AMOR plays prophetic role, says Rome religious leader

Sister Maria Victoria Gonzalez de Castejon (photo by Tom Fox)

Religious of the Sacred Heart Sister Maria Victoria Gonzalez de Castejon is the executive secretary of the Union of International Superiors General based in Rome. She is a guest observer at AMOR XV. During a conference break I spoke with her about AMOR, its purpose, and place in the church.

What’s the importance of AMOR?

To gather women religious though Asia and Oceania and for them to be together and to share with each other and to get to know each other is very, very important. It’s essential for today. We need to know each other better to go beyond ourselves. AMOR is a platform; it’s a forum that allows this encounter.

How does AMOR fit into the wider church?

I think AMOR is playing a prophetic role. It is not recognized in the church as an official institution. It is, then, a free forum. It’s playing a role in helping us to go beyond, which, of course, is the theme of this gathering.

I think AMOR can show that we women religious can meet and we can share things, as women religious, that are deep and meaningful in our lives. We can share things that challenge us. These women are not waiting for a green light. They are capable of organizing themselves without a green light. It’s not that they are doing anything wrong or against anything. It’s just that they are going ahead and doing it on their own. Not everything in our church has to be institutionalized.

Anything surprise you about this meeting?

I’m not sure I am surprised. What I see here is growth. I see there has been growth. These women have a history already. They are meeting here as part of an ongoing process. They have already lived a history together. They have the same purpose, same aim. And the theme – “moving beyond” – indicates they want to move beyond. This helps unite them in their mission, their push, their thrust.

They are speaking out, perhaps, because in all their countries they are minorities. Being a minority in enormous countries with rich and ancient cultures and religions challenges them to speak out. As minorities they have to speak out and they develop the courage to speak out because, as minorities, they are challenged by the majority. I don’t know they consciously know this. As a minority they have to find their identity in the rich mixture that is culture here. Therefore they feel a challenged, and responding to that challenge, they challenge us. You know it’s different in Spain, my native country. In Spain everyone is Catholic. I don’t think really think they are Catholic. So I think these women are lucky. They have this challenge and it is calling them forth.

They are working on a statement of support for U.S. women religious. What do you think about this?

I think it is very good. They want to show they are in solidarity. They want to offer support. They want to say “we are with you.” No one knows exactly why this visitation is taking place. (Editor’s note: Last December, the Vatican announced it was starting a three-year investigation of U.S. women religious apostolic congregations.) It is simply a fact. Nobody can discuss it. We have to accept. But we have to tell the U.S. women that we understand this is not an easy moment for them. That’s what these women here are doing. At the same time we have to show them we are in solidarity. We have to show it. We all have to be in solidarity with them.

I thought it is very touching that these women want to write a statement of support. The statement is very simple. They said they don’t want to complicate anything for the U.S. women. All they wanted to say is “we are with you.” So you have these younger ones, the younger sisters of religious life– although some of the congregations they are part of are very old – and as a small group they are saying to the older sisters, they are saying to a whole continent “we are with you.” I think this is beautiful. I think it is part of what we are today. We need to be with each other. We need to support each other. Not just Asia with Asia. Not the states with the states. We are part of a larger network. They are saying: “Your pains are our pains. Your joys are our joys.”

It is not just women religious coming together. Men and women religious are coming together in new ways. I see this from my perspective in Rome. It involves solidarity and an interest in each other. The women, however, are ahead in the religious life. The women break boundaries easier than the men. The priests are more classic. The brothers and the women, however, are more similar. We are not priests. So we are less tied up by certain things. It is easier for us to move ahead. I see this happening. We don’t have the same obstacles, the same barriers as the priests.

Will you leave the AMOR meeting with new hope?

When I come to one of these meetings I always leave them filled with hope. There is a real dynamism here. When people say religious life is dying I tell them to come to one of these meetings. Religious life is not dying at all. Diminishment in numbers is not death. I remember one archbishop said one day that when the monasteries were full of people they were not always full of life. Now when many are empty one finds lots of new religious life. Yes, we have problems. Of course we have problems. When two people get together you have problems. But there is abundant life.

Any final thoughts?

I have been a number of countries in Asia but coming to this AMOR meeting really helps me meet Asia. Here we see so many countries. There are so many rich cultures here. At the same time we see so much in common. We have the same vocation, the same mission, the same vision. For me it’s really amazing. We meet people we have never known in our lives and it is as if we have known them for our entire lives.

Thank you