Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, said the Catholic Church must find renewal through mission, as he addressed participants at the 175th anniversary celebration of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) in Milan.
“The Church is not immune to the dramatic and rapid changes in the world,” said Tagle.
He emphasized that the Church must embrace “renewal” not as superficial change, but as a “gift of life renewed in God… present and at work in the world but awaits its fullness in active hope.”
Speaking on the theme “The Mission ad gentes of Tomorrow,” the cardinal said that while many approaches to renewal exist, “our experience indicates that the sixth way seems the most appropriate: the Church is renewed in its identity when it is missionary, that is, it witnesses to the Kingdom of God in dialogue with the cultures, religions and poor of the world.”
He cited theological voices calling for the shift from missio ad gentes (to the peoples) to missio inter gentes (with and among the peoples), where mission engages with “family members, co-workers, digital followers.” He stressed that “geography is no longer the first human frontier, but also culture, beliefs, indifference, injustice.”
Using Asian imagery, Tagle described a renewed Church through symbols: “The door of a house,” which represents welcome and outreach; “sitting at the table,” symbolizing inclusion and solidarity; “songs of lament and joy,” reflecting the Church’s accompaniment in pain and hope; and “cultural and human intelligence,” promoting intercultural dialogue.
“A renewed Church takes its door seriously,” he said. “The Church is simultaneously a Church that goes out and a Church that welcomes.”
He concluded with an interfaith encounter in the United Arab Emirates, where a non-Christian doctor invited him to bless Catholic nurses. “A new world of brotherhood, respect, and love was unfolding before my eyes.”
Tagle ended with a call to hope: “There is indeed a future for humanity. It is beginning now. We are on holy ground prepared by the Holy Spirit of the risen Jesus.”
