Principle source of research: Diarmuid O’Murchu’s ‘Christianity’s Dangerous Memory’
Jesus
arrived during a fearful tumultuous time in human history when men in positions
of authority used powers of domination to maintain control over the masses, so
oppressive suffering was an accepted way of life. He sowed seeds of hope and brought wisdom to abide
in love bringing forth abundance, “I have said these things to you so that my
joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:1-11). For people to even consider the possibility
of experiencing true happiness in their day-to-day lives meant dramatic change
would be inevitable and the status quo would be rocked to its core. It was a promise, for Jesus said, “Behold, I
make all things new” (Revelation 21:5).
How
strange and promising this must have seemed as a renewed purpose for humanity. His vision represented radical transformation
in power relationships (Matt 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19). His Disciples were invited, not ordered, to believe
in His words, so they too would be empowered to co-create with the celestial
energy of God, the Divine Mystery of the universe (Matt 13: 1-23; Mark 4: 1-20;
Luke 8:4-15). Those who were willing to
listen became ‘Church’, the embodiment of mutual relationships able to chart
their earthly journey guided in the way and teachings of Jesus Christ.
However
the original vision of an ‘empowering church’ was commandeered for more than
1700 years into a top-down authoritative decision-making model. Today, O’Murchu proposes that despite this
reality, there exists a possibility for a return to foundational wisdom. A structure that has already been tested in the
twentieth century is ‘Basic Christian Communities’. The original intention was to mirror what
Jesus began two thousand years ago, and with modifications the model could
potentially improve Church so all Christians can participate fully.
Features of Empowerment
Embedded
in the Christ centered life depicted in the scriptures are images that promote
wisdom. For example, we get to know about
their day-to-day interactions while Jesus was with the disciples traveling and living
as a community. Long after His death and
resurrection, powerful teachings remain to illuminate our earthly journey in
the words of the Beatitudes, parables and miracles. Descriptors reduce the spirit as they do not
fully capture the powers of action brought to life in scripture. But I have tried to further understand ‘how’
we may be empowered to find our way through the struggles of today so we can
fully experience the abundant joy that Jesus intended:
Renewal:
Recognize that the path to empowerment
will not be easy, as disciples will inevitably be confronted with covert and
overt forms of violence to sustain ‘Powers of Domination’. Jesus warned not to waste energy trying to tear
down established institutions but use wisdom to circumvent the challenges presented.
Matthew
9:16-17 Mark 2:22 Luke 5:37
Freedom for Self-determinism:
Appreciate each person’s unique gifts
and work diligently to create the conditions for equal, inclusive opportunities. Nature is filled with diversity, differences
increase possibilities.
Matthew 5:14-15 Mark4:
21-26 Luke
8:16-18
Distributive Justice:
Adopt an abundance mentality as it is
the way of the Creator. Be open to
receive and be willing to share wealth, knowledge and services. Luke
12:13-21
Inter-dependent Relationships:
Be caring, kind and non-violent in
thought word and deed. Demonstrate
mutual respect and forgiveness in the communitarian tradition. Matthew
7:1-5 Luke 6:37-42
Be Peace:
Draw on the wisdom of scripture to grow
in trust and deepen loving relationships with God, self and others. Leave behind crippling fear and the need for
control. Matthew 6:27-30
Empowerment
represents an ideal, a vision for humanity’s interactions in all dimensions of
existence. In the same way that Jesus presented transformational change, O’Murchu
proposes an alternative to the hierarchical structures that support powers of
domination. The entrenched hierarchy adopted
by the Church may have been inevitable, as its appeal remains embedded in culture
to this day. As an extension of ancient Greek
and Roman organizations it was the solution intended to settle territorial
claims, centralize power and also to quell conflict, which I would argue is a
natural human trait. St. Paul
experienced constant discord trying to settle disagreements as to ‘how’ an
alternative reality could exist (1 Cor. 1:10-17). Unfortunately the underlying ideas of democracy
were still in its infancy and alternative systems or models for large group interaction
did not exist in western civilization (Kang, 2009). Today, there is an alternative structure
presented as Basic Christian Communities (BCCs) that may be promising to
fulfill a vision of empowerment for the twenty-first century.
