Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Parish Priest: Fr Mike Delaney
Mob: 0417 279 437
mike.delaney@aohtas.org.au
Assistant Priest: Fr Paschal Okpon
Mob: 0438 562 731
paschalokpon@yahoo.com
Priest in Residence: Fr Phil McCormack
Mob: 0437 521 257
pmccormack43@bigpond.com
Postal Address: PO Box 362, Devonport 7310
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street, Devonport 7310
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am - 3pm)
Office Phone: 6424 2783 Fax: 6423 5160
Email: merseyleven@aohtas.org.au
Secretary: Annie Davies
Finance Officer: Anne Fisher
Pastoral Council Chair: Felicity Sly
Mob: 0418 301 573
fsly@internode.on.net
Mob: 0417 279 437
mike.delaney@aohtas.org.au
Assistant Priest: Fr Paschal Okpon
Mob: 0438 562 731
paschalokpon@yahoo.com
Priest in Residence: Fr Phil McCormack
Mob: 0437 521 257
pmccormack43@bigpond.com
Postal Address: PO Box 362, Devonport 7310
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street, Devonport 7310
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am - 3pm)
Office Phone: 6424 2783 Fax: 6423 5160
Email: merseyleven@aohtas.org.au
Secretary: Annie Davies
Finance Officer: Anne Fisher
Pastoral Council Chair: Felicity Sly
Mob: 0418 301 573
fsly@internode.on.net
Parish Mass times for the Month: mlcpmasstimes.blogspot.com.au
Weekly Homily Podcast: mikedelaney.podomatic.com
Archdiocesan Website: www.hobart.catholic.org.au for news, information and details of other Parishes.
PLENARY COUNCIL PRAYER
Come, Holy Spirit of Pentecost.
Come, Holy Spirit of the great South Land.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia
and guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another
and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other
and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future,
that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age.
Amen.
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
Come, Holy Spirit of the great South Land.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia
and guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another
and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other
and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future,
that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age.
Amen.
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
Parish Prayer
Heavenly Father,
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
to the Gospel and build an amazing parish.
Amen.
Our Parish Sacramental Life
Eucharistic Adoration - Devonport: Every Friday 10am - 12noon, concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Benediction with Adoration Devonport: First Friday each month - commences at 10am and concludes with Mass
Legion of Mary: Wednesdays 11am Sacred Heart Church Community Room, Ulverstone
Prayer Group: Charismatic Renewal – Mondays 6.30pm Community Room Ulverstone
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
Amen.
Our Parish Sacramental Life
Baptism: Arrangements are made by contacting Parish Office. Parents attend a Baptismal Preparation Session organised with a Priest.
Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist: Are received following a Family–centred, Parish-based, School-supported Preparation Program.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults: prepares adults for reception into the Catholic community.
Marriage: arrangements are made by contacting one of our priests - couples attend a Pre-marriage Program
Anointing of the Sick: please contact one of our priests
Reconciliation: Ulverstone - Fridays (10am - 10:30am), Devonport - Saturday (5:15pm– 5.45pm)
Eucharistic Adoration - Devonport: Every Friday 10am - 12noon, concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Benediction with Adoration Devonport: First Friday each month - commences at 10am and concludes with Mass
Benediction with Adoration Devonport: First Friday each month - commences at 10am and concludes with Mass
Legion of Mary: Wednesdays 11am Sacred Heart Church Community Room, Ulverstone
Prayer Group: Charismatic Renewal – Mondays 6.30pm Community Room Ulverstone
Weekday Masses 15th – 18th October, 2019
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin … St Teresa of Jesus
Wednesday: 9:30am Latrobe … St Hedwig, St Margaret Mary
Alacoque
Thursday: 10:30am Karingal … St Ignatius of Antioch
Friday: 11:00am Mt St Vincent … St Luke
Next Weekend 19th & 20th October
Saturday Vigil: 6:00pm Devonport
6:00pm Penguin
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone
MINISTRY ROSTERS 19th & 20th OCTOBER, 2019
Devonport:
10:30am J Henderson, J Phillips, P Piccolo
Cleaners 18th
Oct: P Shelverton,
E Petts
25th Oct: B Paul, D Atkins, V Riley
Reader/s: D Prior
Penguin:
Latrobe:
Procession of Gifts: Parishioner
Port Sorell:
Readings this Week: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C
First Reading: 2 Kings 5:14-17
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPEL:
How does this relate to the events of my own life?
I see myself as part of the small group of lepers ... existing
on the margins … not even able to approach the ‘clean’.
What stirs within me
when I notice Jesus drawing near?
How do I respond?
After I am healed, I place myself at Jesus’s feet, giving thanks.
Now I hear Jesus calling me to stand up and go on my way.
How am I changed?
Do I feel saved by my faith?
Readings Next Week: 29th Sunday
in Ordinary Time – Year C
Your prayers are asked for the sick:
Brenda Paul, Carmel Leonard, Philip Smith, David Cole, Frank McDonald, Pam Lynd & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Aydan Fry, Joyce Thompson, Sr Joan Campbell, Sr Francesca Slevin, Wendy Parker, Brian Reynolds (brother of John), Dale Sheean, Bob Hickman, Michelle Gibson, Sr Martina Roberts, Danny Reardon, Glenn Harris, Adrian Drane, Judy Sheehan
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 10th – 16th October
Paul Blake, John Novaski, Bridie Murray, Ronald Arrowsmith, Peter Hays, Stella Smith, Josefina Turnbull, Peter Beard, Mary Lube, Mary Guthrie, Peter McCormick, James Graham, Shirley Stafford, Valda Burford, Wayne Radford, Winifred Byrne, Russell Doodt. Also Jock Donachy
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen
Happy 80th Birthday to Tony
Ryan.
APPRECIATION FOR PARISH SUPPORT:
Weekly
Ramblings
Last weekend I was asked a question about one of the
prayers included in our Prayers of Intercession – what is the Synod on the
Amazon? As I thought about this question I realised that while I had been
reading quite a bit about the lead up to the gathering in Rome of participants
from the countries surrounding the Amazon Basin in South America there were only
a few people in the Parish who were aware of what was happening and so the
prayer was a bit more obtuse than usual.
Pope Francis, concerned for the Church worldwide but
particularly concerned for the people of the Amazon Basin, has convened a Synod
(6-27th Oct) to address issues that face the region. Reading the
preparation documents, it is obvious that many of the same issues have been
raised in the Plenary 2020 process here in Australia. Over the next few weeks I
will add some material to the Online Version of the newsletter (see below)
or you can visit https://www.ncronline.org/feature-series/synod-for-the-amazon/stories
for daily reports.
Next Friday 18th October, as part of our month
of prayer there will be adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 10am until
10pm. Sign-up sheets are in each Mass Centre, please add your name to a time
that might be suitable for you to spend a quiet hour before the Blessed
Sacrament.
For your information.
- Next weekend we will have details about the next stage in
the Plenary 2020 process for our Parish – there will be a number of gatherings
through the end of October and November – times and dates will be in a separate
sheet with the newsletter.
- There will be an Advent Reflection Booklet available for
daily devotions as well as an Advent Discussion Group beginning early December.
KNIGHTS OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS – NATIONAL PRAYERS
CRUSADE FOR VOCATIONS:
Heavenly Father,
We ask this through
Jesus Christ, Your Son. Amen.
NOVEMBER REMEMBRANCE BOOKS:
COLUMBAN CALENDARS:
BINGO THURSDAY 17th October
Eyes down 7:30pm. Callers
Rod Clark & Brendan O’Connor
PRAYER FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY MISSIONARY MONTH
Heavenly Father,
When your only begotten son Jesus Christ rose from the dead,
he commissioned his followers to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’
And you remind us that through Baptism we are made sharers in the mission of the Church.
Empower us by the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be courageous and zealous in bearing witness to the Gospel, so that the mission entrusted to the Church, which is still very far from completion, may find new and efficacious expressions that bring life and light to the world.
Help us make it possible for all peoples to experience the saving love and mercy of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Amazonia: The Gift and the Challenge
This article was originally 4 articles written for the online Magazine La Croix International. I have combined them even though it is a long article as background to the Synod of the Amazon - Fr Mike
Amazonia
is a major source of the oxygen that drives physical life on the planet. It is
possible that very soon we will be thanking Amazonia for spiritual refuelling
as well.
Amazonia
and Pope Francis have shaken the papacy out of its complacency and provoked a
synod on the theme "Amazonia: new paths for the Church and for an integral
ecology".
The
changes necessary to remedy the sacramental famine and adapt mission practice to
the many indigenous cultures in Amazonia will face a hazardous passage through
the Synod.
This
meeting of the Synod has the potential to be a powerful influence on the future
life of the Church.
Its Instrumentum
Laboris reopens questions that have either been overlooked or
shelved in the past and some that were previously banned from discussion.
Dr John O'Loughlin Kennedy is
a retired economist and serial social entrepreneur. In 1968, he and his wife,
Kay, founded the international relief and development organization CONCERN
WORLDWIDE which now employs about 3,800 indigenous personnel on development
work in 28 of the world's poorest countries.
Substitutionary Atonement
This article is taken from the Daily Email sent by Fr Richard Rohr OFM from the Center for Action and Contemplation. You can subscribe to receive the email by clicking here
For most of church history, no single consensus prevailed on
what Christians mean when we say, “Jesus died for our sins.” But in recent
centuries, one theory did become mainstream. It is often referred to as the
“penal substitutionary atonement theory,” especially once it was further
developed during the Reformation. [1] Substitutionary atonement is the theory
that Christ, by his own sacrificial choice, was punished in the place of
humans, thus satisfying the “demands of justice” so that God could forgive our
sins.
