The People Speak Out

Local voices connecting globally

This is important: to get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas. The world is crisscrossed by roads that come closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good.  (Pope Francis)

Canon Law 212 calls upon the laity to speak up:

2 - The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.

§3. - According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.

Dreams of Our Community for the Church We Want to See in Today’s World

Development/Updating of Doctrines

  • Update and develop doctrines/teachings/theology/liturgy in light of contemporary scripture scholarship and theology (i.e., original sin; at-one-ment not atonement) and in light of today’s scientific knowledge (i.e., cosmology; human biology) will be promoted. The doctrine of original sin will be re-framed as a doctrine of original blessing. Doctrinal teaching will always consider the effect of that belief on people’s lives.
  • Update the church's moral theology/sexual ethics with consideration of the latest science regarding sexuality
  • The Clergy will have ongoing education regarding new theological insights underpinning church doctrine.
  • Promote openness and acknowledge past sins and mistakes (i.e. sexual abuses and the subsequent cover-ups) with appropriate humble liturgies.

 

Role of the Laity 1

  • Lay people will become more critical thinkers in relation to what Catholicism is about and realize that they have the authority to initiate action themselves for the good of the faith community.
  • The laity will view themselves as co-responsible for the well-being of the church.
  • The laity will speak up to/resist any autocratic behavior by their bishop, that is contrary to co-responsibility, and help bishops realize that they are part of the church rather than above the church.
  • This and future Synodal processes will involve clergy and laity as co-equals
  • The laity will begin their more active participation in church at the local, parish level through small Christian Communities

 

Reclamation of Every Catholic’s Right to Critical Thinking and Primacy of Conscience

  • The laity will feel free to gather in small groups and assume more responsibility for their spiritual and moral development.
  • Members of the community to feel free to be critical thinkers in relation to their own lives, spirituality, and moral decisions.

 

End Clericalism 2

  • End the culture of clericalism, in accord with the statements of Pope Francis that it is evil.
  • The bishops to support and to facilitate Pope Francis’s synodal process now and in the future.
  • The Church to function with a consensual leadership model rather than a hierarchical model. A monarchical church was never in the mind of Jesus.
  • Jesus never founded a new religion/Church. He began a new movement. Initially it was to reform the Jewish model of religion which had become legalistic. The movement that Jesus wished to bring in was based on the commandment: love God and love one another.
  • The clergy to seek to utilize the gifts and talents of the laity by collegial consensus decision-making in accord with a synodal Church.
  • Update and change the dress, titles, and power (exclusive authority) of the clergy so that our Church better reflects that all baptized share in the priesthood of Christ.
  • Have meaningful involvement of the laity (women, men, religious) in leadership at all levels of Church (parish, diocese, regional synods, Vatican) sharing responsibility of our common mission.
  • Ensure the inclusion of women as equals in ministry and governance.
  • Employ professional cultural change management processes so that the mindset, attitudes and behaviors of clerics and lay people recognize and utilize the gifts and talents of the laity in collegial consensus decision-making so that the evangelizing mission of Jesus is strengthened. Advice to be sought from lay experts, as not all bishops have the skill sets to operate effectively in a properly synodal church.

Priesthood (ordained ministry)3          

  • The current education and formation of seminarians is too insular and removed from the real life of the people they will be serving:  their education needs to be done in universities and theologates with other ministry students; their formation needs to include the development of interpersonal skills, behaviors and cultural attitudes, as well as religious formation, with a variety of formators - including laywomen and men, as well as religious and ordained ministers.
  • The requirement of mandatory celibacy for priests to be made optional.
  • Ordination to the diaconate and priesthood as well as appointment to other leadership positions in the Church to be open to women.
  • Encourage ongoing education for all (bishops, clergy and laity) in scripture and theology.

 

Clergy Accountability

  • There will be meaningful involvement of the laity, including both women and men, in leadership at all levels in the church: parish, diocese and Vatican.
  • The establishment of systems of accountability of bishops and priests through properly constituted Diocesan and Parish Councils that use the synodal way in decision-making and that have co-responsibility.
  • Parish priests will be accountable to the people in the parish as well as to their bishop/diocese as this will inevitably assist in the elimination of clericalism.