Re-emergent ‘Basic Christian Communities’
The
heart of Christianity is found in Matthew 25:40, when Jesus said, “Whatever you
did for one of these least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”. So how has this ideal been realized? Bishop Peter Kang of the Cheju Diocese in South
Korea presented a paper entitled ‘Small
Christian Communities: The Fundamental
Paradigm of the Church’ at the
Exposure Programme for German Bishops, April 14-22, 2009 and provided his
impressions of the early beginnings:
Looking
back from the beginning of the early Christian Church we saw an undeniable
inspiring intervention of the Holy Spirit which created the community of the
new People of God … This communitarian structure of the Church flourished in
modern times after the Second Vatican Council especially in the small Christian
Communities. It is astounding to see
that these small Christian Communities appeared simultaneously but separately
in all continents without any artificial leadership of the church Hierarchy.
Common
attributes include:
·
meeting together with the loving and healing
power of the Living Word at the center
·
meeting in small groups dedicated to community
sustainability, establishing a new sense of belonging based on a common faith
·
growing together in spiritual life, praying
regularly in communion with the Universal Church
·
recognizing opportunities to apply the Gospel
in daily life
·
challenging unjust realities in modern society
Bishop
Kang did not pinpoint the exact beginnings of BCCs, but there is general
consensus that it took root in Latin America when a number of forces coincided
in 1964. Similar to the time of
historical Jesus, violation of human rights was a day-to-day reality sparking interplay
of political, socio-economic and religious forces. After a very long history of corruption and
oppression in Brazil a fierce military coup overtook the government. At the time, Paulo Friere was a leader
recognized by the deposed federal government who established educational programs
in an attempt to end the vast debilitating effects from illiteracy that was
endemic among the oppressed masses.
Friere recognized the importance of self-determinism, so that the common
people became part of the solution as an integral means for liberation from the
forces of poverty. As with Jesus, he was
regarded as a subversive to the regime’s power of domination and was imprisoned. Also, Christianity was the primary religion
of the people and became a target for suppression. Priests, lay people and religious were
assassinated when they stood up for the poor.
These were violent times giving birth to a renewed model for humanity as
envisioned by Jesus.
Despair
initiated a call for pastoral change at the highest level. A search for solutions began during Vatican
II (1962-1965) so that marginalized victims of injustice and oppression could
be supported. A movement for social
justice gained momentum encouraging Father Perdro Arrupe, Superior General of
the Society of Jesus to write an open letter to the Jesuits of Latin America
(1968) requesting provisions as ‘options for the poor’ later becoming known as
‘preferential options for the poor’:
Preferential: give priority to,
Option: make a conscious choice, decision,
and commit to place energy toward,
Poor: all who are marginalized,
considered unimportant in society
This
phrase represented a shift in the Vatican’s focus from sacramental ministry to
social justice and became a fundamental principle of Catholic social teaching. Liberation theologian Leonardo Boff, explained “preference
for the poor,” goes beyond short term words of sympathy or charitable
activities (Dias, 2009). Viewed from a sociocultural framework, collaboration is
also essential to identify issues, concerns, and dilemmas that can propel movement
toward progressive problem solving (De Froy, 2006). In this way conditions could be created
providing opportunities so that the poor would be active agents in liberation from
the constraints that bind them. Basic Christian Communities (BCCs) became
recognized as a key variable in the solution to overcome a violent period in
humanity’s history.
The
original vision of BCCs, inspired by liberation theology, represents
empowerment. Power becomes redefined as
mutuality with God and one another. Numerous
references from all over the world are available outlining evolving community
features. An early bibliography was
published in 1978, Theology Annual, Volume 2 by Sean O Cearbhallain, S. J.
citing 95 sources (pp 161-168). A
cursory review highlights numerous contributions by Church clergy to the body
of literature. In a very short period of
time the concept became the great hope to sustain the institution of the Church
known by the Latin phrase ‘Ecclesial
Communautes de Base’.