This theory of atonement ultimately relies on another
commonly accepted notion—the “original sin” of Adam and Eve, which, we were
told, taints all human beings. But much like original sin (a concept not found
in the Bible but developed by Augustine in the fifth century), most Christians
have never been told how recent and regional this explanation is or that it
relies upon a retributive notion of justice. Nor are they told that it was
honest enough to call itself a “theory,” even though some groups take it as
long-standing dogma.
I take up this subject with both excitement and trepidation
because I know that substitutionary atonement is central to many Christians’
faith. But the questions of why Jesus died and what is the meaning and message
of his death have dominated the Christian narrative, often much more than his
life and teaching. As some have said, if this theory is true, all we needed
were the last three days or even three hours of Jesus’ life. In my opinion,
this interpretation has kept us from a deep and truly transformative
understanding of both Jesus and Christ.
Salvation became a one-time transactional affair between
Jesus and his Father, instead of an ongoing transformational lesson for the
human soul and for all of history. I believe that Jesus’ death on the cross is
a revelation of the infinite and participatory love of God, not some bloody
payment required by God’s offended justice to rectify the problem of sin. Such
a story line is way too small and problem-oriented.
[1] This week I will use the phrase “substitutionary
atonement” to indicate the most current version of the theory. Throughout
Christian history, there have been multiple theories of substitutionary
atonement. One of the earliest, the ransom theory, originated with Origen and
the early church. Closely related to this was the Christus Victor theory. The
ransom view of atonement was the dominant theory until the publication of
Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo? (Why Did God Become Human?) at the end of the 11th
century. Anselm’s satisfaction theory of atonement then became dominant until
the Reformed tradition introduced penal substitution in the 16th century. This
new view of substitutionary atonement emphasized punishment over satisfaction
(Jesus’ crucifixion as a substitute for human sin) and paralleled criminal law.
Today, the phrase “substitutionary atonement” is often (correctly or
incorrectly) used to refer to the penal theory of atonement. This week’s meditations
touch the surface of 2,000 years of complex theological process.
The Arrival of Refugees, Old and New
This article is taken from the archive of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find this article and many others by clicking here
The religious congregation to which I belong, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, has had a long relationship with the indigenous peoples of North America. Admittedly it hasn’t always been without its shortcomings on our side, but it has been a sustained one, constant through more than one hundred and fifty years. I write this out of the archives of that history.
In the mid-1800s, a group of young Oblates left France to work with the native peoples of Oregon and Washington State. Given the means of travel at the time, particularly the challenge of crossing the entire United States, much of it on horseback, it took them almost a year to get from Marseilles to the Oregon coast. Among that group was a young missionary, Charles Pandosy.
In the summer of 1854, Governor Stevens had called for a meeting of Native chiefs to be held at Walla Walla to discuss the tension between the USA government and the Natives. One of the tribes was stubbornly rebelling, the Yakima, a tribe led by their chief, Kamiakin, with whom the Oblates and Fr. Pandosy had been working. At one point, Chief Kamiakin turned to Pandosy for advice.
In a letter written to our Founder in France, Saint Eugene de Mazenod, dated June 5th, 1854, Fr. Pandosy summed up his conversation with the Yakima chief. Not knowing what Europe looked like and not knowing how many people lived there or what forces were driving people to come to North America, the Native Chief had asked Fr. Pandosy how many white men there were and when they would stop coming, naively believing that there couldn’t be that many of them left to come.
In his letter, Fr. Pandosy shares, verbatim, part of his conversation with Kamiakin: “It is as I feared. The whites will take your country as they have taken other countries from the Indians. I came from the land of the white man far to the east where the people are thicker than the grass on the hills. Where there are only a few here now, others will come with each year until your country will be overrun with them … you and your lands will be taken and your people driven from their homes. It has been so with other tribes; it will be so with you. You may fight and delay for a time this invasion, but you cannot avert it. I have lived many summers with you and baptized a great number of your people into the faith. I have learned to love you. I cannot advise you or help you. I wish I could.”
Sound familiar? One doesn’t have to strain any logic to see a parallel to the situation today as millions of refugees are crowding the borders the United States, Canada, and much of Europe, seeking to enter these countries. Like Chief Kamiakin, we who are living in those countries and passionately consider them our “own” are very much in the dark as to how many of people are looking to come here, what pressures are driving them here, and when the seeming endless flow of people will stop. As well, like those indigenous tribes who back then had their lives irrevocably altered by us entering their country we too tend to feel this an unlawful and unfair invasion and are resistant to allowing these people to share our land and our cities with us.
When people initially came to North and South America from Europe they came for various reasons. Some were fleeing religious persecution, some were seeking a way out of poverty and starvation, some were coming to work to send money back to support their families, some were doctors or clergy coming to minister to others, and, yes, some too were criminals bent on crime.
It would seem not much has changed, except the shoe is now on the other foot. We, original invaders, are now the indigenous tribes, solicitous and protective of what we consider as rightfully ours, fearful of the outsiders, mostly naïve as to why they’re coming.
This isn’t just the case in North America, most of Europe is experiencing the exact same pressures, except in their case they’ve had a longer time to forget how their ancestors once came from elsewhere and mostly displaced the indigenous peoples who were already there.
Admittedly, this isn’t easy to resolve, politically or morally: No country can simply open its borders indiscriminately to everyone who wants to enter; and yet, and yet, our scriptures, Jewish and Christian, are unequivocal in affirming that the earth belongs everyone and that all people have the same right to God’s good creation. That moral imperative can seem unfair and impractical; but how do we justify the fact that we displaced others to build our lives here but now find it unfair that others are doing the same thing to us.
Looking at the refugee crisis in the world today one sees that what goes around does eventually come around.
More Than A Career, It's A Calling: We're Hiring
This article is taken from the Blog posted by Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Baltimore. You can find the original blog by clicking here
At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus brings together the eleven remaining loyal apostles and gives them a mission. He says: “All remaining authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” This isn’t a friendly invitation to maintain the status quo. It’s a radical call to make disciples.
At Nativity, we strive to answer that call. We want to be a healthy church of growing disciples, who grow disciples, and help other parishes to do the same elsewhere.
As we have served this mission we have grown, and continue to grow, in many ways. Our staff has grown too, and currently we are in another cycle of growth. We’re hiring! Take a look.
Coordinator of Student Ministries
The role of the Coordinator of Student Ministries will be to encourage, inspire, and equip a team of adult volunteers who serve middle school and high school students as small group leaders, ops ministers, small group coaches, and various other roles. The coordinator, together with the member-ministers aim at creating irresistible environments, consistent opportunities, and authentic relationships that will assist teenagers in the development of their Catholic faith and relationship with God. The coordinator will work together with a full time team that includes the Director and Assistant Director of Student Ministry.
More information here: https://www.churchnativity.com/careers/
‘LIVE’ Online Campus Director
Over the last few months, we’ve been having an extended discussion about our “Online Campus,” (our weekend live-stream on our website). More and more, we’ve become convinced that our online campus will be one of our primary opportunities for evangelization and discipleship.
The role of the Online Campus Director will be to provide leadership for Nativity’s online campus in order to reach more people and engage online participants in the five STEPS of discipleship we promote: Serve, Tithe, Engage, Practice, and Share.
More information here: https://www.churchnativity.com/careers/
Broadcast Director
The role of the Broadcast Director will be to assist in leadership and direction of Nativity’s broadcast feeds, providing creative input to grow and improve our broadcasts to lead people into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Responsibilities will include overseeing IMAG, venue and online campus broadcast feeds to ensure excellence, overseeing Creative Tech ministry including training and development of all volunteer ministers who serve as directors, camera operators and graphics operators, and participating in creative and planning meetings for Mass and special events.
More information here: https://www.churchnativity.com/careers/
Front of House Audio Engineer
Serves as main house engineer at all weekend Masses and special events to create an excellent sound experience for guests. Operation a FOH Allen & Heath dLive console as a primary responsibility with secondary responsibilities working on the Creative Team and the Worship Team as well as band members. This position would also be responsible for the quality of audio mix of our online broadcast. The AE would also have responsibility for recording and editing various post production projects throughout the year.
More information here: https://www.churchnativity.com/careers/
We’re looking for team members who are hungry, humble, and smart. Hungry to learn and grow, humble enough to pursue new ideas and fresh approaches, and, well, just plain smart. Our environment is low key and casual, but we’re after results. Oh, and we have a lot of fun in the process. Think about joining us because we believe the local parish church is the hope of the world. It’s more than a career, it’s a calling.
The Pope & I: Remembering Pope John XXIII
In the time leading up to the the canonisation of Pope John XXIII on 27 April 2014, Elizabeth Paulhus, spoke of the influence that John XXIII has had on the life of her family. Elizabeth Paulhus is the Northern Regional Director for Catholic Charities West Virginia.
This article is taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website where you can find a wide range of articles by clicking here
‘John XXIII loved polenta.’ My mother was in grade school when she heard this. Being of Northern Italian descent, she took great pride in sharing this love with the pope. This phrase was the first to come to mind when I received the request to write something about the Good Pope in honour of his canonisation on 27 April. My initial reaction was one of excitement. After all, my family had treated John XXIII as a saint for as long as I could remember. A papal blessing from John XXIII for my grandparents’ 25th wedding anniversary hangs in my parents’ house. For Christmas a few years ago, I gave my father several vintage Time and Life magazines about John XXIII. When my father speaks of the Good Pope, his nose twitches, which indicates pride. And of course, there was that mutual love of polenta, which endeared this particular pope to our family all the more!