 

Restructuring the Local Church

  • Parish members are free to initiate ecclesial Christian communities in their own homes.
  • The local parishes will better reflect the movement that Jesus began and function in the spirit of the earliest Christian communities.
  • Follow and promote the Jesus of the Gospels, not the Triumphal Church of the Holy Roman Empire.

Summary Statement: No substantial change will occur until the church moves beyond a monarchical and hierarchical model of operation to a community-based model that builds the faith from the bottom up. The role of the parish priest is integral to this way of being Church at the local level. We need to move from a hierarchical model to a community model. This primarily can occur through small groups celebrating Eucharistic liturgy together and ministering to the needs of the local community. The parish will consist of a community of communities. This model is based on the New Testament, practices in the early Church and Church history.

 

Inclusive and Welcoming 4

  • The local parishes will be inclusive and welcoming to all people.
  • The Church at all levels, parish, diocese, national and international will support meaningful outreach projects to those on the margins or excluded or struggling (i.e., LGBTQ+ community, First Nation peoples, divorced and remarried, single mothers, youth, aged, disabled.)
  • The Mission of the Church will be pursued in ways that are not framed as sexist, misogynist, homophobic, patriarchal, or monarchist so that we are a humble and renewed Church in accord with the teachings of Jesus.
  • Ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue will be promoted at the local as well as all other levels of the Church as it is recognized that all truth does not reside in the Catholic Church.

 

Community/Eucharist 5

  • At the core of the movement introduced to us by Jesus is the celebration of the Eucharist in community.
  • Eucharist will be focused on celebrating with the living Jesus as a community and available to all who want to receive it.
  • Reception of the Eucharist will be understood as our “Yes!” to the Word of God proclaimed, Jesus’ offer of the Bread of Life from the one table of the Word of God and the Body of Christ.
  • Eucharist will be available to all the People of God, who cannot be deprived of Eucharist because of priesthood shortage.
  • In celebrating Eucharist as a community, the personhood of every individual will be recognized and respected. The selection of those who preside at the Eucharistic Liturgy to be chosen by the entire community of the baptized.
  • The Eucharist will be recognized as food for People of God to strengthen them on their pilgrimage/life journey as their fulfillment of their commitment to live a Christian life.
  • The Eucharist will not be considered a reward for the perfect.
  • The emphasis of God’s presence in the Host will be balanced/integrated with the realization that God is present in all of creation and with us throughout the whole of our lives.
  • In the Eucharist the People of God will be able to experience a tangible sense of Jesus the Christ’s presence—a sense of joy, peace, lifting of burdens, and love—an at-one-ness with God, with oneself, with all humanity and with the whole of creation.
  • Christians will celebrate Eucharist with or without the presence of a priest, wherever and whenever two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name.
  • Receiving the Eucharist will be opened to all; no one will be excluded based on certain doctrines and rules.
  • Our overall dream is becoming an inclusive and welcoming church, forming a united community that celebrates diversity.
  • Our dream is of a church where Eucharist is the expression of the unity of all God’s children in all their diversity of faith and practice, not a weapon of rigour and exclusion.

 

Approval for the 1998 ICEL version of the Roman Missal in English6

The 2011 translation of the Roman Missal is strongly clerical and dualistic, reflecting the preoccupations of the post-Reformation church. This has had a damaging effect on the consciousness of many Catholics.

Inclusion of the People of God in the Synodal Gathering in Rome 2023

Finally, it is our hope that this synod process will be transformed from a hierarchical one to an inclusive one with the people walking together throughout the entire synod all the way through to the universal synod in Rome in October 2023. We appreciate that this worldwide event has given us, the people, an opportunity to listen to one another and to share our Spirit-guided insights about our Church. But this is not enough if the remainder of the process is a gathering of only bishops, of only men too many of whom are trained in clericalism. If we have been invited to walk with the bishops, then we must be welcomed to walk with them in the entirety of the synodal process, all the way through and including the 2023 Synod in Rome. If this is to be truly synodal, it cannot be a gathering of the hierarchy without an appropriate representation of the people also included.