However,
history illustrates that the shift in focus advocated in Vatican II was not
sustained. Self-determinism, a component
of empowerment, was viewed as a secular threat and the hierarchical decision-making
body returned to entrenched dogmas stressing personal salvation could only be derived
through the institutional Church. On
December 8, 1975 Pope Paul VI gave his address, ‘Evangelii Nuntiandi – Apostolic Exhortation’, granting permission
for BCCs to be legitimate places for evangelization and must operate under the
following conditions stated in section 58:
·
that they seek their nourishment in the Word
of God and do not allow themselves to be ensnared by political polarization or
fashionable ideologies, which are ready to exploit their immense human
potential;
·
that they avoid the ever present temptation of
systematic protest and a hypercritical attitude, under the pretext of
authenticity and a spirit of collaboration;
·
that they remain firmly attached to the local
Church in which they are inserted, and to the universal Church, thus avoiding
the very real danger of becoming isolated within themselves, then of believing
themselves to be the only authentic Church of Christ, and hence of condemning
the other ecclesial communities;
·
that they maintain a sincere communion with
the pastors whom the Lord gives to His Church, and with the magisterium which
the Spirit of Christ has entrusted to these pastors;
·
that they never look on themselves as the sole
beneficiaries or sole agents of evangelization- or even the only depositaries
of the Gospel- but, being aware that the Church is much more vast and
diversified, accept the fact that this Church becomes incarnate in other ways
than through themselves;
·
that they constantly grow in missionary
consciousness, fervor, commitment and zeal;
·
that they show themselves to be universal in
all things and never sectarian.
Notwithstanding
the above regulations being imposed, the model continued to spread across the
world, each with their own unique features.
In 1990 Pope John Paul II’s publication ‘The Mission of the Redeemer’ recognized the influence of the BCC
movement and again reiterated the primary purpose as a force for evangelization
and centralizing power, once again re-directing the original inspiration for Church
renewal. Almost twenty years later, in
2009, Brazilian Jesuit Roberto B. Dias criticized religious leaders saying “They like
to talk about ‘conversion’ rather than ‘liberation’ and about ‘healing’ rather
than ‘struggling’.” Even so, Dias
expressed hope that relevant change is still active at the grass roots level:
The movement for reform promoted by basic Christian
communities and liberation theology continue to function within the Church. At the last assembly of the Latin American
Bishops’ Conference in Aparecida, Brazil, in 2007, the bishops re-affirmed
their option for the poor and the importance of continuing to build basic
Christian communities. These communities
make the Word of God better understood, encourage people to fulfill their
social responsibilities in the name of the Gospel, create new apostolic tasks
for the faithful, and promote education for the faith among adults.
As
previously mentioned, features of empowerment include distributive justice,
Church renewal, freedom for self-determinism, inter-dependent relationships and
peaceful essence as espoused in the Gospels.
Similarly, Dias believes that Christians
today cannot be called Christians unless they have a ‘preference for the
socially marginalized’ reflecting the love of Jesus. He conceptualized the movement by recognizing
lay people as the core of the Church. As
a source for renewal, activities are based in Gospel values designed to
overcome social inequality and injustice. Also, each individual’s unique gifts are
encouraged to be utilized in their chosen social role. Finally,
reflection, meditation and listening to the Word of God will “breathe faith
into the community and testimony becomes action so that the Church is reborn by
the breath of the Holy Spirit”.
I would argue that Dias has
helped deepen understanding as to the potential of BCCs creating a paradigm
shift for renewal and empowerment. So,
if BCCs offer hope as a renewed model for Church, what are the impediments for
empowerment to thrive?
A Constraint Close to Home
There
are a number of structural variables needing consideration in the question
posed for this reflection including gathering places and systemic models for
decision making. I would like to start
with parishes and the buildings they occupy for this reflects the endemic
problem of spiritual and financial bankruptcy that are being identified around
the world. Statistical data highlights
church closures as indicators of decline especially in Europe, Canada and
Australia (Brown, 2012). Evidence of
this can be found in my own city as buildings that house Roman Catholic
parishes and provide homes for clergy have steadily been sold off in Windsor
Ontario, which has a population of 217,000.
