In the hearts of others

The testimony of Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, missionary in Mongolia. Freedom as a path to encounter.

The other is never distant. If you welcome him with a free heart, he reveals himself as a treasure. Father Giorgio Marengo has experienced this many times in his missionary experience. From Turin, 50 years old, for more than twenty years in Mongolia, first with the Consolata Missionaries, then as apostolic prefect bishop of the capital Ulan Bator. Today also as a cardinal, chosen by surprise by Pope Francis.
A frontier presence in a country where the Church is young, reborn after the collapse of communism in the early 1990s. There are just 1,600 Christians out of a population of 3 million.
And yet, exchange is not only possible, but gives life.

What were the beginnings like in a completely new country?
When I arrived, I was 29 years old. I still remember the feeling of truly being in another world, just like it happened to travelers of the past. I realized that the encounter always and in any case passed through recognizing the face of the person in front of me, discovering in the other a mystery wanted and loved by God.
We entered on tiptoe, even with the effort of learning the language and the traditions.
However, the desire to enter into a relationship, to experience the wonder and gratitude for each new encounter, prevailed.

Is there a method to live all this with balance?
More than a method, an awareness. Understanding that a culture is always embodied in people, in their personal and collective history: we have thus tried to embrace both the individual and cultural dimensions. Every man and woman brings with them a universe that must be known.
And in this sense, one never stops learning. A different culture is not an obstacle. On the contrary, genuine dialogue starts from people who accept their own identity and are willing to put themselves on the line.

In these years, what have you learned from this kind of encounters and from the ancient Mongolian culture?
Dialogue has taught me to relativize many elements that we consider absolute. We all believe we come from the best culture. In open discussion, however, we learn to marvel at how many peoples have developed skills and talents. The Mongolians, for example, are masters of resilience. In a country five times larger than Italy, with very few inhabitants, the rule is to take care of people. There is a shared code of behavior that puts indifference aside, we are very respectful of the elderly and women, for example. But not only that. A proverb says that clouds pass, but the sky remains. It is an invitation to go to the essential, to give importance to what matters, starting with nature.

In order to welcome, it is important to have a free heart. How do you do it?
Yes, that's how it is. Dialogue, understood in a spiritual sense, starts precisely from this freedom. Saint Seraphim of Sarov said that a free heart welcomes the Holy Spirit.
The obstacles to dialogue are not defined and strong identities, but when we give ourselves discounts.
As a Christian, I cannot put Jesus Christ in brackets.
I must be sincere and genuine in faith, otherwise everything falls into falsehood. Interreligious dialogue is not about renouncing one's faith, but about living one's faith by authentically welcoming the religious experience of the other.

What is needed?
We must listen to each other carefully, have adequate preparation, study the issues in advance and understand the reasons of the other. We must overcome the mere logic of the majority: it is worth listening to everyone, starting with the youngest and the smallest.

As believers, we can say that the relationship with God is first of all an encounter. The encounter with the totally Other…
It is true. Our faith speaks of a totally Other God who wants to come into contact with us. Prayer is an exercise of freedom, a mystery of freedom in which I can look at the Lord and he can look at me. Our God wants a personal relationship with us.
Then there is the dimension of his forgiveness which, among other things, strikes the majority of those who are not Christians. It is the charm of the possibility of starting over, of being able to be reborn. When I confess, I perceive this gratitude and joy in people who experience reconciliation.
This God of ours is not a master but a beggar of love, who seeks us and who wants to be with us to accompany us.

Often believers have difficulty in dialoguing with each other. The polarization of positions sometimes seems to be the easiest way to (not) dialog.
Communion is a gift that must be requested, it is an action of God participated in by men that concerns us Christians and all men. Both grace and responsibility are important. We are all called to discernment, to formation, to exercise self-discipline, to humility, to recognize the reasons of others.
There is not only black and white, but a wide range of colors.

In the past, the mission has concerned other continents. Now it seems to touch Europe. Is that so?
All true, but I think it still makes sense to start.
There are many places where evangelization is still embryonic and therefore there is a need for people who hear the call of the Spirit. Faith cannot do without a testimony, a human mediation, it is not an ideology that can be read or learned.
There is always a need for a word, a presence. It is not books but people who can encourage faith.
It is necessary to rediscover this missionary dimension, with those close to us, but also with those far away.

For you, was it also a choice of freedom?
Yes, I remember that one day the person in charge of the immigration office asked me why I had come to Mongolia as an Italian.
I could have traveled all over the world, been anywhere.
For him, my choice was a waste of freedom. For me it was and is the sign that with Jesus I can spend my life for others in the right way.

Matteo Spicuglia
Focus
NP November 2024