The initial enthusiasm quickly turned to doubt. What could I, a thirtysomething Catholic policy wonk and erstwhile theology student, contribute to the discussions about John XXIII? Historians and biographers have dissected every aspect of his life, from his childhood in a sharecropping family, through his time as a military chaplain and his work in Turkey and Bulgaria, to his decision to convene the Second Vatican Council. Theologians have written extensively about his encyclicals and his ecclesiology. Countless individuals have reflected on the parallels between John XXIII and Francis. What did this leave me?
I had made up my mind that I had nothing to contribute to the conversation and that I would decline the article request. And then I went to Easter Mass in my grandmother’s parish in Massachusetts. You know how 1 Kings says that God was in the gentle whisper or ‘sound of fine silence’? This felt more like the mighty wind or earthquake that preceded that whisper. Not only did my grandmother’s church have a stained glass window of John XXIII, but the priest devoted the majority of his Easter homily to the pope’s life and influence. All that was missing was the giant neon sign saying, ‘Liz, write the article.’
After some consideration, I decided that I would tell how John XXIII influenced my father’s life and, in turn, my own. This story is by nature incomplete, but I thought I would presume to share pieces of it. The snippets from my father come from a conversation that we had on Easter Sunday 2014.
When John XXIII was elected in 1958, my father was an Assumptionist seminarian studying theology in France. He said that when his religious community learned that Cardinal Roncalli had been elected pope, the initial reaction was one shared by many: ‘Who?’ It seemed like the conclave had chosen someone who would be little more than a placeholder for a few years until they could elect a real pope. This impression faded quickly when John XXIII announced in the first few months of his papacy that he would be convening a Council.
As we talked about John’s papacy, I asked my father to recount the moment when he felt that real change had come. By this time, he was a student at the Angelicum in Rome.
It was the second or third day of the Council. Reporters from La Croix [the French daily newspaper published by the Assumptionists] came rushing into our residence hall full of excitement and running to phones. We knew something dramatic had happened. We soon found out that the Curia had prepared what they call schemata, which were outlines for the Council: how the Council would proceed, who would sit on commissions, what they would do, and so forth. The Curia officials who had been charged with preparing the Council proposed the schemata to the general membership, which they assumed would be accepted with little opposition. Instead, a pretty significant number of European cardinals and bishops convinced enough people to reject the proposed schemata. New agendas would be created by commission members chosen by the Council at large. For me, that was the beginning of real hope that this was not going to be just a rubber stamp Council.
These Council members had taken to heart John’s call to bring the Church into the 20th century (aggiornamento). What I find fascinating is that John XXIII did not simply say to his cardinals and bishops, ‘This is how it is going to be.’ My father reminded me that this view of decision-making reflected John’s understanding of Church.
He had a very keen sense of collegiality, a very keen sense of the Church as the people of God. This theme can be seen in his thinking before the Council was called. In Pacem in Terris, he began to talk about the Church as the people of God, the Church as a universal people, the Church as having a mission to the world. Implicitly it suggested a ‘new’ theology of the Church that flowed from the early Church’s understanding that we are the people of God and that we are servants.
Although my father did not have any private audiences with the pope, he was fortunate enough to have seen him several times. He had a chance to witness John’s travels to a meeting with government officials outside of Vatican City, the first time in more than a century that a pope had set foot outside of the Papal States (photograph below).
He also was present when John XXIII received the prestigious Balzan Prize for peace. In addition, as part of his visits to seminaries and schools of theology in Rome, John XXIII came to the Angelicum where my father was studying.
He sat with us seminarians in this small auditorium that seated 200 people at the most. He just sat and chatted jovially with everybody. He was very unpretentious and very open-minded. His experiences [in Bulgaria and Turkey] had given him a broad understanding of the world. They shaped his openness to change.
There was a lot of sadness, obviously, and millions of people came to the Square to pay their respects. The funeral was pretty restricted, because so many bishops had come from all over the world, as well as dignitaries from many nations. One of the boxes near the altar was reserved for journalists, and I managed to find a pass as a Dutch journalist and was able to enter into the basilica and attend the funeral.
When I pushed my father to say how he happened upon a Dutch press pass, his matter-of-fact response made me chuckle. I think this might have been one of those ‘spirit of the law’ moments that he has always been fond of promoting.
The Dutch Assumptionists had a local newspaper, and they were able to get a few invitations. Not all of them could come, so they had some extra passes. So I became a Dutch journalist for the day! I just used my German and pretended it was Dutch.
Even though he died before the completion of the Council, John’s influence was visible in all of its documents, whether on ecumenism, liturgy, the nature of the Church, or the Church in the modern world. But most important for my story was the impact that John XXIII and the Council had on my father.
In terms of my personal life, he had a tremendous influence, because it is largely his emphasis on the role of conscience and personal responsibility and understanding your role as a layperson, understanding your role as a theologian, that led me to realise that my real vocation was teaching.
There were whiffs of change in the air, and I think what we were catching as seminarians, not so much in our formal teaching, but through the atmosphere in Rome, was all this turmoil and upheaval and all these new thoughts that were being tossed around.
I think what the years after the Council did to persons like me who were serving as priests in the community was to show us the flaws in the old system. It led to, in my case, realising very quickly that ethical issues, especially in social ethics, were coming to the fore and had become central in moral debates. It led me to recognise that we needed a different kind of pastoral approach when talking to this generation of radically liberated adolescents. Contact with laypersons also forced me to see how the whole world was shifting so rapidly that we needed to pay attention to the signs of the time.
As you have probably gathered by now, my father eventually decided to follow his conscience and leave the priesthood in order to serve the Church through teaching and through family life. Growing up with a moral theologian father who had lived through the heart of the reform and had been influenced greatly by John XXIII certainly impacted my life. From the time I was small, theological conversations were as commonplace in the Paulhus household as those about baseball or politics. Being open to the world and to change went without saying, and reading the signs of the time was more than simply a phrase. Following one’s conscience was more important than obeying ‘authority,’ which sometimes got me into trouble. My pursuit of theology and then public policy had its roots in theological breakfast conversations with my dad, in growing up in a house where John XXIII was a saint long before his official canonisation. I guess I can thank the Good Pope for my reformist tendencies. Or maybe it was just the polenta…
Weekday Masses 15th – 18th October, 2019
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin … St Teresa of Jesus
Wednesday: 9:30am Latrobe … St Hedwig, St Margaret Mary
Alacoque
Thursday: 10:30am Karingal … St Ignatius of Antioch
Friday: 11:00am Mt St Vincent … St Luke
Next Weekend 19th & 20th October
Saturday Vigil: 6:00pm Devonport
Saturday Vigil: 6:00pm Devonport
6:00pm Penguin
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone
10:30am Devonport
11:00am Sheffield
5:00pm Latrobe
MINISTRY ROSTERS 19th & 20th OCTOBER, 2019
Devonport:
Readers: Vigil: A McIntyre, M Williams, C Kiely-Hoye
10:30am J Henderson, J Phillips, P Piccolo
10:30am J Henderson, J Phillips, P Piccolo
Ministers of
Communion: Vigil T Muir, M Davies, D Peters, J Heatley, K & K
Maynard
10.30am: N Mulcahy, K Hull, G Keating
Cleaners 18th
Oct: P Shelverton,
E Petts 25th Oct: B Paul, D Atkins, V Riley
Piety Shop 19th Oct: R Baker 20th Oct: P Piccolo
Mowing of
lawns at Presbytery – October: S Berryman
Reader/s: D Prior
Ministers of
Communion: M
Byrne, D Griffin, K Foster, R Locket
Cleaners: K.S.C. Flowers: M Byrne Hospitality:
T Good Team
Penguin:
Greeters Fifita Family Commentator:
E Nickols Readers: Fifita Family
Ministers of
Communion: J
Barker, P Lade Liturgy: Pine Road
Setting Up: A Landers Care of Church: Y & R Downes
Latrobe:
Reader: Kurt Adkins Minister of
Communion: I Campbell
Procession of Gifts: Parishioner
Procession of Gifts: Parishioner
Port Sorell:
Readers: L Post, T Jeffries Ministers of Communion: L Post Cleaners: V Youd
Readings this Week: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C
First Reading: 2 Kings 5:14-17
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-13
Gospel: Luke 17: 11-19
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPEL:
As in the First Reading, this Gospel allows us to spend
time contemplating the themes of being an outcast, searching for healing and
expressing gratitude.
How does this relate to the events of my own life?
How does this relate to the events of my own life?
With this in mind, I come before God just as I am, bringing
him the parts of my life that desire healing, and the things that I am deeply grateful
for.
I allow a few moments of stillness and silence before I slowly
and prayerfully read the Gospel passage.
I use my imagination to let the scene come to life in my
mind and body.
I see myself as part of the small group of lepers ... existing on the margins … not even able to approach the ‘clean’.
What stirs within me when I notice Jesus drawing near?
How do I respond?
I see myself as part of the small group of lepers ... existing on the margins … not even able to approach the ‘clean’.
What stirs within me when I notice Jesus drawing near?
How do I respond?
I imagine being the Samaritan, despised even before people
know of his leprosy.
After I am healed, I place myself at Jesus’s feet, giving thanks.