In 17 years, 15 churches have been canonically closed. Increased numbers of people who identify as
Catholics but state they are no longer practicing plus priest shortages have
pushed the diocese to group additional church parishes beginning in 2018
(Windsor Star, 5 Oct 2017).
The
church of my youth, Our Lady of the Assumption, is a historical landmark being
the oldest parish west of Montreal, Quebec.
Dating back to 1670, two Jesuit priests, Fathers Dollier and Galinée were
the first to open the Lake Ontario and Lake Erie route to Sault Ste. Marie. In 1733 a permanent structure was built to
serve the native Indians and those living in the surrounding settlement by providing
a church and a house for the priest.
In
a series of land grants, acres were given to the Order of the Basilian Fathers
by the Huron Indians (MacDonald, G. 1951).
As with Paulo Friere, the primary focus for the Basilian order is education,
their motto being ‘Teach me goodness, discipline and knowledge’. Assumption University was built on the land as
well as a prestigious boarding school called Assumption College Catholic High School
where I taught Religion for twelve years.
The Church was a spiritual center of the community, where my entire family
received their sacraments; my father sang in the choir, my mother served as an
active member of the Catholic Women’s League and in the end, became the place
to celebrate my parents’ funeral service.
The emotional ties run deep with sacred memories deepening my spiritual
life.
As
the historian MacDonald (1951) illustrates, bits and pieces of the original
land grant have been sold off over time and proceeds forwarded to the coffers
of the London diocese. The building is a financial asset and a decision was
made to close the doors. The series of events
have been reported by local media. For
example, Dave Battagello wrote an article in the Windsor Star, ‘Updated:
Historic landmark Assumption Church to be shut down’ and the same
day, CBC News (a multi-media platform) reported that there was a Facebook
posting made by the Church:
"After
seven years and two fundraising campaigns, the leadership of the Diocese of
London and the Basilian Fathers have come to the difficult realization and
decision that the future of the Assumption parish community requires a
different location with a renewed focus on mission and ministry" (29 Aug 2014)
What
was not acknowledged is the controversy that swirled over the funds raised from
the fundraising campaigns. Despite
declarations of transparency, parishioners serve in the role of being
‘consultants’ in the decision-making process.
A local lawyer took it upon himself to further investigate the situation,
reported by Sharon Hill in her article
‘Lawyer Paul Mullins analyzing options to save landmark church’ (5 Oct
2017).
There
are countless examples of decisions being made, cloaked in confidentiality
throughout the institutional Church. It
is not my intention to provide a list of examples or explain how the process is
contrived to create an illusion of meaningful discourse. The fact is confidence has eroded diminishing
day-to-day participation. The different
levels in the hierarchy control the purse strings and financial support is
dwindling in part due to loss of trust and the consequences of hidden secrets. So the broader question for empowerment becomes
twofold, ‘Why are baptized Roman
Catholics no longer seeking spiritual support in their existing diocese’ and
‘Can the Church survive without change’?
Church Renewal: Heed the Warning
The answers to the above questions are complex
and scholars are saying that the conversation is long overdue and the path to
empowerment will not be easy. Jesus
warned not to waste energy trying to change established institutions but draw
on wisdom to circumvent the challenges being presented (Matthew 9:16-17). O’Murchu also warned that those advocating
change must be able to engage and speak intelligibly to the challenging influences
of our time. He argues that a focus also
needs to be placed on creating a spiritual culture so that people will be
supported and inspired to face the disempowering encounters of day-to-day life
(pp 188-189).
Evangelization
is a primary mandate of the institutional Church. In 2010 before announcing the closure of
Assumption Church, Bishop Ronald Fabro commissioned a report, ‘Trends impacting pastoral and personnel
planning in the Diocese of London’. Data
was collected by various staff and departments within the Diocese Chancery
Office and is demographically quantitative.
