BLESSED CHARLES DECKERS – EL KALIMA

Homily by Mons Luc Terlinden, Archbishop of Malines-Brussels, delivered on 15 December 2024, during the celebration of the Eucharist in the church of Notre Dame de la Cambre in Ixelles in memory of the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Blessed Charles Deckers, M.Afr., and the 30th anniversary of his death in Tizi Ouzou in Algeria. This homily is followed by a message of thanks delivered by Blessed Charles’ nephew, Gilles Deckers.

“Some people might criticize the preaching of John the Baptist. Did he not show himself to be too lenient by not condemning the tax collectors in the service of the Roman occupiers, but simply recommending that they demand nothing beyond the set amount? And what about the soldiers, whom he does not ask to give up their profession, but to do no violence to anyone?

John does not ask some people to leave everything to follow him, as Jesus will. And in his answer to the crowds’ question “What shall we do?”, he does not ask them to make sacrifices for their sins or to imitate him in his ascetic and austere life. He calls them to help those in need, to be honest and fair in the exercise of their profession. All in all, these are requirements that apply to everyone, Jews and non-Jews alike. It is a universal ethic.

However, to criticize John the Baptist for not going far enough in his demands compared to those of Jesus is not only a form of anachronism – John is not the Messiah but the forerunner – but it also fails to recognize his role in announcing the Good News. The evangelist Luke says that he too takes part in announcing the Good News to the people.

This is an important aspect of the mission and proclamation of the Gospel. We cannot think that mission necessarily consists of an immediate and explicit proclamation of the Gospel. This was the experience of the missionaries in Algeria. The proclamation of the Good News comes first and foremost through fraternity, solidarity with a people, dialogue and charity. It is not done by proselytizing.

Charles de Foucauld wrote about the mission to the Tuaregs: ‘We need good priests, in sufficient numbers, not to preach: we would receive them as we would receive the Turks coming to preach Mohammed in the Breton villages (…); but to make contact, to be loved, to inspire esteem, confidence and friendship’.

Missionaries are first and foremost experts in humanity, as was Father Charles, the Belgian this time, or rather the Algerian, because he had become such a brother to the people among whom he lived that he had taken on their nationality. And his mastery of the language had made him ‘a Berber with the Berbers’.

The mission is based first and foremost on that great charity to which John the Baptist invites us: ‘He who has two garments, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise! Jesus would say nothing else when he spoke of the Last Judgement: ‘I was naked, and you clothed me; I was hungry, and you gave me food’.

The mission also respects the rhythms and states of each individual. It does not ask the tax collector to live poor like a Franciscan overnight, or the soldier to lay down his arms on the spot. Rather, John the Baptist asks these soldiers to ‘do no violence to anyone, accuse no one falsely, and be content with your pay’. If we were already doing this, how much suffering and genocide would have been avoided!

At the heart of mission lies a shared humanity. And the first conversion is that of charity and fraternity. It is a universal conversion, aimed at everyone. In the name of this fraternity, the mission is not proselytizing, but is lived out with great respect for conscience and inner freedom. Father Philippe Thiriez writes of Father Charles that, in all his work, refusing all proselytism, ‘he wanted everyone, young people or adults, to remain free at heart in their faith, their inner unity’.

We are sometimes a little quick to think that proclaiming the Gospel consists above all in explicitly proclaiming Christ and catechizing. Without denying this aspect of the mission, our missionary brothers and sisters of today, in the very name of their faith in Christ, first invite us live as brothers and sisters with a heart open to all and everyone.

As John the Baptist, we must be able to step aside before the one who is greater and stronger, Christ, but also before the sanctuary of God in each human person: their conscience and their freedom of heart, welcoming them as brothers and sisters.

Brotherhood is the foundation of the proclamation of the Gospel. Father Charles was a witness to Christ through his great humanity and selfless love. He became a brother among his brothers and sisters. Responding to the call of John the Baptist today and preparing the way for the coming of the Lord begins with this: living fraternity and concrete charity.

(The following lines are in Flemish in the original text)

Fraternity is the foundation of the proclamation of the Gospel. Father Charles was such a witness to Christ through his great humanity and selfless love. He became a brother among his brothers and sisters. Responding today to the call of John the Baptist and preparing the way for the coming of the Lord begins here: living fraternity and putting concrete charity into practice.”

+ Luc Terlinden, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels

THANKS.

As Co-President of El Kalima, I would like to thank you warmly for your presence at the memorial mass for my uncle Charles Deckers, Founder of the El Kalima Association in 1978.

El Kalima means the Word. The El Kalima association is very active in inter-religious dialogue and its aim is to build bridges between religions, spiritualties and all people of goodwill.

El Kalima works towards this goal by developing the following activities, which are mentioned on our website and in our leaflet:

– workshops on religious objects in schools (we reached over 1,000 pupils last year);

– training courses at the request of religion teachers and Parents’ Associations to improve their knowledge of the Muslim religion and how to live together more effectively;

– partnerships with places of worship, associations and interfaith events;

– interfaith meetings and activities on the themes of health, mixed couples, the search for meaning in prisons, etc.

– annual publications such as the interfaith calendar and occasional publications of educational issues.

We would like to propose to the Archbishopric a partnership that will be built by developing joint events for inter-religious dialogue in the diocese.

A magnificent biography of Charles Deckers, written by Salah Selloum, a former pupil of Charles Deckers in Algeria, is available for €35. Profits will go to the El Kalima Association.