Now I hear Jesus calling me to stand up and go on my way.
After I am healed, I place myself at Jesus’s feet, giving thanks.
Now I hear Jesus calling me to stand up and go on my way.
What do I say to him?
Recalling my thoughts from the start of my prayer, I
imagine Jesus looking upon me as I am today, bringing healing to my life,
calling me to stand up and go.
How am I changed?
Do I feel saved by my faith?
How am I changed?
Do I feel saved by my faith?
I bring my ponderings before Jesus, and share with him as I
would with a dear friend.
I close my prayer saying
Our Father ...
Readings Next Week: 29th Sunday
in Ordinary Time – Year C
First Reading: Exodus
17: 8-13
Second
Reading: 2 Timothy 3: 14 – 4:2
Gospel: Luke 18:
1-8
Your prayers are asked for the sick:
Brenda Paul, Carmel Leonard, Philip Smith, David Cole, Frank McDonald, Pam Lynd & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Aydan Fry, Joyce Thompson, Sr Joan Campbell, Sr Francesca Slevin, Wendy Parker, Brian Reynolds (brother of John), Dale Sheean, Bob Hickman, Michelle Gibson, Sr Martina Roberts, Danny Reardon, Glenn Harris, Adrian Drane, Judy Sheehan
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 10th – 16th October
Paul Blake, John Novaski, Bridie Murray, Ronald Arrowsmith, Peter Hays, Stella Smith, Josefina Turnbull, Peter Beard, Mary Lube, Mary Guthrie, Peter McCormick, James Graham, Shirley Stafford, Valda Burford, Wayne Radford, Winifred Byrne, Russell Doodt. Also Jock Donachy
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen
Happy 80th Birthday to Tony
Ryan.
God bless you Tony on your special
day and may it be filled
with love, laughter, family, friends and
wonderful memories.
APPRECIATION FOR PARISH SUPPORT:
I just wanted to take this opportunity to say a BIG ‘thank
you” for your ongoing generosity and love toward my mother in this critical
time of her life. For the past few months your great support for her has enable
her to go on dialysis three times a week. She is still hanging on and beginning
to improve a little, but not yet walking. My family and I wouldn’t have been
able to do this without your support. My mother and my family are very grateful
and they send their thanks and blessings upon each of you for your help.
We are waiting in joyful hope to see what God’s Divine will
is for her life and to accept whatever with gratefulness to God.
May God Bless and reward you all for your generosity and
grant your homes peace, joy and happiness.
Fr Paschal
Weekly Ramblings
Last weekend I was asked a question about one of the
prayers included in our Prayers of Intercession – what is the Synod on the
Amazon? As I thought about this question I realised that while I had been
reading quite a bit about the lead up to the gathering in Rome of participants
from the countries surrounding the Amazon Basin in South America there were only
a few people in the Parish who were aware of what was happening and so the
prayer was a bit more obtuse than usual.
Pope Francis, concerned for the Church worldwide but
particularly concerned for the people of the Amazon Basin, has convened a Synod
(6-27th Oct) to address issues that face the region. Reading the
preparation documents, it is obvious that many of the same issues have been
raised in the Plenary 2020 process here in Australia. Over the next few weeks I
will add some material to the Online Version of the newsletter (see below)
or you can visit https://www.ncronline.org/feature-series/synod-for-the-amazon/stories
for daily reports.
Next Friday 18th October, as part of our month
of prayer there will be adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 10am until
10pm. Sign-up sheets are in each Mass Centre, please add your name to a time
that might be suitable for you to spend a quiet hour before the Blessed
Sacrament.
For your information.
- Next weekend we will have details about the next stage in
the Plenary 2020 process for our Parish – there will be a number of gatherings
through the end of October and November – times and dates will be in a separate
sheet with the newsletter.
- There will be an Advent Reflection Booklet available for daily devotions as well as an Advent Discussion Group beginning early December.
Take care
on the roads and in your homes,
KNIGHTS OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS – NATIONAL PRAYERS
CRUSADE FOR VOCATIONS:
The Knights of the Southern Cross 13th National
Prayer Crusade for vocations began on 1st September and runs to 23rd November. During this time Catholic organisations and individuals are invited
to join the Knights in praying for an increase in the number of Catholics
willing to serve the Church in the priesthood, diaconate and religious life,
including service as Catholic Chaplains in the Australian Military Services.
The Mersey Leven Branch of the Knights will participate in
this prayer crusade this week. You are invited to join the Knights in this
endeavour, by reciting the following prayer:
Heavenly Father,
You know the faith,
courage and generosity of your people throughout Australia
Including men and
women serving at home and overseas with the Australian Military Services.
Please provide your
people in Australia with sufficient Priests, Deacons and Religious to meet
their needs
And be with them
always as they endeavour to meet the challenges of their daily lives.
We ask this through
Jesus Christ, Your Son. Amen.
NOVEMBER REMEMBRANCE BOOKS:
November is the month we remember
in a special way all those who have died. Should you wish anyone to be
remembered, write the names of those to be prayed for on the outside of an
envelope and place the clearly marked envelope in the collection basket at Mass
or deliver to the Parish Office by Thursday
24th October.
COLUMBAN CALENDARS:
2020 Columban Art Calendars are now available from the
Piety Shop's at OLOL Church and Sacred Heart Church for $10.00. By purchasing a
calendar, you are participating in God's Mission and assisting the Columban
Missionaries in meeting the needs of the poor.
BINGO THURSDAY 17th October
Eyes down 7:30pm. Callers
Rod Clark & Brendan O’Connor
PRAYER FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY MISSIONARY MONTH Heavenly Father,
When your only begotten son Jesus Christ rose from the dead,
he commissioned his followers to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’
And you remind us that through Baptism we are made sharers in the mission of the Church.
Empower us by the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be courageous and zealous in bearing witness to the Gospel, so that the mission entrusted to the Church, which is still very far from completion, may find new and efficacious expressions that bring life and light to the world.
Help us make it possible for all peoples to experience the saving love and mercy of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Amazonia: The Gift and the Challenge
This article was originally 4 articles written for the online Magazine La Croix International. I have combined them even though it is a long article as background to the Synod of the Amazon - Fr Mike
Amazonia
is a major source of the oxygen that drives physical life on the planet. It is
possible that very soon we will be thanking Amazonia for spiritual refuelling
as well.
Amazonia
and Pope Francis have shaken the papacy out of its complacency and provoked a
synod on the theme "Amazonia: new paths for the Church and for an integral
ecology".
Assuming
an unchanged goal, making disciples and new paths will mean identifying
obstacles that slow our progress and finding ways around or through them.
Francis
teaches that the Church is part of the created world and its ways of pursuing
its mission should be shaped by the physical, social and cultural environment
it encounters; the ecology.
He
understands Barry Commoner's First Law of Conservation; Everything is connected
to everything else. He also reads the signs of the times as recommended by
Vatican II or, in more practical terms, likes to base decisions on an
unprejudiced assessment of the situation and opportunities.
The
survey in anticipation of the Synod on the Amazon has been going on for 18
months in ways facilitated by Francis' preference for discernment over
dogmatism and by his environmental encyclical, Laudato si' and the Apostolic
Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium.
The
working document of the Synod, Instrumentum Laboris, issued June 17, is
creative. It makes courageous proposals for Church policy and could have an
enormous impact on the future of the Church worldwide.
It is
not just a response to the shortage of clergy and the Eucharistic famine in the
area. It is a recognition that the worship of the Creator demands care for his
creation and unselfish concern for the physical and spiritual well-being of all
his children.
This
implies a readiness to adapt to realities.
Thus,
the Church is called to stand against rapacious extractive industries and other
external enterprises or repressive governments that are indifferent to the
damage they do to the environment and the poor. (Oscar Romero did not die in
vain!)It is also an extraordinary acknowledgement that the Church's way of
doing things can change and should change if it is to give proper priority to
the two principle mandates it has received from Christ: "Make disciples
(i.e. people who love one another) of all the nations" and "Do this
in commemoration of me."
The Instrumentum
Laboris makes courageous proposals that clearly prioritize the mandates
ahead of many rules, regulations and working traditions that Catholics have
been led to believe are unchangeable.
It
stresses the need, when evangelizing disparate indigenous groups, to adapt to
the situation as it is and graft the faith into the existing culture and social
system.
It
acknowledges that "other groups" have been successful in building
"communities" that somehow belong to the people who belong to them
and "where the faithful can express themselves freely without censorship
or dogmatism or ritual disciplines."
It
humbly and bravely asserts that the Church could learn from some of these
groups, particularly the Pentecostals, and proposes that it should work with
them.
In
contrast with earlier synods where discussion of some relevant and important
issues was forbidden, the Instrumentum Laboris of this synod conveys a
readiness to grapple with any discipline or doctrine that seems to be impeding
the mission.
The
synod proposals do not affect any credal doctrine, but they envision
adaptations of some long-standing traditions to accommodate the variations in
cultures, social conventions, and ways of life.
They
promote a more adaptable way of being missionary than has been customary in the
past. In a church that calls itself "Catholic" this should not cause
alarm. Christ's instructions to his disciples can be followed in any age or
environment; but this demands a readiness to adapt.
The
Council of Trent had the courage to make remarkable changes in its time,
legislating very effectively to meet the situation it faced. Doctrines and
practices were being widely challenged and Europe was awash with priests, many
of whom were very badly educated.