Displays of the results include availability of parish priests, Sunday
mass attendance, and activities gleaned from sacramental, financial and
personnel records (https://dol.ca/documents/2016/10/Full_Report.pdf). The synopsis includes personal anecdotes
captured by Bishop Fabro. Interestingly,
in the section Trends in Canadian Society under the sub-title People’s
Connection with the Church, it was noted “The sexual abuse of children by
priests has also led to a loss of trust in the moral authority of the Church”
(15 Sep 2011). How this particular
indicator has affected participation remains unclear but the loss of trust in
the moral authority should be considered significant (https://dol.ca/documents/2016/10/PP-Legal-rev.pdf).
An
earlier multi-disciplinary research project prepared for the Australian
Catholic Bishops Conference, used quantitative measures and qualitative
interviews to determine why Catholics from seven dioceses stopped attending
mass (2007, Feb). The age of
participants ranged from 25 upwards, all identified themselves as regular Mass
attenders who stopped going regularly to Mass for reasons other than age or
ill-health. The findings were clustered
as:
Church-centered
reasons: Participant-centered
reasons:
1. The irrelevance of Church
to life today 1. Family or household-related issues
2. The misuse of power and Church
authority 2. Crisis of faith
3. Problems with the priest
in the parish 3. Going to Mass simply not a priority
4. Lack of intellectual
stimulation
5. Concerns related to the
parish as a community
6. A sense of being
excluded by Church rules
7. Structural factors
The
executive summary indicates that the majority of respondents cited more than
one reason why they stopped going to Mass. It was important for virtually all
participants that they nurture the spiritual dimension of their lives. Many expressed the desire for the Church to
make changes to certain practices and beliefs.
For some participants they acknowledged a spiritual dimension in their lives
having a strong connection to the Catholic community, while a few participants’
spiritual lives had little or no connection with the Christian faith or any
organized form of religion. Also, the
researchers claim there was a high degree of consistency between the reasons
given by participants and those reported in existing research (https://www.catholic.org.au/organisation-documents/pastoral-research-office-1/197-disconnected-catholics-report-april-2007-1/file).
It
is well documented in other parts of the world that Catholics have been
drifting away from active parish involvement for a number of years. Callum Brown (2012) conducted a major study
that explored the relationships between religion, women and secularization in
Canada, Ireland, UK and the USA since the 1960’s. The results suggest a crisis in faith, marking
an extreme shift away from Christianity to atheism.
The 1960s marked a major transition in the
life and culture of Western societies. In three regards, the ‘long sixties’ of
1957 to 1975 may have a claim to be the most significant cultural departure in
at least half a millennium. The first was the decline of Christianity. The
second was the gender revolution. The third was the demographic transition to
intensely low fertility accompanied by low marriage rates. For organized
Christianity, the sixties constituted the most concentrated period of crisis
since the Reformation (pg. 29).
Mark
M. Gray, a senior research associate for the Centre of Applied Research in the
Apostolate at Georgia, Illinois, has been highlighting the urgent need for
Church renewal. In 2014, he reported the
results of an important survey conducted by researchers at Benedictine
University. The purpose was to explore
the rational of lapsed and former Catholics in the Diocese of Springfield,
Illinois. Drawing on prior research, respondents
were given common reasons for leaving the Church and asked if those reasons influenced
their departure. The chart below shows the percentage of respondents who agreed
with the causes stated below:
Spiritual needs not met: 67% Lost interest: 66%
Too many money requests: 56% No longer
believe: 48%
Dissatisfaction with atmosphere: 47% Too formal: 36%
Too ritualistic: 38% Music
not enjoyable: 36%
Qualitative
indicators from the study included feelings
of marginalization such as being gay or divorced. Participants acknowledged the importance of having
a sense of belonging, a fundamental precept of BCCs. In the conclusion, Pope Francis was
referenced as suggesting two clear distinctions for future action, that there
is ‘a pastoral way to approach Church doctrine with Catholics and there is
another way that leads to former Catholics’. However the ‘way’ was not provided in the
report but suggestions were offered in his recent book, ‘Walking with Jesus’ (2015) that includes 36 of his presentations
made to different gatherings around the world.
