Thirty years ago, on January 22, 1991, Pope John Paul II's eighth encyclical, "Redemptoris Missio" (The Mission of the Redeemer), was published. In a pontificate so rich in ideas that its teaching has only begun to be digested, "Redemptoris Missio" stands out as a blueprint for the Catholic future. The vibrant parts of the world Church are living the vision of missionary discipleship to which the encyclical calls us. The dying parts of the world Church have yet to get the message, or, misunderstanding it, have rejected it --
which is why they're dying.
"Redemptoris Missio" posed a forthright and formidable challenge to comfortable Catholics: look around you and recognize that ours are apostolic times, not Christendom times. Christendom, as Fulton Sheen said in 1974, is over.