The
Church today faces the same problem but the situation is reversed. We have an
existential scarcity of priests and thousands of highly educated men and women
among the faithful. Unfortunately, the legacy of Trent tends to be treated as
irreformable, if not infallible.
Thus,
rigidity has made an incongruity of Catholicism: a priestly people who are
short of priests!
The Instrumentum
Laboris is not lacking in courage. In addition to the reopening of
discussion of the ordination of married men (which has dominated media
coverage), it rejects the "monocultural, clericalist and colonial
tradition that imposes itself". In §106 it lays down the challenge:"
The new
paths for pastoral ministry in the Amazon require 'relaunching with fidelity
and audacity' the mission of the Church (DAp. 11) in the territory and
deepening the 'process of inculturation' (EG 126) and inter-culturality (cf. LS
63, 143, 146). This demands 'brave' proposals of the Church in the Amazon,
which in turn presupposes courage and passion, as Pope Francis asks of us.
Evangelization in the Amazon is a set of tests for the Church and for
society".
The new
pathways to be explored by the Church in the area could give appropriate
priority to the basic mandates. There are several "brave" proposals
among them:
1. The
Church should not be a visitor but an ongoing presence through local ministers
and a participant in the community and social structure.
2. It is
necessary to promote indigenous vocations among men and women. This will
require respect for the important position of women in indigenous communities
and social structures.
3. Mention
of the ordination of women would have been too brave but a workaround is
proposed: new forms of ministry should be considered, with appropriate
adaptation of selection and training systems.
4. The
tradition of "rotational" authority to be found in many indigenous
societies should be respected and utilised. This may imply several
"celebrants" in a community taking turns. This would resist the
importation/imposition of clericalism.
5. The
permanent link between powers of Church governance in all areas (sacramental,
judicial, administrative) and the sacrament of Holy Order should be
reconsidered. This mildly-presented proposal has explosive potential.
6. We can
learn from other Christians. We should work together, meet with them regularly,
even with their theologians.
There
are, of course, many more suggestions for discussion. Some of the proposed
adaptations would allow members of the faithful to lend their talents to
mission in new and exciting ways.
If they
are approved for the Amazon region and prove successful there, pressure to
adopt and adapt them elsewhere will follow. The last sentence of §106 quoted
above anticipates this.
This
would inevitably impact on the power and status of existing ordained priests
and make it harder for the Curia to exercise its current level of
micro-control.
In
summary, the Instrumentum Laboris recognizes that making disciples
demands greater respect for the ecology than until now, and particularly for
peripheral cultures, and a readiness to adapt traditions to better accomplish
the mandates.
The need
for adaptations will call for clear discernment of what is essential to the
faith and what is venerable only for its age, familiarity or comfort. It is a
moment of great opportunity for the Church. Can the Synod deliver?
In his
encyclicals and sermons, Pope Francis has been facing the inter-related
problems of clericalism, abuse of sex, abuse of power, institutionalized injustice,
cronyism, curia personnel who lack a living relationship with Jesus and become
"bureaucrats", shortage of priests and Eucharistic famine.
These
are all failures to prioritize love of neighbour. He recently felt the need to
proclaim: "There is no place for selfishness in the Church".
This is
a direct echo of St Paul's "self-indulgence is the opposite of the
Spirit" (Gal. 5:17, Jer.) and "living men should live no longer for
themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them," (2 Cor.
5:15).
He has been setting the scene for radical change. This is
reflected in the breadth of proposals set out in the working document of the
Synod, the Instrumentum Laboris.
The
changes necessary to remedy the sacramental famine and adapt mission practice to
the many indigenous cultures in Amazonia will face a hazardous passage through
the Synod.
They will have to overcome the formidable forces of group
self-interest and bureaucratic values that helped to create many of the
problems in the first place.
Whatever
form the changes take, they can only be decided and implemented by the leaders
of the professional priesthood whose prerogatives and privileges will be
directly affected.
It will
require participants to subordinate their own self-interest, and that of their
colleagues, to the missionary needs and opportunities of the times.
The
missionary bishops of the area who have been consulted, have made it clear that
changes are essential. Other missionary bishops may be expected to support
them.
However,
the attitude taken by the curia will be crucial.
The
curia opposed the ordination of married men when it was discussed previously by
the Synod, in 1971. A change then might have prevented the shortage of priests
acknowledged then from reaching crisis proportions now.
The
change had been requested or supported in pre-synodal submissions, by the
Episcopal Conferences in missionary areas and by some in countries where the
Church was not yet desperately short of priests.
It
seemed to command widespread support.
Yet, surprisingly,
it was voted down when the Synod met. Such an outcome was possible because the
proportion of curial cardinals and bishops in attendance is normally enough to
determine the outcome of a Synod vote. The Synodal structure was designed from
the outset to ensure curial control.
While
Synodal decisions are purely advisory, the generalized aura of Roman inerrancy
suffers if the subsequent Papal Exhortation is not seen to reflect the
recommendations.
In 1971,
the curia voices were opposing the ordination of married men, which was likened
during the debate to "the thin end of the wedge" that might lead
God-knows-where.
This
reluctance to deal with a real and immediate problem for fear of possible
unforeseen problems in the future revealed a depressing lack of confidence in
the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The
unwillingness to change could be interpreted at a more worldly level as
bureaucratic inertia or as the profession prioritizing its privileges and
traditions over the Church's two primary mandates.
The
missionary bishops had principle on their side. They had a manifest shortage of
priests and a failure to adequately provide the sacraments. They could quote
the recent Council: "missionary activity is the greatest and holiest task
of the Church" (LG 23).
The
right of Pope Paul VI to govern as he pleased was not being questioned but the
missionary bishops wanted the Synod to assert unequivocally that "by
reason of pastoral needs and the good of the universal church" a pope
could "allow the priestly ordination of married men".
The
curia proposed instead the internally contradictory statement: "Without
denying always the right of the Supreme Pontiff, the priestly ordination of
married men is not permitted, even in particular cases".
As the
discussion progressed, it began to look as if the curial bloc vote might be
insufficient to win the day.
Cardinal
Franjo Seper, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
publicly proposed that the religious superiors (who had supported the change in
respect of diocesan clergy) and the bishops of the Eastern Churches (who were
already accustomed to a married clergy) should be excluded from voting on the
issue.
Paul VI
scotched this attempt at gerrymandering.
It was
then announced that the voting would not be secret. Ballots had to be signed!
This worried missionary bishops who relied heavily on Vatican support, lest it
foreshadowed future repercussions, depending on how they were seen to have
voted.
In the end the curial vote decided the issue. The internally contradictory
statement won by 107 votes to 87. It meant that the sacramental shortfall in
mission areas could be tolerated for another 50 years without disturbing any
curial conscience.
The
decision, however, did not prevent a later approval of the ordination of
married men — when the papacy wanted to facilitate the conversion of entire
Anglican parishes with their pastors.
The
actual recommendations to emerge from the upcoming Pan-Amazonian Synod may
depend once more on the consensus of the curial cardinals and non-diocesan
bishops, who have never presided over sacramental famine nor are ever likely to
do so.
They will have to choose between the new priorities inspired by
Pope Francis or the bureaucratic preoccupation with power and control and resistance
to change.
The
missionary bishops may again be reminded of their need to preserve a working
relationship with the curia going forward.
While
Pope Francis will have the last word, he is a good listener and his
post-Synodal Exhortation will undoubtedly reflect the debate. Whatever changes
emerge, however, will take time to put down strong roots.
In the
meantime, the Curia will continue to be the government of the Roman Catholic
Church, being the legislature, judiciary and administration combined in one and
holding sway over 4,000 dispersed bishops who have been denied the structures
that would have made Collegiality effective.
Unfortunately, self-preservation, resistance to change and the
pursuit of additional power and control are in the DNA of every bureaucracy—the
larger, the more so.
Theoretically,
popes enjoy unlimited power, but they reign for an average of only nine years.
They tend to be overworked, elderly men and there are only 24 hours in a pope's
day, most of them managed by the curia itself.
The
Roman bureaucracy endures. The curia is self-perpetuating and has been so,
under different names, since 380 AD, when the 600-year-old pagan bureaucracy of
the Roman Empire suddenly became a Christian one, by order of Emperor
Theodosius, with the Bishop of Rome taking over the leadership and, before
long, the coveted (but Christologically indefensible) pagan title of Pontifex
Maximus.
The
Christianised bureaucracy was in undisputed charge of religious affairs for a
hundred years as part of the civil administration of the Roman empire which
encompassed much of the then known world.
With the
collapse of the Western empire in 476, it lost that hegemony.
The
Roman ambition to regain total dominance has been a recurring and costly
feature of church history ever since, reaching its zenith with the definition
of papal infallibility and universal jurisdiction at Vatican I.
The bureaucracy endures. In the long run it gets its way.
This
meeting of the Synod has the potential to be a powerful influence on the future
life of the Church.
Its Instrumentum
Laboris reopens questions that have either been overlooked or
shelved in the past and some that were previously banned from discussion.
It draws
attention to the exclusive pairing of ordination with celibacy, administration,
seminary training, life commitment and sacramental ministry that has
constrained missionary activity in a diverse world.
The lack
of authority to ordain women is not mentioned directly, possibly because of its
pseudo-infallible status, but only a specific ban can prevent it from arising
in discussion of several directly related issues. Infallibility is not on the
agenda but its extent and granularity will be the issue underlying all the
issues in any free discussion.
Papal
Infallibility was defined with conditions that have limited its use to one
occasion in 150 years but the very title "infallible" has enabled
popes and curia to govern as if all sorts of things are beyond question.
