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The Church Moves On Seldom, if ever, has the world seen one of its heroes receive the adulation, reverence and even veneration shown to Pope John Paul II on his death. Journalists estimated that his funeral, or at least part of it, was viewed by over 2 billion people (sic) throughout the world. Not all who came to honor the deceased Pope agreed with everything he said, obviously, but people sensed that he was a truly authentic human being and acknowledged that his authenticity, born of his deep faith in God, demanded the outpouring of respect that he received. His heroic courage, displayed so often throughout his life, witnessed to Jesus’ admonition: “Do not be afraid.” The world sensed that if you want to see what a life without fear looks like, you could find no better example than the life of Pope John Paul II. He was indeed “a Pope for all seasons.” After teaching us how to live he taught us how to die, and the church, gathered in prayer throughout the world, gave John Paul back to God with deep gratitude. A Time To Dream The election of Pope Benedict XVI gives us the chance to dream of what we might like new leadership to look like. I like the dream format for a number of reasons. It allows us to use our imagination and to float ideas that seem unconventional and daring. I like the title given to a book (I cannot recall the author) on ecclesiology, “Re-imagining the Church,”—it has a bounce to it, inviting us to be more creative and optimistic. It responds to John Paul II’s conviction that the times we live in call for “new and bold initiatives.” What are my dreams for the papacy now beginning? I dream of both continuity (for there is so much deserving of imitation) with the policies of previous pontificates, and also some discontinuity (because there is still the unfinished agenda of Vatican II). To keep this within limits, I note three elements of each. Firstly, as our new “Vicar of Peter” (to use the Pope’s more traditional title) Benedict XVI has received the mission to confirm his brothers and sisters in their faith and mission. (Cf. Lk 22:32.) Throughout the 26 years of his papacy John Paul II did that tirelessly. “Open wide the door for Christ” was his appeal from the first time he spoke to us. His deep faith was there for all to see, and we will always need a Pope who is before all else a disciple of Jesus Christ and man of deep faith. Verba sonant, exempla resonant, said the ancients: words make noise, but example thunders. Both church and world need a Pope who is first of all a witness to the Risen Christ, “preaching the word” in season and out. (Cf Tim 4:2). Secondly, Justice and Peace. Like all his predecessors in the previous century, Benedict XVI will surely want to be a staunch promoter of justice and peace. Benedict XV struggled to prevent the outbreak of World War I and when not listened to, he tried to promote reconciliation and a more just world order when that war ended. Before the outbreak of World War II Pius XII repeated, like a mantra, “Nothing is lost by peace; everything can be lost by war.” Pope John XXIII’s Last Will and Testament was an encyclical, Pacem in Terris, devoted entirely to promoting world peace. His successor, Paul VI, went to the UN on the Feast of St. Francis in 1964, as a “Pilgrim of Peace,” telling the delegates that the church had waited centuries for that encounter and pleaded with the fervor of a Prophet: “No more war!. War never again!” On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Paul VI called it “a day of unimaginable butchery,” pleading for an end to the arms race. This plea was constantly repeated by John Paul II, telling all who would listen: “Do nothing in favor of the arms race.” His strenuous objections to both wars in Iraq, calling them “tragic” are still fresh in our memories. Every day we are reminded by news from Iraq how exactly right he was as the killings continue and the seeds of future conflict are nurtured. How important it will be for the new Pope to continue to remind all of the beauty and importance of peace, and especially to remind the super-powers that they also need to be super-wise, lest they do super-damage. It is important that truth be spoken, even if it is not listened to, simply because truth is important in itself. God loves truth. Jesus is our Truth. With regard to Justice issues, especially concern for the world’s poor, every Pope in the last century, beginning with Leo XIII, emphasized their importance. Let Paul VI’s statement in Octogesima adveniens (1971) speak for all of them: after warning that the serious inequalities in the distribution of the world’s wealth constitute a “threat to the very future of the human race,” he made what might seem an exaggerated claim—“because of their urgency, extent and complexity, [social justice issues] must, in the years to come, take first place (sic!) among the concerns of Christians.” First place! Thirdly, Evangelization. The Magna Carta on this topic is surely Paul VI’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, published on December 8, 1975, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the close of Vatican II. This is a masterful text that deserves a re-reading,—and application! Paul VI had rightly discerned in the world an “urgent and even tragic appeal to be evangelized” that is, to hear the “GOOD NEWS” of Jesus Christ. The term “New Evangelization” was first used by the Bishops of Latin America as they met in Medellin in 1968 to apply the teachings of Vatican II to their continent. Subsequently the term was used countless times by John Paul II, explaining that we need evangelization that is “new in its ardor, in its methods, in its expression.” Benedict XVI will surely want to continue this effort, reminding us, in the words of Paul VI, that the whole church is missionary, and indeed “evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the church, her deepest identity. She exists to evangelize.” Three Items on Discontinuity, or Perhaps Better,
