Spain. The house of the Claretian Missionaries of Colmenar Viejo received again this year the celebration of the Forum on the Communication of Faith, organized by the Claretian Family of Spain. This edition of the Forum, called “Enlace 2007” Forum (“Enlace” means “Link” in English), had a special character because –as planned- it was the closing stage of this effort of reflection and dialogue started in 2002. From November 23 to 25, eighteen persons reviewed the contents of the Workshop on the Transmission of Faith celebrated in Poland in the month of September. Several of the participants in the encounter of Poland were present in the Forum: Pablo Largo analyzed the transmission of faith from the perspective of the New Testament and the experience of the first Christian communities; Máxim Muñoz described the experience of faith that we expect to transmit; Pedro Cabrera reflected on the role of the Church and the Christian communities in the transmission; Anthony Igbokwe focused on the figure of the witness of faith and on his preparation and Pedro Belderrain presented a brief reflection on the fundamental attitudes and the basic dynamisms of the transmission of the Gospel. Juan José Raya lead the concluding session.
As usual, the encounter combined reflection and dialogue, which on this occasion was much more extended and animated than in previous years, and the celebration. Among the participants there were members of the Cordimarian Filiation, of the two Spanish Provinces of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, and of the four provinces of the Claretian Missionaries of Spain. Only one lay person participated, José Mª Martínez Manero, linked to the Secretariat of Faith-Culture of the Province of Santiago, who has taken part in the five editions of the Forum celebrated since 2002 and was a member of the coordinating commission.
In the closing session the attendants proposed to the Claretian Family of Spain that the first stage of reflection be closed with the encounter of 2007. Since 2002, this first stage has held five encounters of the Forum in which an average of 25 persons have participated. In the first days of December the commission created in Poland to prepare some written material on the transmission of faith in today’s world will gather in Madrid. The Claret Foundation, which has been reflecting on the theme for years, will dedicate its next symposium (Barcelona, in April 11-12) to the question: “Communicating faith today: new ways.” The reflection goes on; it is now time to look for new forms to carry it out.

(See photo in PHOTOS, gallery of December 2007)