In
consequence, any admission of error or public disagreement is now considered
hazardous, irrespective of the triviality of the issue.
Generations
of Roman Catholics have been schooled in the idea that current teaching,
structures and discipline are an exact implementation of God's unchanging plan.
They were taught that everything in the catechism was certain. If you
questioned one item, you were a heretic, destined for hell.
Despite
the fact that at least 50 doctrines have changed over time, one still hears the
anxious cry of "doctrine cannot change."
The
intemperate polemics of some conservative Catholic commentators reflect a
genuine and very understandable fear that if one Roman tenet were to fall
apart, it would endanger the rest.
The
exaggeration of the scope and precision of "irreformable" teaching
has been an abuse of infallibility. Its unmasking, whenever it comes, will
undoubtedly be a shock to those who have not seen through it previously.
The Instrumentum
Laboris suggests a readiness to face up to the need to change, or at least
give a lower priority to any positions, traditions, laws and regulations that
obstruct the foundational mandates. It insists on the primacy of the mandates.
The
mandate to make disciples imposes a missionary duty on the Christian community
in general and on every Christian according to his or her capacity and
opportunities.
This
requires available talent to be organized and managed flexibly in response to
the situation encountered, with the primary objective of serving the mandates.
The
second mandate imposes a duty and a right. "Do This in commemoration of
me" was spoken at the Passover meal to Christ's disciples, both male and
female, and not just to the apostles.
This is
confirmed by the celebration of the Lord's Supper by Christian communities long
before bishops or priests appeared and even before elders and overseers had
been appointed (Titus 1:5, Acts 14:22,23).
Only
with the introduction of ordained ministers were the laity excluded from
celebrating. The professionals would have brought style and consistency to the liturgy
and their homilies would have complemented what the people were already
learning from one another in the Christian community.
In time,
however, the communities became dependent on the professionals and
unfortunately, there was nobody to remind them that Christ's instruction was
basic and endured irrespective of clergy availability.
We
believe that the Eucharist is the "source and summit" of spiritual
life and the bond that links individual church communities into one universal
church. Yet, Rome has regulated, and tolerated, the lack of the Eucharist in
missionary dioceses for generations, if not centuries.
Dedicated
missionaries have shared the good news and converted pagans, only to leave them
with inadequate access to the spiritual riches of a sacramental Christianity.
Missionary
bishops, who are theoretically responsible for the provision of the sacraments,
are forbidden from doing anything constructive about this contradiction.
In 1980,
an Augustinian missionary, Father Raymond Hickey, wrote a book that called
attention to the failure to provide Mass for missionary congregations.
He
suggested ordaining the mission catechists who normally teach their communities
and who preside at Sunday prayers. He might have quoted St. John Chrysostom,
who said that administration of the sacraments could be entrusted to the
relatively uneducated but the proclamation of the word had to be restricted to
"wise and educated clergy".
Fr.
Hickey estimated that there were 54,000 trained catechists already educated
enough to teach and lead in Africa alone. His proposal would have brought
regular Sunday Mass to several million Catholics.
Despite
the obvious benefits for its mission "the holiest and most important work
of the Church", the section of the curia responsible for worship and the
sacraments turned a deaf ear. Was this not a dereliction of duty? For the
bureaucracy it was a bridge too far, requiring too many changes without any
immediate gain.
Although
it posed no doctrinal issues, it would have called for derogation of several
established Church traditions, including celibacy, lengthy seminary formation,
studies in Thomist philosophy and theology, uniformity in liturgy and
familiarity with Latin.
The care
of souls in mission congregations did not merit such exceptional treatment. Mirabile
dictu, the papacy could find ways to compromise on exactly the same issues
a few decades later when it wanted to facilitate Anglican congregations and
their ministers who were considering 'crossing the Tiber' but were diffident
about changing their traditions.
If
traditions and regulations, including Canon Law, can be adapted to further the
mission of the Church to Anglicans, why not to indigenous Amazonians?
The
Church recognizes that Christians have a right to the sacraments.
If the
Synod were to carry the logic of the Instrumentum Laboris forward they
could recommend to the pope that any community of Christians that normally
lacks an ordained priest should be encouraged to fulfil Christ's instruction by
celebrating as a group.
They should
not be barred from doing what Christ commanded. They should say or sing the
prayers together in what could be called a Community Mass.
Several
suitable volunteers could be selected to take turns doing bible readings,
giving homilies, distributing Holy Communion, presiding and managing temporal
affairs. Membership of this select group need not be permanent but they could
be called 'elders.'
In this
way the rotational tradition of authority in relevant cultures would be
respected and the introduction of clericalism avoided. Moreover, women and
married people would be given a real ministry without having to resolve the
vexed questions of celibacy and of the limits on the authority of the Church to
ordain.
Would
such a Eucharist be valid? Of course, it would. It is closer to the two
examples of Jesus than the modern Mass.
"Where
two or three are gathered in my name," Jesus is there. His church is there
in microcosm. By the same token, when the micro-church lacks an ordained
minister for the sacrament of the sick, for baptism or reconciliation, it
should do what the church does and trust in Jesus to effect what is symbolized.
The Instrumentum
Laboris, seems to envisage something in this general direction for the
indigenous peoples of Amazonia.
Its
benefits could spread to the whole world. Harnessing the faithful is one way to
circumvent the problem of vocations. It could release new energy and initiate a
new era of mission for the Church.
In
seeking new pathways, the Instrumentum Laboris gives Mission and
Eucharist their rightful priority as the fundamental mandates. By envisaging
discussion on many other questions heretofore deemed untouchable, it recognizes
that they are secondary issues and open to modification to better serve the
mandates.
It proposes
pointers for new paths and poses questions:
1. A Church
that participates in the community and in which the community participates,
even to the point of allowing the faithful to share in juridical, sacramental
and administrative powers currently reserved to the ordained.
2. A Church
that welcomes diversity.
3. A local
church reconfigured to belong in the culture in all its dimensions: ministries,
liturgy, sacramental rites, theology and social services.
4. Ministers
who are not alienated from the culture by status, ethnicity or by extended
formation and training in another culture.
5. Women's
place in ministry and specifically in sacramental pastoral care and authentic
evangelization.
6. Local
churches that work closely with ecumenical partners who are also sharing the good
news.
7. Is
celibacy essential for the sacrament of orders?
8. Is
Tridentine seminary training essential for ordination?
9. Is an
ordained minister essential for the celebration of the Eucharist?
It is
notable that at least six of the above have a bearing on the duties,
responsibilities, privileges and prerogatives of clergy.
This
Synod has probably the last chance to face up to the meaning of empty
seminaries and dwindling congregations, and to plan responsibly for the
fulfilment of the mandates when parish clergy as we know them are gone.
It is
entirely appropriate that arrangements for a ceremony both sacred and social
like the Lord's Supper should be regulated by responsible authority. But,
responsibility for the lighthouse demands careful planning to keep it alight,
even in the worst conditions.
Accepting
that the Mass has taken many forms historically and that there are four or five
approved forms even now, it may be opportune to recommend a worldwide revival
of the communal celebration which served the faithful until the third century
or longer.
Call it
the 'Community Mass' and allow the Eucharistic prayers to be chanted together
by the priestly people, the Mystical Body of Christ which is present whenever
two or three are gathered.
It is
not essential that someone should act 'in persona Christi'. Whenever an
ordained person capable of acting 'in the person of Christ' as specified in
Canon Law is available, then he can celebrate using the standard form of
whichever rite he belongs to.
The
changes in the 1983 Code of Canon Law required to facilitate the Community Mass
are minimal. Canon 900 can be interpreted even now as allowing it, although
this was scarcely the intention of those who drafted it! In the approved
English translation. It currently reads: The only minister who, in the person
of Christ, can bring into being the sacrament of the Eucharist is a validly
ordained priest.
A casual
reading here suggests the Jesus should have whispered "terms and
conditions apply" when he commanded and empowered his followers to
"Do This". In an alternative interpretation, the law as written has
no bearing on non-ministers, or on ministers who are not purporting to act 'in
the person of Christ'.
Nor does
it apply to groups that meet and celebrate without the benefit of any minister,
taking Christ at his word. (They do this discreetly, to avoid provocation). If
the Community Mass were to be approved generally, Canon 900 (and the penalties
in Part II, Section III of the Code) would need clarification.
Canon
907, however, would have to be repealed or amended. It currently reads:
In the
celebration of the Eucharist, deacons and lay persons are not permitted to say
the prayers, especially the eucharistic prayer, nor to perform the actions
which are proper to the priest.
The intention
of this Canon is obviously to emphasize the distinction between the celebrant
and the congregation.
If the
congregation itself is the celebrant, this Canon becomes redundant or
irrelevant. Its repeal would be essential for the revival of the Community
Mass, for which there is ample precedent in the New Testament and the early
church.
Some
participants may recoil in horror at the idea of celebrating Mass without an
ordained minister. In any legal framework, however, if it becomes impossible to
keep both the law and the subordinate regulations, a proper sense of proportion
demands that the law be kept, and the regulation ignored.
If the
Synod is to solve the problems of the Church in Amazonia, and elsewhere, it
will need to think ecologically. It will need the courage to rise above the
'infallibilities' and 'irreformable' traditions that have paralysed papal
response to the same problems up to now.
This
Synod offers a rare opportunity for the Church to re-order its priorities and
give Christ's two mandates the unconditional precedence that they warrant.