 

Reflection/Testimony/Personal Stories

  1. Marginalization – Reflection by Maree

 

The institutional church has marginalized the laity, discriminating against them and their rightful place in the church. As a result of this too many of the laity have become disempowered, such that only a small section of its members are active participants. It is inappropriate for the institutional church to continue to conduct itself in a hierarchical manner with the result of marginalization. To do so amounts to a violation of human rights, a subjugation of the people, in the manner of other autocratically run organizations & cultures. A new ‘wineskin’ not modelled on  strongholds of monarchial power, clericalism or patriarchalism, is necessary.

 

  1. Context for the Eradication of Clericalism – Reflection from a group in Australia
  2. 1 The Context of “Communion, Participation and Mission” - emerge and give dimension to the realities of the church today and to its challenges. They derive clearly from a baptismal theology of the journeying People of God – a community with baptism as our shared birthright and touchstone. They seek a participation in the life of the church that builds a muscular vigour and strength to that baptismal authenticity, by seeking synodality at all levels of the church. Finally, they seek to sculpt a mission for the church, built on shared responsibility and leadership, that is able to engage meaningfully with society and other Christian churches. The invitation for submissions references the Word of God, the living Tradition of the Church and being “grounded in the “sensus fidei” (sense of faith) that we share”.

The Catholic Tradition has evolved and developed over two millennia, from a movement animated by Pentecost into a highly structured, complex yet everchanging institution. It has grown and adapted down through the ages, and at all stages of history it has responded to the intellectual, social and cultural insights and advancements of its times.  As we in this 21st century seek to connect our experience of life, relationships, being human, building community and being Church within a complex and challenging world, we look to the Tradition as our inspiration, lens, and guide. We depth its ‘treasures old and new’. In doing so we seek a renewed expression of that Tradition to genuinely respond to the intellectual, social, and cultural milieu of the contemporary world we inhabit.”

In pursuing such an approach, it is important to distinguish between core faith and the many canons of outdated and time-locked patriarchal teachings.  Authentic Catholics willingly assert the core message of Jesus Christ, the gospel of Love for humankind and all of creation and the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit, drawing us into a greater life with the Creator God. There are however many institutional constructs, having evolved and changed through the years, that fail to resonate with people of the 21st century.

These relate to views of governance, ethics, sexuality, and ministry, among other matters. But at this time in the church’s history, seared by the scandals of patriarchal abuse and clerical self-obsession, the People of God insist on substantial and meaningful reform, so that the mission of the church can be pursued effectively in these times. This requires that the church face up to the hindrances and handicaps that continue to undermine the effectiveness of its efforts to spread the Good News to generations of people in today’s world. In the Australian and American context no group knows this better than parents of younger Catholics. In this new epoch, to which Pope Francis calls us to respond, the reality is that the message of Christ’s love for humanity cannot be effectively communicated in language that is, or is perceived to be, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, monarchical, and paternalistic.  In the name of Christ, therefore, these challenges must be squarely faced and overcome.

 

2.2  There is increasing awareness of the need to end Clericalism.  An area of particular focus by Pope Francis is the undeniable need to put an end to clericalism. The Pope has made many references to clericalism as an “evil” and repeatedly in recent years we see reports on the sexual abuse scandals emerging from many countries, referencing clericalism as a major cultural and structural factor. (This was so clearly spelt out in the Australian Royal Commission Report, the New Zealand Royal Commission Report, and in other investigations including in Ireland, Poland, Germany and France.)  If the church is to move past this scandal with any integrity it must deal with this issue ‘root and branch’. However, there is a tendency to minimize this issue, suggesting that it ‘has been dealt with’ and not wanting to confront the real depth of the cultural challenge required. This has been evident in the sanitized definitions of clericalism that have been used in official documents.

 To truly address this need will require a total change in mindset, attitudes and behaviors by clerics and lay people. There is no easy solution, only the hard realization that the church can no longer operate and think of itself in the way that it has in the past. We all have to learn a new culture. Whatever the changes necessary in theological and ecclesiological perspectives and applied theology, this is a matter that calls for culture change management on a scale that dwarfs almost any other organizational setting. There is no short cut. It must be done. 

