PREFACE

Original in Italian

As in the previous issue, this UISG Bulletin offers some of thecontributions presented at the Theological Seminar on ReligiousLife, organized by UISG and USG in Rome from February 7 to 12,2011. After the Congress on Consecrated Life in 2004 which had so muchrepercussion in the religious world and in the Church, this event marks thebeginning of a journey of study and theological research to keep alive theforum on the identity and significance of Consecrated Life in the plurality ofsocial and cultural contexts today.

The theological reflections that we have chosen to publish in this issueoffer a clear and accurate reading of the apparent impasse in the reality ofreligious life in a context which is global, pluralistic, polycentric and everchanging. The invitation to deepen a theological reflection that considers thevarious components at stake: religious congregations, the Church, the world,is combined with the daring proposal for new ways that, somehow, seem tooverturn traditional beliefs to which we have been accustomed. The result isa composite picture which rouses the readers’ interest and encourages themto open minds and hearts.

The American theologian Sr. Mary Maher, SSND opens this issue withher reflection entitled “Called and sent: a Reflection on the Theology of theApostolic Consecrated Life Today”. To fully understand the meaning ofConsecrated Life in the world, it is necessary to understand the dynamics ofbeing called and sent, which characterizes the life of all baptized Christiansand which also defines the fundamental identity of the Church. Sr. Maryrepeatedly reiterates the need for a theology of the world: “There is a key thatopens the door to a theological framework capable of clarifying the identity ofthe Apostolic Religious Life in the Church and in today’s world… the key is thediscovery of history…I think the post-modern apostolic religious life should bemore clearly defined by the call to combine the ancient wisdom of Christianitywith a new justice in a world marked by radical pluralism and the inability todeal with the difference”.