ULRICH ENGEL

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Vatican 11-lnspiration for the Dominican Order in Europe today* Ulrich Engel O.P. INTRODUCTION Dear brothers! It is extremely difficult to talk about a global impetus of Vatican 11 for the Roman Catholic Church in Europe.1 In consequence it is extremely difficult too-if not impossible-to talk about the impetus of Vatican 11 for the Dominican Order in Europe. This is due to the complex reality of Europe, which is not clearly enough defined: historically, geographically, politically or culturally. It is also due to the complex reality of the Council, which cannot be reduced to its texts. In contrary: Vatican 11 set in motion a movement of change and renewal within Catholic Church, which is very far from complete. And finally, we have to remember: In Europe we do not have had a continental episcopal assembly for transmission and implementation of the council in our specific European context, like it was celebrated 1968 in Medellin (Columbia) for Latin America by CELAM. With these difficulties and restrictions in mind I shall try to speak about the main challenges for the Dominican Order inspired by Vatican 11. I want to reformulate these challenges in form of fundamental differences in church and society we have to deal with. More than 25 years ago the General Chapter of Avila has formulated our mission to the frontiers.z According to the method of Avila (not first of all to the contents) I understand Dominican preaching today as a mission into differences of church and society. I identify four main differences: 1. the difference between Universal Church and Local Mission, 2. the difference between Salvation-ofGod in Jesus Christ and the Realities of Injustice, 3. the difference between Church as "People of God" and Ongoing Clericalism, 4. the difference between Secular Society and Evangelization. * Lecture given to the Annual IEOP Meeting 20013, Mainz, Erbacher Hof, 4th of April 2013. 1 On the following cf. Martin Maier, Vatican 11: Inspiration and Encouragement for the Church in Europe, in: Concilium 48 (2012), p. 122-128. z Cf. Act. Cap. Gen. O.P. Avila 1986, No. 22 (original in Spanish: "La misi6n de fronteras").
In each case I go forward in three steps: 1. reminding some central statements of Vatican It 2. quoting-more or less official-texts of our Dominican mission, and 3. marking a particular theological challenge for Dominicans in Europe today. 1. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UNIVERSAL CHURCH AND LOCAL MISSION Vatican 11 I It is somewhat paradoxical to say that the Second Vatican Council was a Council with a strongly European emphasis, which introduced the end of the profoundly European influence on the Church. Vatican 11 was largely an ecclesiastical event dominated by European bishops and theologians. The ecumenical and liturgical movements as well as the biblical movement, which prepared the way for the decisive progress of the Councit were essentially located in the European Church. Yet, if we accept Karl Rahner's S.J. basic theological interpretation of Vatican 11 as the ((Church's first official self-realization as a universal Church"3, the Council definitively marked the end of a Catholicity under European influence and domination. Rahner compared this transition from a western-Eurocentric Church to a polycentric universal Church (cf. Johann B. Metz4) with the historical break that took place at the beginning of church history with the transition from Jewish to pagan Christianity.s Rahner referred cautiously to the ((beginning of a beginning"6. With farsighted acumen he suggested that the process of creating an authentically polycentric universal Church-with all the differences within itselfwould need time. In fact, Rahner thought it would probably take a full century! So on it is on us to deal with. Dominican Mission I 2013 the Roman Catholic Church has elected the first Pope from Latin America. This is a strong sign of a post-European, universal church. And the elec- 3 Cf. Karl Rahner, Theologische Grundinterpretation des 11. Vatikanischen Konzils, in: idem, Schriften zur Theologie vol. XIV, Zurich-Einsiedeln-Koln 1980, p. 287-302, here p. 288: "Das 11. Vatikanische Konzil ist [ ... ] der erste amtliche Selbstvollzug der Kirche als Weltkirche." 4 Cf. Johann Baptist Metz, Im Autbruch zu einer kulturell polyzentrischen Weltkirche, in: Zeitschrift fur Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft 76 (1986), p. 140-153. 5 Cf. Rahner, Theologische Grundinterpretation des 11. Vatikanischen Konzils, op. cit., p. 297. 6 Cf. idem, Das Konzil-ein neuer Beginn, Freiburg-im-Breisgau 1966, p. 14: "Anfang eines Anfangs".
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ULRICH ENGEL

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