A line still forms outside the Father McKenna Center at St. Aloysius Church in Washington, D.C. People come to the cramped but homey church basement looking for food, clothing, housing and personal support. They still tell stories about Father McKenna, who died 25 years ago.

In its notification on two works by Jon Sobrino, S.J., the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recalls and re-affirms some utterly basic Christian teachings about Jesus Christ—above all, that Jesus was truly divine and fully human.

For many Catholics, the word missionary brings to mind a centuries-old image of a priest planting a cross in a foreign land and teaching, baptizing and celebrating Mass for its people. Or it may conjure up the slightly more modern image of women religious running a school in Africa or Latin America.