Yes, the leadership did grow through the centuries on faulty grounds, Yes, the leadership did hide their internal sexual abuse while unrepentantly ministering without confession or remorse, to their subjects. Yes, the Church did minimize the humanity of women and the priests with their enforced celibacy. Genesis tells us that it was God’s intention that man would have a soul mate to share his/her life with.

It is time for change. It is time to listen to the people of God, the priesthood of all.

  • Clericalism – reflection from Matt

A Story to Illustrate: Notre Dame Seminary is a regional theologate for seminarians, located in the heart of New Orleans, Louisiana – a metropolitan area of some 1,270,530 people. There are several Catholic universities as well as several esteemed secular universities which often have public lectures exploring religious and current issues. Yet seldom, if ever, are seminarians seen attending such lectures.  A couple years ago, a noted climate scientist and priest theologian from Spain, who works at the UN, was invited to give a week-end workshop on Laudato Si and Climate Change. The venue was a lecture hall in the seminary. Some hundred and fifty participants were in attendance, welcomed by the Archbishop himself, yet not one seminarian participated! Besides the presentations by the speaker, small discussion groups were part of the program, with good sharing and questioning. People were astounded at the noticeable absence of seminarians – missing an opportunity to listen to a noted climate scientist and be a part of serious conversations with laity and religious about such a timely topic (and one dear to the heart of  our Holy Father Francis) even in their own auditorium! 

  • Inclusiveness: reflection from Guy

OUR PROBLEM: We have and proclaim a Loving God within an Exclusionary Institutional Church System.

"These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it ... so I am going to step in and shock them awake, astonish them, and stand them on their ears." — (Isaiah 29:14, Eugene Peterson translation)

 

Our Institutional Church generally excludes:

  • Divorced and remarried persons from receiving the Eucharist.
  • Women from full participation in ministries and rituals of worship.
  • Unmarried mothers have been known to have their children refused Baptism.
  • LGBTQI persons from full participation in the reception of the Sacraments.
  • Persons of other Religions, and other Christian denominations from reception of the Eucharist.
  • These and other limitations preventing people from a meaningful relationship with a Loving and Merciful God and with our fellow human beings, have created a deep dilemma and contradiction at the heart of institutional Christianity.
  • Whilst ever we persist with exclusionary paradigms and practices “we end up with the impossible scenario of a God who is "small," and often less loving than the best people we know! This supposedly divine love is quite measured and conditional, and yet ironically demands from us a perfect and unconditional love. Such a salvation system will never work, unless we allow an utterly new dimension of love ‘to astonish us and stand us on our ears,’ as Isaiah says above. Unless God is able and allowed to love us unconditionally, we will never know how to do the same.” (Richard Rohr, 2007, “My Problem with Religion”)
  • Our purpose IS NOT to seek retribution for these or any other perceived shortcomings within the Institutional Church. Our purpose is TO REFORM and RESTORE OUR CHURCH to the teachings and lived experiences revealed and presented to all of humanity by Our Loving Saviour, Jesus Christ in the Gospels, through a process of Synodality.

5.1       Eucharist – Reflection from Maree

I agree that God’s presence is with us throughout the whole of our lives. Yes, experienced there also. However for me there is a distinction between those other experiences & the Eucharist. The experience for me is more than the other experiences of presence. That more is what I have always experienced. That more, brings to me a tangible spirit of his presence, of joy, a lifting of burdens, peace, and love. It empowers me with a transforming grace that is very tangible, a change of heart at times, a change in attitudes helping me to come into a better unity within myself, with others and creation. A oneness with God.

 In terms of the administration of the Eucharist, we are living in challenging times where all those who would like to receive the Eucharist have not been able to do so because of insufficient priests and churches closing and because of Covid over the last two years or so. Isolation issues. How the Holy Spirit is wanting to move, to sort out these issues - including perhaps women priests, married priests, or perhaps as Kevin has suggested, in small groups celebrating the Eucharist, is now part of this synodal process.

