Abstract:

In recent years, there has been a renewed emphasis on synodality in the Catholic Church. One of the key principles of synodality is that through baptism, all the faithful, whether laity or clergy, participate fully in Christ’s mission, carried out through the Church. All the baptized are therefore called to contribute to the Church’s mission by working together according to their vocation and charisms. Their collaboration and mutual enrichment express the synodal nature of the Church, understood as “walking together” as the People of God in communion, participation, and mission.

This renewed ecclesial and theological vision provides a timely framework for examining lay-Redemptorist collaboration in Misi Umat in Indonesia. Understood as a mission (misi) for and with the faithful (umat), Misi Umat unites Redemptorist missionaries and lay faithful in a shared mission. It focuses particularly on faithful communities living in geographical and pastoral peripheries. As a distinctive Redemptorist ministry, Misi Umat enables the laity to exercise their baptismal missionary vocation and contribute their gifts and charisms to the proclamation of Plentiful Redemption (Copiosa Apud Eum Redemptio), particularly among the poor, the abandoned, and those living at the peripheries. The participation of the laity strengthens the missionary work entrusted to the Redemptorists and promotes shared responsibility as an expression of a synodal Church. However, cultural patterns, clerical tendencies, limited formation, and established pastoral structures can hinder genuine synodal collaboration and co-responsibility.

The purpose of this tesina is threefold, encompassing theological, pastoral, and practical objectives. First, the theological objective is to examine the renewed theological foundations of lay participation in the Church’s mission according to Catholic Church teaching, particularly the Second Vatican Council and the documents of the Synod on Synodality. These will be complemented with the Redemptorist spiritual and theological tradition regarding mission and lay collaboration. Second, the pastoral objective is to examine closely the presence and role of the laity in the missionary work of Misi Umat and critically evaluate the existing lay-Redemptorist collaboration in this ministry in light of the theological foundations. Third, the practical objective is to propose concrete actions that can strengthen lay-Redemptorist collaboration and promote shared responsibility in a more synodal spirit.

The methodology begins with a contextual reflection on Misi Umat based on pastoral experience, followed by a theological analysis of its foundations in light of Vatican II, Synod documents, Church teaching on the laity, and Redemptorist spirituality, particularly the participation of the laity in the Redemptorist mission. Based on this theological analysis, the study synthesizes a set of criteria that can serve to evaluate lay participation and collaboration. It then applies these criteria to the Misi Umat and develops a pastoral proposal responding to the challenges and opportunities faced. The See-Judge-Act framework serves as the overall process of theological-pastoral reflection.

Final Defense:

Board of Examiners:

1. Christina Kheng, Ph.D. (Adviser)
2. Fr. Jojo Fung, S.J., Ph.D. (Second Reader/Principal Examiner)
3. Fr. Hartono Budi, S.J., Th.D.

Proposal Defense: