International Association
of Catholic Missiologists
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FIDES REPORT: International Association of Catholic Missiologists holds constitutive assembly, 17-20 October 2000 Rome (Fides) – About 500 professors, scholars and students from all over the world took part in the International Missiological Congress held in Rome at Urban College 17-20 October with the theme "Who do you say that I am? Missiological and Missionary answers in the context of religions and cultures". The Congress was organised by the Urban University with the newly established International Association of Catholic Missiologists (IACM) which at the end of the Congress held its constitutive assembly on Saturday October 21. After the presentation of the statutes, their amendment and approval, the assembly considered priorities for its future operations to guide its leadership. In the afternoon the assembly proceeded to elect its members. President is Maryknoll Fr. John Gorski (of the American Society for Foreign Missions), aged 64, professor of missiology, ecumenism and inculturation at the Higher Institute for Studies in Theology at the Catholic University of Bolivia. In Bolivia since 1963, Fr. Gorski was Executive Secretary for the Missions Department of CELAM (1974-1978). He has a doctorate in Missiology from the Pontifical Gregorian University 1981-1984) and has also been National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Bolivia (1985-1989). The following persons were elected by IACM: Sr Teresa Okure,SHCJ of the Catholic Higher Institute of Theology of West Africa, Nigeria (Vice-president); Fr. Francis Oborji, a Nigerian, professor at the Urban Unviersity (Executive Secretary); Sr Madge Karecki SSJ-TOSF, of Chicago, the only Catholic teaching missiology at the University of South Africa (Treasurer). And the following regional offices: Rev. Silvester Arinaitwe Rwomokubwe, Superior General of the Apostles of Jesus (Africa); Fr. Lazar Thanuzraj SVD (Asia); Fr. Eugen Nunnenmacher SVD (Europe); Fr. Joao Pannazolo (Latin America); Fr. Bertrand Roy (North America). With the election of Fr. Gorski as President, the seat of the Association is to be transferred to the Institute of Missiology of the Bolivian Catholic University in Cochabamba, Bolivia and the Secretariat remains at the Pontifical Urban University Rome where Fr. Oborji is teaching in the Faculty of Missiology. The International Association of Catholic Missiologists (IACM) had its beginnings in 1997. Its purpose is to promote and stimulate effective collaboration among Catholic missiologists of all continents in missiological research, teaching and publication. It has over 300 members, with 120 each from Latin America and Europe, 25 from Asia, 22 from Africa and only 16 from North America and 3 from Oceania. The great objective of the Association is to place missiology at the service of the evangelising mission of the local churches. Fr. Gorski defines missiology as that specialized branch of theology that accompanies, analyses and gives direction to the missionary activity of the Church, the evangelization of those who do not know Christ and whose cultures are yet to be transformed by the Gospel. (Taken from the International Fides Service, edition of November 3, 2000)
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