Ordination

Since the apostolate of the Order in many places is effectively carried out in parishes, the brothers to whom this responsibility is entrusted should devote themselves to it with great care, especially through the ministry of the word.

Our churches ought to be centres of preaching, liturgical life, Christian community and apostolic outreach.

Special doctrinal and spiritual assistance is to be given to priests, religious and to others who are entrusted with educating people in the faith.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.