Pope
Francis' reminder that "there is no place for selfishness in the
Church" will be well tested if a Synod composed almost exclusively of
ordained professional priests is to give back to the faithful the capacities
and responsibilities implicit in St Paul's description of the "priestly
people".
For
individuals, it will involve giving away some of the status, power and
influence associated with ordination; for the bureaucracy, giving up some of
its treasured power and control. Worship, as we learn from Abraham, is a
readiness to put everything on the altar, holding back nothing.
To
whatever extent this can be achieved, the clergy would be 'emptying themselves'
to use St Paul's expression. It would be powerful witness to believer and
unbeliever alike. It would also strike a blow at the very roots of clericalism.
And the
grace of this Synod could spread far beyond Amazonia, helping to resolve or
side-step several chronic problems: Eucharistic famine wherever it occurs,
cover-up of abuse, cronyism, and the current teaching about ordaining women.
Such new
structures would contribute to Catholic life in other parts of the world, even
in well-developed communities with a democratic culture where, instead of
selling off churches, we could try letting the now well-educated faithful take
responsibility and continue the use of the churches for worship, and as a focal
center for the Christian community and its essential social and charitable
outreach.
Providentially,
we have an example to follow.
The St
William Parish in Louisville, Kentucky has developed this way under lay
leadership since 2002 with notable success as a lively Catholic community, with
only a 'drop-in' priest for Sunday Mass, baptisms and confession.
This has
allowed the faithful to grow in responsibility, ministering to one another
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit without being pushy or encroaching on
anybody's turf.
Their
website reveals a creative and edifying range of outreach and charitable activities.
No doubt, the bishop or one of his coadjutors comes by from time to time to
pray, preach and encourage and to correct mistakes, failings or abuses, as
befits a successor to the apostles.
Providentially,
St William's Parish seems to have mapped out some promising new pathways for
the Synod to consider.
Dr John O'Loughlin Kennedy is
a retired economist and serial social entrepreneur. In 1968, he and his wife,
Kay, founded the international relief and development organization CONCERN
WORLDWIDE which now employs about 3,800 indigenous personnel on development
work in 28 of the world's poorest countries.
Substitutionary Atonement
This article is taken from the Daily Email sent by Fr Richard Rohr OFM from the Center for Action and Contemplation. You can subscribe to receive the email by clicking here
For most of church history, no single consensus prevailed on
what Christians mean when we say, “Jesus died for our sins.” But in recent
centuries, one theory did become mainstream. It is often referred to as the
“penal substitutionary atonement theory,” especially once it was further
developed during the Reformation. [1] Substitutionary atonement is the theory
that Christ, by his own sacrificial choice, was punished in the place of
humans, thus satisfying the “demands of justice” so that God could forgive our
sins.
This theory of atonement ultimately relies on another
commonly accepted notion—the “original sin” of Adam and Eve, which, we were
told, taints all human beings. But much like original sin (a concept not found
in the Bible but developed by Augustine in the fifth century), most Christians
have never been told how recent and regional this explanation is or that it
relies upon a retributive notion of justice. Nor are they told that it was
honest enough to call itself a “theory,” even though some groups take it as
long-standing dogma.
Unfortunately, this theory has held captive our vision of
Jesus, making our view very limited and punitive. The commonly accepted
atonement theory led to some serious misunderstandings of Jesus’ role and
Christ’s eternal purpose, reaffirmed our narrow notion of retributive justice,
and legitimated a notion of “good and necessary violence.” It implied that God
the Father was petty, offended in the way that humans are, and unfree to love and
forgive of God’s own volition. This is a very untrustworthy image of God which
undercuts everything else.
I take up this subject with both excitement and trepidation
because I know that substitutionary atonement is central to many Christians’
faith. But the questions of why Jesus died and what is the meaning and message
of his death have dominated the Christian narrative, often much more than his
life and teaching. As some have said, if this theory is true, all we needed
were the last three days or even three hours of Jesus’ life. In my opinion,
this interpretation has kept us from a deep and truly transformative
understanding of both Jesus and Christ.
Salvation became a one-time transactional affair between
Jesus and his Father, instead of an ongoing transformational lesson for the
human soul and for all of history. I believe that Jesus’ death on the cross is
a revelation of the infinite and participatory love of God, not some bloody
payment required by God’s offended justice to rectify the problem of sin. Such
a story line is way too small and problem-oriented.
[1] This week I will use the phrase “substitutionary
atonement” to indicate the most current version of the theory. Throughout
Christian history, there have been multiple theories of substitutionary
atonement. One of the earliest, the ransom theory, originated with Origen and
the early church. Closely related to this was the Christus Victor theory. The
ransom view of atonement was the dominant theory until the publication of
Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo? (Why Did God Become Human?) at the end of the 11th
century. Anselm’s satisfaction theory of atonement then became dominant until
the Reformed tradition introduced penal substitution in the 16th century. This
new view of substitutionary atonement emphasized punishment over satisfaction
(Jesus’ crucifixion as a substitute for human sin) and paralleled criminal law.
Today, the phrase “substitutionary atonement” is often (correctly or
incorrectly) used to refer to the penal theory of atonement. This week’s meditations
touch the surface of 2,000 years of complex theological process.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ: How a
Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe
(Convergent: 2019), 139-141.
The Arrival of Refugees, Old and New
This article is taken from the archive of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find this article and many others by clicking here
The religious congregation to which I belong, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, has had a long relationship with the indigenous peoples of North America. Admittedly it hasn’t always been without its shortcomings on our side, but it has been a sustained one, constant through more than one hundred and fifty years. I write this out of the archives of that history.
In the mid-1800s, a group of young Oblates left France to work with the native peoples of Oregon and Washington State. Given the means of travel at the time, particularly the challenge of crossing the entire United States, much of it on horseback, it took them almost a year to get from Marseilles to the Oregon coast. Among that group was a young missionary, Charles Pandosy.
In the summer of 1854, Governor Stevens had called for a meeting of Native chiefs to be held at Walla Walla to discuss the tension between the USA government and the Natives. One of the tribes was stubbornly rebelling, the Yakima, a tribe led by their chief, Kamiakin, with whom the Oblates and Fr. Pandosy had been working. At one point, Chief Kamiakin turned to Pandosy for advice.
In a letter written to our Founder in France, Saint Eugene de Mazenod, dated June 5th, 1854, Fr. Pandosy summed up his conversation with the Yakima chief. Not knowing what Europe looked like and not knowing how many people lived there or what forces were driving people to come to North America, the Native Chief had asked Fr. Pandosy how many white men there were and when they would stop coming, naively believing that there couldn’t be that many of them left to come.
In his letter, Fr. Pandosy shares, verbatim, part of his conversation with Kamiakin: “It is as I feared. The whites will take your country as they have taken other countries from the Indians. I came from the land of the white man far to the east where the people are thicker than the grass on the hills. Where there are only a few here now, others will come with each year until your country will be overrun with them … you and your lands will be taken and your people driven from their homes. It has been so with other tribes; it will be so with you. You may fight and delay for a time this invasion, but you cannot avert it. I have lived many summers with you and baptized a great number of your people into the faith. I have learned to love you. I cannot advise you or help you. I wish I could.”
Sound familiar? One doesn’t have to strain any logic to see a parallel to the situation today as millions of refugees are crowding the borders the United States, Canada, and much of Europe, seeking to enter these countries. Like Chief Kamiakin, we who are living in those countries and passionately consider them our “own” are very much in the dark as to how many of people are looking to come here, what pressures are driving them here, and when the seeming endless flow of people will stop. As well, like those indigenous tribes who back then had their lives irrevocably altered by us entering their country we too tend to feel this an unlawful and unfair invasion and are resistant to allowing these people to share our land and our cities with us.
When people initially came to North and South America from Europe they came for various reasons. Some were fleeing religious persecution, some were seeking a way out of poverty and starvation, some were coming to work to send money back to support their families, some were doctors or clergy coming to minister to others, and, yes, some too were criminals bent on crime.
It would seem not much has changed, except the shoe is now on the other foot. We, original invaders, are now the indigenous tribes, solicitous and protective of what we consider as rightfully ours, fearful of the outsiders, mostly naïve as to why they’re coming.
This isn’t just the case in North America, most of Europe is experiencing the exact same pressures, except in their case they’ve had a longer time to forget how their ancestors once came from elsewhere and mostly displaced the indigenous peoples who were already there.
Admittedly, this isn’t easy to resolve, politically or morally: No country can simply open its borders indiscriminately to everyone who wants to enter; and yet, and yet, our scriptures, Jewish and Christian, are unequivocal in affirming that the earth belongs everyone and that all people have the same right to God’s good creation. That moral imperative can seem unfair and impractical; but how do we justify the fact that we displaced others to build our lives here but now find it unfair that others are doing the same thing to us.
Looking at the refugee crisis in the world today one sees that what goes around does eventually come around.
More Than A Career, It's A Calling: We're Hiring
This article is taken from the Blog posted by Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Baltimore. You can find the original blog by clicking here
At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus brings together the eleven remaining loyal apostles and gives them a mission. He says: “All remaining authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” This isn’t a friendly invitation to maintain the status quo. It’s a radical call to make disciples.
At Nativity, we strive to answer that call. We want to be a healthy church of growing disciples, who grow disciples, and help other parishes to do the same elsewhere.
As we have served this mission we have grown, and continue to grow, in many ways. Our staff has grown too, and currently we are in another cycle of growth. We’re hiring! Take a look.
