I am not being facetious when I say that two of the best things about my tenure were my predecessor, Fr. Francisco Carrera, and my successor, Fr. Corrado De Robertis. Francisco left me many important signposts for the work of an editor: hard work and wholehearted dedication, careful attention to what is going on in the world so as to focus well on the message the magazine wants to communicate, and a sense of balance for the various components that go to make WM what it aims to be. Corrado’s discreet manner, on the other hand, allowed for a smooth and efficacious transition, and for the continuity which has been one of WM’s secrets of success.
And what were the things important to me as editor? What did it mean to me to help make WM an agent of intelligent analysis for our readers? Well, first of all there was – and is! – the conviction that no situation can be well understood outside of its global context: missionaries have a strong sense of the global, and always want to call their interlocutors to a sense of this, and of how it is essential to understand others, especially others who are different, in order to properly and fully understand oneself.
Secondly, intelligent analysis for us begins with the faith-perspective: there is no one more global than God! During my short time as editor, we tried to water the spiritual roots of mission in our readers’ lives, and to show that spirituality, far from bolstering a disincarnate faith, must lead to energetic and creative commitment to the cause of the other, and especially of the poorest and most abandoned. In this regard, I am especially happy to have been the first editor to invite Fr. Lorenzo Carraro to contribute to the magazine – with a piece on St Teresa of the Child Jesus, patroness of missions and missionaries. Given Lorenzo’s prolific output since then, I think I can claim to have been at least a little prophetic!
Thirdly, for Christians, intelligent analysis of any situation always, in the end, generates a sense of call and challenge. From the beginning, WM has had, as part of its DNA, the responsibility of stirring up in its many readers the awareness of their capacity and responsibility to transmit the life-giving faith they live.
Twenty-five years of WM is truly something worth celebrating, and may the magazine continue to be a sign of and challenge to the missionary spirit and responsibility of God’s people in Asia.
