazon on the one hand, and the type of work and its priorities as they were seen by the southern provinces on the other, were obstacles far too high in the sixties and seventies. But through the influence of Vatican documents, both the Society and the Brazilian Church began to see the value of the option for the poor and the need to witness to the abandoned the Good News of the Kingdom.

Ten years later, in January 1990, the Amazon Region was established, with Father John Mors as the first Regional. In numbers, it is a very small Region, about twenty members. At the moment we have two Irish confreres, two Brazilian, two Portuguese, two German, one Colombian, one Polish, one Dutch and one Mexican.

We began working in the dioceses of Santarám and Obiclos. In the meantime, a new diocese was created, Itaituba, and we have been entrusted with a vast pastoral area there. in the city of Santarám we've just handed over a parish to the Bishop, keeping Santarenzinho in the outskirts.

In obidos, we have three parishes; one, Oriximiná, is more than the size of Portugal, although with just 66,000 people. That parish alone has 35 communities, visited by us two or three times a year. Terra Santa and Faro are the two other parishes in that Prelacy.

Our work is not confined to our parish duties, and that is one of the reasons for keeping strategic parishes. We, the SVDs, are well known by the local authorities, by the people and the local church, on account of our stand on social and political issues. Time and events have proven our insights right, earning the respect of many and the hatred of the powerful few.

Therefore, minority rights, the defense of lakes and lands, opposition to mining projects, organization of small farmers, assessing popular movements, denouncing timber exploiters, giving formation courses to the natives (Black, Indians, Caboclos, riverside people) are some of our concerns, besides the Sacraments.

The old Christian way was based on sacramentalism. The majority of people still think to this day that if a child is not baptized it's the devil possession, and prone to fall seriously ill. The responsibility of the parents ends with Baptism.

Such views have led to the present situation where families see no reason to participate in community life, and the powerful, by having their children baptized and financially supporting the church, consider themselves as the perfect examples of Christian life. Because they control everything, they want to have control over the church as well. The result is devastating from a Christian viewpoint. The power and the glory are theirs; while misery, disease and exploitation are the majority's "daily bread."

Another difficulty is the total dependence of the deprived on the politician's promises. Since these are very seldom fulfilled, the poor live in their misery and ill health all year round, challenging us all the time: paternalism can be a temptation, but certainly not a solution. But how to make them conscious of the fact that while all the wealth has been taken away from their land for years and years, they haven't benefited one penny from it? On the contrary, they are left with the rubbish of chemical wastes and consumerism illnesses.

Most of us, come from the European culture, with its values and limitations. How can we relegate to second place our reason and logic, and try to understand the feelings and the "one day at a time" philosophy where the future is never thought of in terms of years but days? Money, too, can be a problem. The further we go into the frontier, the higher the costs and the lower the income. Self-reliance becomes just a day dream.

One final difficulty lies in the missionary's mind. He thinks he's come here to teach and preach, but time shows that one needs to get into a learning and listening process and discover the values the local culture offers him. And, lo and behold! The God we have come to announce and the most important values of the Christian message are already here. The Holy Spirit has come before the missionary.

Often enough, we are asked about our life style, our prayer life and our inner motivation. But being missionaries of the Divine Word, we all share the same charism, the one calling of witnessing to the Word and the same hope that the Kingdom will eventually be established in spite of so many signs of greed and death.

Adding to that, our liturgies need to be at least two hours long in each community, otherwise it's a disrespect of God and the Community itself. And we need to add that the people are so creative and spontaneous that even a three hour celebration is not tiring nor monotonous, because it's their life and their faith they are celebrating. And we understand the privilege that we have by receiving from them the joy and the hope that their liturgies create in us.

The Divine Word called and the Society sent us to this part of the world. There are times when the difficulties weigh heavy upon our shoulders: the signs of change are very rare and the selfish powerful few seem to take some special pleasure in boasting about their success. It's exactly, in those moments, that we bring to mind small victories, our trust in the Lord, our conviction that He is with us.

And when we look back, in spite of so much suffering and struggle, we find good reasons to thank God and keep our hope at all alive and strong. It's not the fact that we have achieved something, because we know that it's the work of the Spirit and the participation of the people, but the fact that we are here to see with our own eyes the joys of the Good News, strengthens our convictions.