Preaching to the Whole World

1. The brothers ought to be particularly concerned about the religious and human problems of the poor and workers, especially the problems of those who are far from the faith.
2. Provinces should look for and should establish those ways of life and of preaching which enable them together to respond more effectively to whatever problems they encounter in their apostolate.

The Christian life is affected by change, especially by change brought about by advances in science, the arts or culture. Brothers should do their utmost to discern, among those changes, the values which lead to a more lively awareness of God. And they should endeavour to answer the questions that this evolution raises in the human mind, to the end that the preaching of the gospel will lead to a purer, more mature grasp of the faith.

The brothers ought to be ready at all times to both initiate and engage in discussion and dialogue at every opportunity with the adherents of others faiths, and with nonbelievers. It is essential to bear in mind that special training is clearly needed to cope with the problems which are encountered in this kind of apostolate.

The clear preference for superiors in mission areas should be to establish convents rather than hold on to territory, so that the brothers can devote themselves with the utmost freedom to the ministry of the word, in keeping with the charism of the Order.

1. Since the whole Order is missionary, every brother should promote the missions in whatever way he can. The Master of the Order should provide support, in collaboration with the provinces concerned, so that brothers from one or several provinces can be sent to work in the service of local churches.
2. Our missionary activity is governed by:
   1. common law, and special decrees of the Holy See;
   2. our constitutions, and particular statutes drawn up by the provinces.

1. Collaboration between provinces working in the same region should be fostered to bring about a more effective and complete missionary endeavour.
2. All provinces ought to collaborate in the missionary work of the Order by offering brothers suited to appropriate undertakings.
3. In administering the affairs of the missions, the Master of the Order is to be helped by the socius for the apostolate.

Ord. Those brothers should be assigned to missionary work who had previously shown signs of a missionary vocation and who are well prepared for it. Special training for missionaries, both clerical and cooperator brothers, ought to be provided in a mission convent, or in a special institute where they can learn the people’s language, customs, history, culture and missionary apostolate.

Our missionaries ought to bear in mind that their purpose is to form communities of the faithful that will become self-sufficient as soon as possible. They should see to it, therefore, that the particular church, under its own bishop, will have a sufficient number of local priests, religious and laity, with the ministries and institutions that are necessary to lead and develop a Christian life.

Since the religious life is an outstanding sign of the kingdom of heaven and since by a more profound consecration to God in the Church it manifests clearly the inner nature of the Christian vocation, our missionaries from the outset ought diligently to promote the religious life in indigenous forms.

1. Our missionaries should, as far as possible, establish regular life and should do their best to live a full community life.
2. To this end, a convent should be established as soon as possible in which Dominican life would find expression in harmony with the needs, ethos and special gifts of the people being evangelised, so that it would appear truly indigenous, and not at all alien in their own land. The seeds of ascetical and contemplative traditions have often been sown by God in ancient cultures, even before the preaching of the gospel, and these should be adopted to the extent that they fit in with Dominican life.
3. Dominican vocations should be promoted as soon as possible so that the Order can take lasting root, leading to the erection of an indigenous province.

A province erected in mission territory ought to manifest a missionary spirit. Not content with proclaiming the gospel at home, it should endeavour to preach it abroad.

Research centres should be set up to study people’s religious and socio-cultural heritage. The brothers ought to adopt local ways of living and thinking, where these are compatible with Catholic unity. Such centres are particularly consonant with the apostolate of the Order, and should be diligently promoted with the help of other provinces.

The brothers ought to devote special attention to the education of children and adolescents. This will make a major contribution in developing nations, promoting human dignity and preparing for more humane conditions.

To foster Christian unity, the brothers should encourage an ecumenical spirit among Catholics. They should also enter into true and sincere dialogue with those who are not Catholic. By cooperating with them in social and technical matters, and in cultural and religious areas, they will help to avoid the scandal of division.