Coordinator of Student Ministries
The role of the Coordinator of Student Ministries will be to encourage, inspire, and equip a team of adult volunteers who serve middle school and high school students as small group leaders, ops ministers, small group coaches, and various other roles. The coordinator, together with the member-ministers aim at creating irresistible environments, consistent opportunities, and authentic relationships that will assist teenagers in the development of their Catholic faith and relationship with God. The coordinator will work together with a full time team that includes the Director and Assistant Director of Student Ministry.
More information here: https://www.churchnativity.com/careers/
‘LIVE’ Online Campus Director
Over the last few months, we’ve been having an extended discussion about our “Online Campus,” (our weekend live-stream on our website). More and more, we’ve become convinced that our online campus will be one of our primary opportunities for evangelization and discipleship.
The role of the Online Campus Director will be to provide leadership for Nativity’s online campus in order to reach more people and engage online participants in the five STEPS of discipleship we promote: Serve, Tithe, Engage, Practice, and Share.
More information here: https://www.churchnativity.com/careers/
Broadcast Director
The role of the Broadcast Director will be to assist in leadership and direction of Nativity’s broadcast feeds, providing creative input to grow and improve our broadcasts to lead people into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Responsibilities will include overseeing IMAG, venue and online campus broadcast feeds to ensure excellence, overseeing Creative Tech ministry including training and development of all volunteer ministers who serve as directors, camera operators and graphics operators, and participating in creative and planning meetings for Mass and special events.
More information here: https://www.churchnativity.com/careers/
Front of House Audio Engineer
Serves as main house engineer at all weekend Masses and special events to create an excellent sound experience for guests. Operation a FOH Allen & Heath dLive console as a primary responsibility with secondary responsibilities working on the Creative Team and the Worship Team as well as band members. This position would also be responsible for the quality of audio mix of our online broadcast. The AE would also have responsibility for recording and editing various post production projects throughout the year.
More information here: https://www.churchnativity.com/careers/
We’re looking for team members who are hungry, humble, and smart. Hungry to learn and grow, humble enough to pursue new ideas and fresh approaches, and, well, just plain smart. Our environment is low key and casual, but we’re after results. Oh, and we have a lot of fun in the process. Think about joining us because we believe the local parish church is the hope of the world. It’s more than a career, it’s a calling.
The Pope & I: Remembering Pope John XXIII
In the time leading up to the the canonisation of Pope John XXIII on 27 April 2014, Elizabeth Paulhus, spoke of the influence that John XXIII has had on the life of her family. Elizabeth Paulhus is the Northern Regional Director for Catholic Charities West Virginia.
This article is taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website where you can find a wide range of articles by clicking here
‘John XXIII loved polenta.’ My mother was in grade school when she heard this. Being of Northern Italian descent, she took great pride in sharing this love with the pope. This phrase was the first to come to mind when I received the request to write something about the Good Pope in honour of his canonisation on 27 April. My initial reaction was one of excitement. After all, my family had treated John XXIII as a saint for as long as I could remember. A papal blessing from John XXIII for my grandparents’ 25th wedding anniversary hangs in my parents’ house. For Christmas a few years ago, I gave my father several vintage Time and Life magazines about John XXIII. When my father speaks of the Good Pope, his nose twitches, which indicates pride. And of course, there was that mutual love of polenta, which endeared this particular pope to our family all the more!
The initial enthusiasm quickly turned to doubt. What could I, a thirtysomething Catholic policy wonk and erstwhile theology student, contribute to the discussions about John XXIII? Historians and biographers have dissected every aspect of his life, from his childhood in a sharecropping family, through his time as a military chaplain and his work in Turkey and Bulgaria, to his decision to convene the Second Vatican Council. Theologians have written extensively about his encyclicals and his ecclesiology. Countless individuals have reflected on the parallels between John XXIII and Francis. What did this leave me?
I had made up my mind that I had nothing to contribute to the conversation and that I would decline the article request. And then I went to Easter Mass in my grandmother’s parish in Massachusetts. You know how 1 Kings says that God was in the gentle whisper or ‘sound of fine silence’? This felt more like the mighty wind or earthquake that preceded that whisper. Not only did my grandmother’s church have a stained glass window of John XXIII, but the priest devoted the majority of his Easter homily to the pope’s life and influence. All that was missing was the giant neon sign saying, ‘Liz, write the article.’
After some consideration, I decided that I would tell how John XXIII influenced my father’s life and, in turn, my own. This story is by nature incomplete, but I thought I would presume to share pieces of it. The snippets from my father come from a conversation that we had on Easter Sunday 2014.
When John XXIII was elected in 1958, my father was an Assumptionist seminarian studying theology in France. He said that when his religious community learned that Cardinal Roncalli had been elected pope, the initial reaction was one shared by many: ‘Who?’ It seemed like the conclave had chosen someone who would be little more than a placeholder for a few years until they could elect a real pope. This impression faded quickly when John XXIII announced in the first few months of his papacy that he would be convening a Council.
As we talked about John’s papacy, I asked my father to recount the moment when he felt that real change had come. By this time, he was a student at the Angelicum in Rome.
It was the second or third day of the Council. Reporters from La Croix [the French daily newspaper published by the Assumptionists] came rushing into our residence hall full of excitement and running to phones. We knew something dramatic had happened. We soon found out that the Curia had prepared what they call schemata, which were outlines for the Council: how the Council would proceed, who would sit on commissions, what they would do, and so forth. The Curia officials who had been charged with preparing the Council proposed the schemata to the general membership, which they assumed would be accepted with little opposition. Instead, a pretty significant number of European cardinals and bishops convinced enough people to reject the proposed schemata. New agendas would be created by commission members chosen by the Council at large. For me, that was the beginning of real hope that this was not going to be just a rubber stamp Council.
These Council members had taken to heart John’s call to bring the Church into the 20th century (aggiornamento). What I find fascinating is that John XXIII did not simply say to his cardinals and bishops, ‘This is how it is going to be.’ My father reminded me that this view of decision-making reflected John’s understanding of Church.
He had a very keen sense of collegiality, a very keen sense of the Church as the people of God. This theme can be seen in his thinking before the Council was called. In Pacem in Terris, he began to talk about the Church as the people of God, the Church as a universal people, the Church as having a mission to the world. Implicitly it suggested a ‘new’ theology of the Church that flowed from the early Church’s understanding that we are the people of God and that we are servants.
Although my father did not have any private audiences with the pope, he was fortunate enough to have seen him several times. He had a chance to witness John’s travels to a meeting with government officials outside of Vatican City, the first time in more than a century that a pope had set foot outside of the Papal States (photograph below).
He also was present when John XXIII received the prestigious Balzan Prize for peace. In addition, as part of his visits to seminaries and schools of theology in Rome, John XXIII came to the Angelicum where my father was studying.
He sat with us seminarians in this small auditorium that seated 200 people at the most. He just sat and chatted jovially with everybody. He was very unpretentious and very open-minded. His experiences [in Bulgaria and Turkey] had given him a broad understanding of the world. They shaped his openness to change.
There was a lot of sadness, obviously, and millions of people came to the Square to pay their respects. The funeral was pretty restricted, because so many bishops had come from all over the world, as well as dignitaries from many nations. One of the boxes near the altar was reserved for journalists, and I managed to find a pass as a Dutch journalist and was able to enter into the basilica and attend the funeral.
When I pushed my father to say how he happened upon a Dutch press pass, his matter-of-fact response made me chuckle. I think this might have been one of those ‘spirit of the law’ moments that he has always been fond of promoting.
The Dutch Assumptionists had a local newspaper, and they were able to get a few invitations. Not all of them could come, so they had some extra passes. So I became a Dutch journalist for the day! I just used my German and pretended it was Dutch.
Even though he died before the completion of the Council, John’s influence was visible in all of its documents, whether on ecumenism, liturgy, the nature of the Church, or the Church in the modern world. But most important for my story was the impact that John XXIII and the Council had on my father.
In terms of my personal life, he had a tremendous influence, because it is largely his emphasis on the role of conscience and personal responsibility and understanding your role as a layperson, understanding your role as a theologian, that led me to realise that my real vocation was teaching.
There were whiffs of change in the air, and I think what we were catching as seminarians, not so much in our formal teaching, but through the atmosphere in Rome, was all this turmoil and upheaval and all these new thoughts that were being tossed around.
I think what the years after the Council did to persons like me who were serving as priests in the community was to show us the flaws in the old system. It led to, in my case, realising very quickly that ethical issues, especially in social ethics, were coming to the fore and had become central in moral debates. It led me to recognise that we needed a different kind of pastoral approach when talking to this generation of radically liberated adolescents. Contact with laypersons also forced me to see how the whole world was shifting so rapidly that we needed to pay attention to the signs of the time.
As you have probably gathered by now, my father eventually decided to follow his conscience and leave the priesthood in order to serve the Church through teaching and through family life. Growing up with a moral theologian father who had lived through the heart of the reform and had been influenced greatly by John XXIII certainly impacted my life. From the time I was small, theological conversations were as commonplace in the Paulhus household as those about baseball or politics. Being open to the world and to change went without saying, and reading the signs of the time was more than simply a phrase. Following one’s conscience was more important than obeying ‘authority,’ which sometimes got me into trouble. My pursuit of theology and then public policy had its roots in theological breakfast conversations with my dad, in growing up in a house where John XXIII was a saint long before his official canonisation. I guess I can thank the Good Pope for my reformist tendencies. Or maybe it was just the polenta…
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