MISSIONARY COOPERATION. - The faithful can cooperate in the propagation of the faith through prayer, through offerings, and by promoting vocations to the apostolate.
The pontifical works of m. c. must be promoted as a priority. They are the Missionary Union of the Clergy, the P. O. of the Propagation of the Faith, the P. O. of St. Peter the Apostle for the indigenous clergy, and the P. O. of the Holy Childhood. Each of these works has its own central organization, which is coordinated from the directive and administrative point of view. The Missionary Union of the Clergy is directed solely at interesting the clergy in the missionary apostolate, while the other works collect offerings and prescribe brief prayers. Also pontifical is the "Consociatio mulierum et puellarum catholicarum pro missionibus," founded in 1903 at Koblenz, which however has a local character.
Besides the pontifical works there are numerous other initiatives to help the missions. Here only the principal ones will be indicated, grouped into works of prayer and of material and intellectual aid. A work of prayer is the Apostleship of Prayer, which since 1928 adds each month, to the general intention, another particular missionary intention. Among the works of material aid one must list the Epiphany Collection for anti-slavery, instituted by Pope Leo XIII with the constitution Cathalicae Ecclesiae of 20 Nov. 1890 and in 1919 recommended by Benedict XV, with the purpose of collecting offerings on the feast of the Epiphany for the African missions. The Sodality of St. Peter Claver has the purpose of procuring the printing of missionary books and of collecting offerings especially for the African missions. The Apostolic Work for the Missionary's Outfit was born in France in 1838, then developed in Europe and America. The works of medical assistance have a twofold aim: to give missionaries and sisters a theoretical and practical teaching of medical and surgical assistance, and also to facilitate for the missions the purchase of medical supplies. Courses of this kind are established at the Universities of Louvain, Lille, Rotterdam, Fribourg, Parma, Georgetown in Washington, and at the Catholic Institute of Paris and that of Würzburg. In Rome the Sovereign Military Order of Malta has opened the international school of emergency medicine and surgery for missionaries, as well as the Group for Health Assistance to the Missions, which receives donations in money or medical supplies. In Milan the Missionary Union of Italian Doctors (U.M.M.I.) is also active. Worthy of mention is the M.I.V.A., that is, the "Missions-Verkehr Arbeitsgemeinschaft," founded by Fr. Schulte with the purpose of providing the missions with means of land, sea and air locomotion. After an initial flourishing development it ceased to exist, and only the Swiss section remains. During the war the same Fr. Schulte gave life to a similar work: "Wings of Mercy," which had an ephemeral existence.
The works of intellectual c. are also very numerous and varied according to the countries. Mention is made of the Roman Conference for the African Missions (v.).
In m. c. among students, Catholics were preceded by the Protestants of the United States, who in 1888 gave life to the "Students Voluntary Movement." Toward the end of the last century in Germany there were Catholic initiatives of this kind, which also developed in Austria under various forms of Missionary Leagues. In Belgium the "Pro Apostolis" is flourishing, the A.U.C.A.M. (v.), which has its Flemish duplicate. In the United States the "Catholic Students Mission Crusade" is quite developed, and in France the associations work with success: "Les amis des Missions," the "Ligue Missionnaire des Etudiants" and "Ad Lucem," that is, the Association of lay university students and missionaries. The missionary Leagues of students are also developed in Switzerland, Holland and Spain.
In Italy the Student Missionary League (L. M. S.), which has its own bulletin, Gentes, has been operating since 1927. Among university students, since 1931 the F.U.C.I. (Italian Catholic University Federation) has carried out a vast missionary activity. Furthermore, the Missionary Union of the Clergy has sought to interest teachers in the missionary ideal and to have a short missionary chapter inserted into the catechism. Recently the fathers of the Pious Society of St. Francis Xavier of Parma have brought to life the Center for Missionary Education (C. E. M.), which in the minds of its promoters should lead to the realization of a broader missionary movement among the educated classes.
Bibliography2 works
Saverio Paventi