Pierre Claverie: Decolonising Mission

Alexandru-Marius Crișan

doi:10.3390/rel13030197

Abstract

In the early 1980s, the Catholic Church in Algeria was experiencing upheaval, having been depopulated almost overnight when the great majority of Catholic Christians had left the country and resettled in France or elsewhere after the Algerian proclamation of independence two decades earlier. The remaining Christians were regarded not only as a reduced minority but mostly as a reminding symbol of an era of political and religious colonization. The Church in Algeria was in need of a deep reflection to find a new reason for its presence in this totally new context. A man of faith, capable of illuminating this reflection was Pierre Lucien Claverie, a Dominican friar and bishop of Oran between 1981–1996, who tried to lead the perception of the Church in Algeria from notions such as colonisation or proselytism, to notions such as otherness and plurality in an attempt to liberate the act of mission from any aggressive tendency or colonial roots. Claverie’s writings show that he did not shape the concept of mission only on a theological or social level but responded to the needs of his Church through his spiritual experiences and monastic background.

Highlights

IntroductionOn 25 May 1981, he was appointed bishop of Oran , being consecrated bishop by Cardinal Léon-Étien Duval, who led the Church of Algeria in those dark times
On 25 May 1981, he was appointed bishop of Oran10, being consecrated bishop by Cardinal Léon-Étien Duval, who led the Church of Algeria in those dark times. During his speech on the occasion of his consecration in Algiers, the new Bishop Pierre Claverie paid a vibrant homage to his Algerian friends, being able to give a spiritual dimension to their encounters, lived as a deep friendship: My Algerian brothers and friends, ( . . . ) to you I owe the fact that I discovered
As has been already mentioned, when Pierre Claverie assumed the office of bishop of Oran in 1981, the Church in Algeria had already begun confronting certain stereotypes, many of which referred to the notion of mission

Summary

Introduction

On 25 May 1981, he was appointed bishop of Oran , being consecrated bishop by Cardinal Léon-Étien Duval, who led the Church of Algeria in those dark times During his speech on the occasion of his consecration in Algiers, the new Bishop Pierre Claverie paid a vibrant homage to his Algerian friends, being able to give a spiritual dimension to their encounters, lived as a deep friendship: My Algerian brothers and friends, The messages given by the bishop of Oran of that period suggest a courageous man trying to “exorcise” the political reality of his times by “missionaries” who thought they exclusively possessed God and the whole religious truth, being allowed to act in the name of God. The words from the same message are eloquent in this sense, both for Christians and Muslims: “Years later—or betters said centuries later-(...) you have studied the Holy.

A Genuine Christian Mission According to Pierre Claverie

Encountering the Other in Truth and Truths

Freeing the Mission from Aggression

For a Mystical Understanding of the Mission

Conclusions