SVD missionaries and scholars explore mission in a post-truth era at Missio Dei conference

Theologians, missionaries, and church leaders from around the world met in Rome on March 28 for the second day of the Missio Dei: Healing Wounds conference.

They talked about how important it is for a new missionary approach in a society that is becoming more postmodern and post-truth.

Presenters and moderators at the conference were from the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD). The conference was about dialogue, authenticity, and inculturation as important ways to move forward.

Dr. Pavol Bargár, an associate professor at Charles University in Prague, gave the keynote speech. He discussed how individualism, nontraditional spirituality, and digital hyper-connectivity are changing the spiritual landscape today.

He said, "Christian mission must go beyond proclamation and instead become relational, serving a society that longs for meaning and belonging." Bargár warned of the dangers of rising nationalism, ideologies that omit others, and more and more young people being alone.

The main speaker and president of the Union of Superiors General (USG), Fr. Mario Zanotti, OSB.Cam, made sure that the talks stayed on topic of pastoral care and theological depth.

Prof. Mika Vähäkangas of Åbo Akademi University spoke at the plenary session, which was led by Jesuit Fr. Daniel Patrick Huang, who is responsible for Missiology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. 

In his talk, “The Gospel in the Maze of Postmodern Worlds: Choosing Between the Ethical and the Correct?” He challenged churches to prioritize ethics and lived faith over rigid doctrinal formulas.

To understand the Gospel in a way that is open and relevant, Vähäkangas said that people should be honest, humble, and willing to accept differences. He did this by sharing his experiences with young adults who were disappointed by religious hypocrisy.

Fr. Estêvão Raschietti, SX, a theologian and professor from Brazil, gave a powerful presentation titled “Beyond Missio Ad Gentes: Inhabiting Peripheries, Crossing Borders, Opening Paths.”

He pushed for a missionary approach that was not based on colonization but on solidarity, meeting new people, and giving the disadvantaged more opportunities. “Today, the mission is no longer about conversion,” he said, “but about presence, humility, and shared life. We must move from domination to dialogue.”

Several workshops were held in the afternoon, led by experts from around the world. For example, Dr. Dorottya Nagy (Netherlands) led "Contextualizing Europe?!," which looked at how postmodern ideas affect Christian mission in Europe.

Brother Emile of Taizé (France) spoke about trust, simplicity, and community in "Taizé: A Vital Trust." Canon Dr. Nigel Rooms (UK) talked about changing mission strategies in the English context in "Paradigm Shifts in Local Mission," and Fr. Tiziano Tosolini, SX (Rome) talked about how theology responds to new technologies in "Transhumanism and Missio Dei."

SVD missionaries were critical all day. Fr. Sebastian M. Michael, SVD, led the discussion on postmodern Europe, and Fr. Alain Mayam, CSSp, and Roberto Catalano of the Focolare Movement led workshops.

At the end of the day, everyone agreed that today's mission should be less about control and more about empathy, dialogue, and being relevant to the situation.

The Missio Dei conference is still an important place to think about how Christians should witness in a world that is changing. It also makes the SVD even more determined to spread the Gospel in places that need it the most, especially where different cultures, ideologies, and human experiences meet.