Forty years have gone since the 1983 General Assembly that made the historical decision, “The SMA admits applicants from local Churches in Africa to membership”[1] as a fruit of a long discernment process especially in the post Vatican II context. Argentina and Poland had an earlier SMA history and the GA1983 made two motions[2] to support the continuation of the efforts in both countries. I got really curious to know what the Assembly had to say about India and the Philippines, and I discovered that the Assembly said nothing about these two. Asian implantation was an inspiration not during the 1983 Assembly but in between the Assemblies of 1983 and 1989!
Despite the differences in the historical roots of the SMA Units in Africa, Argentina, India, the Philippines, and Poland, we can safely state that the spirit of the 1983 General Assembly created a new momentum for expansion and that affected all these places.
Forty years later, we have seven new SMA Provinces and seven new Districts today.[3]
Are they young? Not anymore.
Are they old? Not yet.
How are they? Mature, as the cover page shows!
Most of our missionaries on the ground are from these Units. So are most of the leaders and formators in the Society. We understand from this that 1983 paved the way for a rebirth of the SMA.
This bulletin helps us to understand the historical and ecclesiastical context before the 1983 decision and the various steps the SMA took after the GA1983 to develop all the so-called new Units. That in turn will help us to understand the social and ecclesiastical context of today and plan our mission.
The bulletin has sixteen articles arranged under three sections: Roots, Vision, and Spotlight. Six SMA Superior Generals have contributed to this bulletin.