The book jacket captures his voice in two phrases, “A way forward for
the church” and “Take note: if the Church is alive, she must always
surprise”.
Transformational
Leadership
Pope
Francis has become a beacon of hope bringing the legacy of Jesuit ministry to
his position by acting as an agent for church renewal as his books have become
best sellers. As I read ‘Walking with Jesus’ I was intrigued by the
influence of his Latin American experiences in Basic Christian Communities
noticing he advocates features for empowerment.
In a recent article for the New Yorker, James Carroll commented on some
of his accomplishments:
It has been five years since Jorge
Mario Bergoglio ascended to the papacy, and the press is full of positive
assessments. The Pope’s observers note that he:
·
provides good P.R. for the Catholic Church
(selfies with young people);
·
takes on the bureaucracy of the
Curia and cleaned up the Vatican Bank;
·
undercuts doctrinal rigidity with
pastoral accommodation (Communion for divorced people, acceptance of gay
people);
·
shifts the Church’s focus to the
global South;
·
advocates powerfully for migrants
and the environment; and
·
promotes the exercise of rational
faith while affirming traditional devotion
In summary, Pope Francis proclaims, in word and in
deed, as the measure that matters—mercy toward migrants, misfits, the young,
and the very planet (2009, Mar).
In
the same month as the above article, it was evident that the role of pope is
transfixing the imaginations of people around the world who are tuning into the
CNN documentary ‘Pope: The most powerful man in history’. Immense response to the six part series has
been generated. Historical events are
being presented dating from the beginning of Christianity until today,
highlighting the power of a hierarchical institution that continues to enable a
congregation that is estimated to be 1.2 billion Catholics.
Being
a documentary there are indicators of topic bias selected to represent ‘the
good, the bad and the ugly’ that exists in all man made institutions. The narrator, Liam Neeson was asked what he would
pose to Pope Francis if he could meet him and one question was ‘When can we
have women priests?’ https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/08/entertainment/liam-neeson-qa-religion-and-the-pope/index.html. Hyperlinked is the article written by Jack
Jenkins (1 Nov 2016) ‘Pope Francis: The
ban on women’s ordination will continue forever’ (https://thinkprogress.org/pope-francis-the-ban-on-womens-ordination-will-continue-forever-7e975fc5d83e/).
I
will argue that the ban against women becoming Roman Catholic priests has
always been a form of injustice, not only for women but for all followers of
Jesus Christ. It is not lost to this
writer that it has been sustained despite the body of research that is
currently raising the alarm to the deteriorating numbers of participating
active Catholics. Dr. Said Ahmed-Zaid, a
recipient of the HP Award for Distinguished Leadership in Human Rights, honored
the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who was assassinated 50 years ago, in
his 2013 article, ‘A time to think about, and strive for, equality’:
For
me, the cause of civil rights and human rights in general is all about
fairness, justice, and both equality and equity in this country and beyond. It
is about leveling the playing field so that each individual is provided with
the same opportunities to realize his or her dream without being hampered by
artificial or unnecessary barriers.
The
pope has recognized the wisdom in the feminine voice available from the other
50% of people who reside on this planet.
During his papacy, Saint Mary Magdalen has recently been acknowledged as
an equal to the male apostles. On June
10, 2016, the Vatican’s representative in the Holy See, Archbishop Roche,
issued a press release entitled ‘Mary
Magdala, apostle of the apostles’ extending earlier attention by Rabano
Mauro and St. Thomas Aquinas. Her feast
day has been declared as July 22nd.
However,
equal recognition and opportunities for all women within the Roman Catholic
Church is one of the many problems Pope Francis must deal with as he confronts
the bureaucracy of the Curia and the male dominated
clergy (http://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/2018/03/why-women-can-become-roman-catholic.html).
There are those among the hierarchal structure that silence any
discussions from taking place. This
includes a simple parish gathering in our local Windsor community that hosted
an invitational lecture intended to explore ‘Why women can never become
priests’. When questions were raised by
members of Heart of Compassion Faith Community, they were dismissed and a
discussion never took place (http://bridgetmarys.blogspot.com/2017/11/a-reflection-on-insights-of-elizabeth.html).