 For me, this personal gift of Christ is a beauty to be held in all that it is. A gift of love. A gifting of unifying love that acts in ways mysterious to me. There are all the extended meanings of Eucharist regarding community, but the Eucharist is also a mystery where I give Jesus my trust. I can - not fathom all mystery.

When I look at the disunity in the world in its many representations, including the fragmentation within myself & others, I wonder if the mystery of the Eucharist has been overlooked. I am not excluding personal faults, failings & sin as contributors to disunity here. Nor am I excluding God working through the scriptures, the preached Word of God, charisms or however the Holy Spirit wants to move in individuals and other Churches. But in the Eucharist, there is the possibility of a grace that helps us to be one in all its fullness.

 "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him" (Jn 6:56). Communion. I do not imagine Jesus said it was his flesh & blood for no good reason. It is something special.

 It is my dream that the Eucharist is available to all whoever that might be. For all who might want to receive it.

 

5.2       Eucharist – reflections from Guy

  1. I see the reception of the Eucharist as my confirmation (A YES) to The Word of God proclaimed, and its message opened for our acceptance through a Homily and/or group discernment and discussion. This brings together (both/and), The Word of God  AND my acceptance of its message by receiving the Holy Eucharist;  to make friends with our own wounds, move beyond the mind I havein an evolving way, and allow my consciousness to grow. 

Jesus' metaphor in John 6:53 ("Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh ... and drink his blood ... you have no life in you"); ... even though these words can also be understood of the [eucharistic] Mystery, Christ’s body and blood are really the word of Scripture, God’s teaching,” St Jerome as quoted in two documents about Scripture released by the Holy See on 30 September – one in 2019 and the other in 2020. They mark the 1600th anniversary of the death of St Jerome, the great  Scripture scholar who prepared the definitive translation of the Bible into Latin ... “the Church has always venerated the divine  Scriptures as she has venerated the Lord’s body … offering people the bread of life from the one table of the Word of God and the body of Christ (Dei Verbum 21).” To my mind, this seems to support the unitive (non-dualistic) view that St Jerome expressed. 

 

  1. Recognizing God’s presence in the Bread and Wine awakens us to God’s presence in all of creation. Combining the reception of the Eucharist (Jesus being ONE with each of us), with receiving and accepting his Word in the Gospel, directs us to afford others the compassion, forgiveness, and inclusion Jesus has afforded each one of us. It is a mutual experience.

 

The reception of the Holy Eucharist is to be made available to all who wish and desire to receive it. At the Last Supper Jesus offered the Bread and Wine saying, “Take this ALL OF YOU, for this is my body ….” No one was excluded.

 

6        Approval for the 1998 ICEL version of the Roman Missal in English - Reflection from John

It is my conviction that the words used in the liturgy are key to the construction of a theology and ecclesiology in peoples’ minds without them realizing it.

This is why individuals such as George Pell, Francis George and Arthur Roche promoted the coup of 2001-2002 which overthrew the wonderful work of the expert International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) to develop and refine the English liturgy along the lines outlined by Vatican 2.

In 1969, the Vatican had said “liturgical texts should normally be intelligible to all, even to the less educated” and I am sure that most of us remember the introduction of the Roman Missal in English from 1973.

ICEL had completed an updated and improved English version of the Roman Missal by 1998 (it can be found online) but its approval was obstructed in Rome by forces opposed to the direction of Vatican 2.

In 2002, the Vatican issued a new instruction basically saying that the English version of the Roman Missal should be a word-for-word translation. A committee of English-speaking bishops, ironically named “Vox Clara” (Clear Voice) was established to override the work done by ICEL, with George Pell as its Chairman. Ultimately, the ICEL translation was thrown out (an estimated 10,000 changes were made to the translation) and the members of ICEL were purged.

The result was the translation we now have, imposed from 2011, and largely based on the 1570 Latin Roman Missal issued following the Council of Trent.

The prayers are generally very Latinate and therefore very difficult to speak intelligibly. The overall sense is strongly clerical and dualistic, reflecting the preoccupations of the post-Reformation church.

It is my belief that the use of this translation has had, and continues to have, a damaging effect on the consciousness of many Catholics.

Submitted by a group from the United States and Australia who have been gathering monthly from October 2021 through June 2022:

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