THE BISHOP'S COLUMN Medical Mission Partnership: Santa Cruz, Bolivia and Chicago Why did 22 people, mostly doctors and nurses from the Chicago area, recently travel to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, as part of a new Medical Mission Partnership, to offer their professional services “pro bono” to the indigent sick of that city? Normally, missionary work is done by the “professional” missionary religious congregations and lay institutes. But there are exceptions. For example, on the initiative of some of its priests, the church in Chicago has participated in a couple of mission efforts in recent years. The first was in San Miguelito, Panama, in the 1960s and ’70s, and the latest was in Chilapa/Chilpancingo from 1989-1999. These were parish-based pastoral missions staffed primarily by Chicago diocesan priests, some religious and laity. I had the great blessing to spend time at each, which certainly enhanced the kind of ministry I do today in Chicago. I was in San Miguelito for six months in 1969 and made four different visits to Chilpancingo during the last six years. In my mind, along with the great good these mission efforts brought to the people directly involved, they also serve to remind us that we are part of a universal church. We have gifts to offer and much to learn from others, especially from Third World countries. Often, to be awakened to the great needs and worth of folks close by, one needs to “get away” and experience a different culture both as learner and participant in the life of people there. A “medical” mission is a variation on this theme, at least in the way that the Chicago/Santa Cruz Medical Mission partnership was envisioned. Different from either the Chicago/Panama or the Chicago/Chilpancingo mission relationships, this medical mission partnership is meant to be uniquely for and with lay participants as an expression of the primary mission of Catholic laity, which is the transformation of the world, “in Christ” through “secular” means--law, medicine, education, art, the trade professions, etc. In this case, the focus is on those who have medical expertise. Another way in which this medical mission is different from traditional missionary societies--such as Augustinians, Franciscans, etc.--is that the commitment for the individual is very short-term--two weeks in Bolivia. What this new Bolivia/Chicago Medical Mission Partnership has in common with both our previous archdiocesan efforts as well as the great missionary efforts since the time of St. Paul is at the heart of any authentic Catholic missionary experience: An individual or group, moved by faith in Jesus Christ, wishes to give witness to the saving power of his love and put him/herself at the service of others, especially the very poor and sick. Another recent motivational impulse for this medical mission was the convocation of the Synod of Bishops for America in 1997 and the Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in America (the Church in America) by Pope John Paul II that followed it. This papal document was formally presented to all Americans in Mexico City last year, and looks to the beginning of a new millennium of Christianity. In it, John Paul II challenges us, the church in North, Central and South America along with the Caribbean countries, to think of ourselves simply as “America.” He exhorts us to work together more closely in “communion and solidarity,” sharing our resources and our pastoral experiences to promote the “new evangelization” so needed throughout the whole continent. The initiator and coordinator of our medical mission partnership is the Bolivian-born Juan Hinojosa, who has a doctorate in spiritual theology and has been the director of the Hillenbrand Institute at Mundelein Seminary for a number of years. He is aware of the great medical needs in Bolivia, the most impoverished country in South America, has a strong sense of the role of the laity in the church’s mission and was acquainted with numerous medical people in the Chicago area who were more than willing to be of service in this way. After visiting a number of possible sites in Bolivia and consulting with others who have worked on similar medical missions, he determined that Santa Cruz de la Sierra would be a fine place to begin. Santa Cruz may not be as scenic a city as La Paz, which at more than 13,000 ft. is surrounded by majestic Andean peaks, or as charming as the capital city of Sucre in Bolivia’s “high valley” which enjoys an eternal spring-like climate. (Our neighboring Diocese of Joliet has had a Medical Mission relationship with Sucre for a number of years ). Neither the climate nor the scenery in the southeastern “tropical lowlands” part of Bolivia where Santa Cruz is located is exceptionally pleasant. It is hot, dusty and windy most of the time (substitute mud for dust in the rainy season). What Santa Cruz does have, however, is great need and insufficient resources. NEXT WEEK: How the mission began and what it experienced. Sincerely yours in Christ, |