Pope Francis has cited declarations made by other
pontiffs as rational, but there are hopeful suggestions of movement in the
future. From his August
2013 address, a Christian might infer, with reservations that it is only a
matter of time that this particular injustice will create a door of opportunity
for Church renewal:
THE
CHURCH’S MISSIONARY: TRANSFORMATION
19. Evangelization takes place in
obedience to the missionary mandate of Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt
28:19-20). In these verses we see how the risen Christ sent his followers to preach the Gospel in every time and
place, so that faith in him might spread to every corner of the earth. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations
Systemic Renewal
In
an interview given to John Allen (2013), Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin
was questioned about the process of consultation in the Vatican’s decision-making
process as a move toward democracy. His
reply made it clear that there is nothing to suggest a change in the hierarchical
model:
It has always been said that the
church is not a democracy. But it would be good during these times that there
could be a more democratic spirit, in the sense of listening carefully, and I
believe the pope has made of this one of his pontificate's objectives. A
collegial movement of the church, where all the issues can be brought up, and afterward
he can make a decision (https://www.ncronline.org/.../new-secretary-state-parolin-celibacy-democracy).
A
keener ear to ‘listen’ may provide future opportunities, but today circumvention
may be the only option available. O’Murchu
suggests Basic Christian Communities is the alternative for empowerment and in
the final chapters of the book, suggests that scholars and theologians could look
to organizational structures found in nature called ‘holarchy’ (pg. 132). However he does not elaborate as to how a
theory of holarchy could be applied to the institutional structure of Church,
but I believe his suggestion warrants further investigation.
Holarchy
is a relatively new concept based in systems theory, which has applications in
the social constructivist paradigm used by O’Murchu. Arthur Koestler introduced ‘holon’ and
‘holarchy’ in his book ‘The ghost in the
machine’ (1967) and the concept has become popularized in Ken Wilbur’s book
‘A theory of everything: An integral
vision for business, politics, science and spirituality’ (2000). Scientific minds such as Stephen Hawking
have been inspired by these ideas. Basically,
biological system theory is being applied to other systems influencing
developments in sociology, anthropology, economics, political science,
psychology, social work and the spiritual dimension of human behaviour. It has been used to explain forms of
interaction such as individuals, groups, families, organizations, institutions,
communities and eco-systems. In a
system, separate parts exist simultaneously while being connected and
influencing the whole. Although complex,
the following simplified image inspired by the work of Koestler, illustrates
the nesting effect of being inter-connected:
In
nature, a holarchy consists of nested holons such as particles and atoms. Several atoms together form a molecule and
further groupings become a chain of increased complexity. Each grouping is discrete yet
integrated. One component does not
become another, but through the process of refinement, transcends and includes
the previous. Development is envelopment.
Influence is dynamic, improving original ideas so becomes more than two
dimensional and beyond the capacity of a hierarchy. John Hobbs (2010) suggested that the test
would be to see if the nested holons in a holarchy can survive without each other:
To
remove the atom means no molecules can exist, but particles still persist.
However, remove particles and atoms and molecules are no longer found.
Particles and atoms represent the increasing differentiated yet integrated
aspect of the holarchy. In particular,
holarchy represents an open dynamic system that promotes growth and
transformation by allowing cross-boundary exchange and permeable synergy
labeled as morphogenesis.
Self-maintenance is also evident represented by morphostasis. Together, this activity keeps systems in a
process of constant flow and change, a dynamic steady state called homeokinesis
(http://www.articlesbase.com/philosophy-articles/holarchy-the-nested-hierarchy-of-holons)
My
brief examination led me to identify a significant constraint in the Church preventing
healthy evolution. I question the
perceived value of excluding women, the particles in the holarchy of
priesthood, and wonder, given the extent of scholarly research, if the existing
hierarchy, that uses consultation as its illusive benchmark for democracy, can be
sustained by itself for much longer.
