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February 28, 2001
German Doig called to the presence of the Father
General Coordinator of the Christian Life Movement dies Feb. 13 in Peru
By Rossana Goñi
With deep Christian hope and faith in God's plans, thousands of faithful attended the funeral Mass and burial of the beloved Peruvian apostle, thinker and Consecrated layman, German Doig Klinge, general vicar of the Sodality of Christian Life (Sodalitium Christianae Vitae)— a society of apostolic life— and general coordinator of the Christian Life Movement (CLM).
The Mass was attended by members of the different associations of the CLM and those who share the same spirituality. Members belong to what is known as the Sodalite Family.
In large numbers, members of other ecclesial movements, religious congregations and lay people from different parts of the city were also present.
Doig, called to the presence of the Father on Feb. 13 in Lima, Peru, was remembered by several ecclesial authorities in America and the Vatican as a model lay Catholic, blessed with a profound commitment to the Church, always giving exemplary witness of a life based in faith, hope and charity.
Born in Lima on May 22, 1957, Doig studied at Inmaculado Corazón Catholic school and Santa María College in Lima. He studied philosophy in the Pontifical Faculty of Theology, and law at San Martín de Porres University.
He was founder and director of the Life and Spirituality Institute (Instituto Vida y Espiritualidad), aimed to promote the evangelization of culture. He also collaborated at the Peruvian Bishops' Council for the Laity, working steadfastly for communion among the different ecclesial movements and encouraging the role of the laity according to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
Doig was author of several books, among them "John Paul II and Culture in Latin America," "Human rights and the Church's Social Teaching," the "Dictionary of Rio, Medellin, Puebla and Santo Domingo," as well as "The Challenge of Technology: Beyond Icarus and Daedalus." The last book, published last year, has been an important contribution to the reflection about the role of technology in culture and its relationship with the human person.
Pope John Paul II invited Doig to participate at the IV General Conference of the Latin American Bishops in Santo Domingo, in 1992. Years later, in April 1996, the Holy Father named him as a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. He also participated at the Special Assembly for the Synod of America, held in Rome from Nov. 16 to Dec. 12, 1997. On that occasion, speaking during the 14th General Congregation, Doig said that "the great perspective that is before us to assume the prophetic intuition of the Vicar of Christ and look with realism towards the challenges of evangelization in the third millennium must be an ecclesiology of communion. In it we discover the need for reconciliation. There cannot be true communion if before there is not true reconciliation."
The Pontifical Council for the Laity, to which Doig was appointed by the Holy Father, since 1996, sent a moving letter to his funeral. The letter, signed by Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, former Archbishop of Denver, and Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko said: "We have very alive and present the memory of German's generous, faithful and intelligent Catholic testimony."
"All his life was a sign of a complete self-giving to Christ and of love for the Church, especially through his commitment to the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae and the Christian Life Movement, where he had such important responsibilities," the letter said.
Cardinal Stafford said to ACI-Prensa, a Catholic Press Agency, that "Doig's departure, which seemed so unlikely due to his young age, leaves an immense void within his community and in the Church; but it is part of God's designs to have German with Him, so that we may rely on a powerful intercessor for the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, the Christian Life Movement, the Church in Latin America, and this Dicastery."
Similar comments were made by the President of Peru, Valentin Paniagua, many archbishops and bishops of different countries, as well as lay men and women. "His early call," Cardinal Stafford said, "reminds us of the mystery of Saint Rose of Lima, also called by God in her bloom; because God knows when the fruits are mature for the harvest." Bishop Miguel Irizar of Callao (Peru) and Secretary of the Peruvian Bishops' Conference, recalled Doig's exemplary Christian life and said that "God found him mature for this step forward, as someone who has accomplished, prematurely for us, the assignment and mission which the Lord entrusted to him in the family of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, in the family of the Church." Likewise, Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., who met German Doig in Rome, said that "Catholics in Colorado have been greatly blessed by the pastoral zeal of our friends in the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), the Marian Community of Reconciliation (MCR) and the Christian Life Movement (CLM). "Because of this, we feel German Doig's loss very keenly," the archbishop continued. "He was a man of deep faith, great love and skills, which will be very difficult to replace. In particular, I remember him as a person of grace, balance, modesty, sharp intelligence and warm humor. He will have a permanent place in our gratitude and in our prayers. I extend the condolences of the whole Church in northern Colorado to Luis Fernando — founder of the SCV, MCR and CLM- and all his brothers and sisters." Msgr. Samuel Aquila, rector of St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, who met Doig in Peru, said during a homily at the Mass celebrated in memory of Doig that "there were three qualities about him that always stick out. "His first quality, was the quality of his faith," Msgr. Aquila said. "It was evident when you spoke to German that he was a man who had a profound faith in Jesus Christ and in the promises that were given to him. The second one is the gift of his humility, which he knew was purely a gift from God. He did not depend on himself but rather depended on God." Msgr. Aquila added that the third quality "that was so present in his life stood out because of the other two qualities of faith and humility — and that is joy. He had a warmth, always inviting and always welcoming, and when any one met him, he could see that joy within him." Doig's life was marked by his profound commitment of service to the Church. As a consecrated layman in the SCV, his apostolate and work as general vicar were decisive in the growth of the Society of Apostolic Life. His tireless work as general coordinator of the CLM, an ecclesial movement recognized by the Holy See as an International Association of Christian Faithful of Pontifical Right, was of great value in its development. The CLM has expanded to several countries in America and Europe. The CLM started its ministry in the Archdiocese of Denver in 1997.