Conclusion
The
quest for spiritual nourishment is still alive even though full Christian
participation in the institutional Church is declining. O’Murchu acknowledged that inquiry and
exploration of basic faith tenets are being conducted by a growing body of
Christians including lay people. As the
complexity of the contemporary world propels change and faith inevitably
evolves, it is antithetical to intentionally reduce interpretative authority of
Bible teaching as the sole realm and responsibility of male dominated forums
endorsed by the Vatican. O’Murchu
addresses Christian identity by first drawing attention to the glaring
repressed sense of Biblical anonymity and the subsequent contributions made
throughout history so that women are “often made invisible and without the
power of naming”. The ancient cultural norm is a perplexing stranglehold. Our local Windsor Star newspaper presented a
recent editorial that has caught attention across the province on the lack of
movement when it comes to gender bullying, high-lighting the tension of
marginalization in religious communities:
We
have places of worship here and across Canada that physically separates the
sexes. That should be intolerable, but
no one dares to criticize. We have a
Roman Catholic faith with a male-dominated hierarchy and yet no one speaks of
boycotting its churches and schools (pg. A8, 10 Mar 2018)
Words
may not be spoken but it is very apparent that pews are sitting vacant where
before they were full. Youth may be
attending fully-funded Catholic schools but that does not necessarily mean they
are active participants in their personal faith development. Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter dated
May 22, 1994 on the topic of women priests was reiterated almost 20 years later
in 2013 by Pope Francis, when he stated, “The Church has spoken and said “No … That
door is closed”. The ramifications of
being perceived as steadfast to disempowering women reverberate to this
day. As justice is so important to Pope
Francis we can only wonder his personal views on this issue. In 2016 he initiated a second commission to investigate the
history of women deacons in the Church.
This directive was in response to decades of requests for women to
participate fully in all aspects of pastoral leadership. But the debate as to possible outcomes that
may create movement toward social justice lingers:
To date, Francis has praised the "feminine genius" but
has not carried through on vague promises to appoint more women to leadership
positions. "Francis' theological
imagination makes it impossible for women to achieve equal decision-making
power and sacramental authority in this church," wrote Jamie L.
Manson, an editor at National Catholic Reporter. "And it's time we faced it."
We
cannot lose hope against a grim reality.
There also exists the extreme measure of excommunication taken against ordained
men whose conscience compelled action (https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican_decrees_excommunication_for_participation_in_ordination_of_women). The courageous
act to support women becoming Roman Catholic priests is in accordance with
apostolic succession so others with a similar inclination must remain in
catacomb, just as the early revolutionary Christians had to do.
In
the introduction of this reflection, I mentioned that Church renewal and the
path to empowerment will not be easy, as disciples will inevitably be
confronted with covert and overt forms of violence to sustain ‘Powers of
Domination’. There are numerous issues,
concerns and dilemmas being faced but we must heed the warning given to us by Jesus,
not to waste energy trying to tear down established institutions but use wisdom
to circumvent the challenges presented (Matthew 9:16-17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37).
This has been the historical calling of
grass roots movements.
Today,
in the tradition of Basic Christian Communities, brave Christians are circumventing
the established Church hierarchy and thriving in the gospel traditions. Women, as part of the collective Christian
holarchy, are taking matters into their own hands with the hope that the Holy
Spirit will assist their efforts to build a bridge to empowerment. Today, there is a ‘holon’ that is recognized
as the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. The constitution identifies justice as a core
value for its members. Women have
assumed a leadership role, despite being illegitimatized by the institutional
Church. As a community they are committed
to live their lives reflecting features of empowerment, dedicated to chart
their earthly journey in the way and teachings of Jesus Christ:
We
strive to live as justice makers in right relation to self, to others, and to
the earth. Aware of the interconnectedness of all, we believe that action on behalf
of justice is constitutive to the Gospels. Because we understand how unjust
structures marginalize people on the basis of class, race, gender, sexual
orientation, and mental and physical challenges, we collaborate to create
alternative structures that are inclusive of all and are deeply based in the
traditions of social justice within our church (ARCWP, 2015).
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