Development Collegiality and Decentralization. This was the dream, and teaching, of Vatican II. While recognizing the right of the Pope to act alone, collegiality also means that the church would be served and governed by the Pope together with his brother Bishops: neither Peter without the Eleven nor the Eleven without Peter. Yet the Vatican under the leadership of John Paul II increased its central control of the local churches, sometimes overruling pastoral decisions made by local hierarchies. This happened, for example, to the Bishops of Germany regarding two decisions they had made: abortion counseling clinics, and admission of divorced and remarried Catholics to Eucharist. Similarly, a number of hierarchies learned to their amazement that liturgical translations they had approved were disallowed by the Congregation for Divine Worship. Important decisions were made by the Pope or Holy See without consultation of the episcopal conferences. An example: Ordinatio sacerdotalis, on the inadmissability of women to priestly ordination, a decision John Paul II called “definitive.” While Vatican II put the emphasis on the team, John Paul II put it on the captain. It might be helpful to recall the advice given by a canonized Saint and staunch supporter of the papacy, St. Robert Bellarmine, who wrote to Pope Clement VIII (when the Pope was going to settle a disputed question with the help of only a few close advisers): “You say that the question pertains to the faith, but if that is so it is everybody’s concern ... Therefore it should be discussed in the full light of day, and not secretly, with a mere handful of advisers.” It takes nothing away from the greatness of John Paul II to recognize that he was deeply convinced that the church had to be of one mind, and being a man of great self-confidence, that meant his mind. Yet only God is all-knowing and all-wise, all the time. Freedom for the theological community. One of the reasons Vatican II proved to be such a gift to the church was precisely the climate of freedom that reigned during it. Bishops and theologians felt free to say what they honestly thought. The church today faces serious questions that can be solved only in that climate. I am thinking of such questions as a greater scope for episcopal conferences; the shortage of priests and communities deprived of the Eucharist; the possibility of a married diocesan priesthood; the need to re-examine official teaching on birth control and feminist issues, including the ordination of women; pastoral care of the divorced and remarried; pastoral care of gays and lesbians; inculturation. To pretend that the last word has been spoken on all these is to close one’s eyes to painful realities crying out for more discussion and understanding. In this context I recall an address given by Archbishop (later Cardinal) Pellegrino at Vatican II: “If each one knows that he is permitted to express his opinion with wholesome freedom, he will act with the straightforwardness and sincerity that should shine in the church. Otherwise the abominable plague of dishonesty and hypocrisy can hardly be avoided.” In other words, in the church there can be no such thing as an ALH factor (Acceptable Level of Hypocrisy)! Vatican III. (Or should it be Philadelphia I or Tokyo I, or ........? Fill in the blank.) The experience of Vatican II showed us that an ecumenical council has an enormous potential for doing good. It is hardly possible to imagine that the benefits brought to the church by Vatican II could have happened in any way other than by an ecumenical council. Already 40 years have passed since the close of Vatican II. Unresolved old issues and many new ones have risen since then, serious enough to warrant another council. (Example: Vatican II said nothing about ecology—we were not aware of its importance in the early 60s.) We need a council more often than once every hundred years. This is a time of great hope and new opportunity for the church. Pope Benedict XVI, notwithstanding his reputation as a strict enforcer of a narrow orthodoxy, has indeed shown himself to be open and even progressive on many important issues. I cite only one example: on the primacy of conscience, theologian Joseph Ratzinger wrote: “Over the Pope as the expression of the binding claim of ecclesiastical authority, there still stands one’s own conscience, which must be obeyed before all else, if necessary even against the requirement of ecclesiastical authority. This emphasis on the individual, whose conscience confronts him with a supreme and ultimate tribunal, and one which in the last resort is beyond the claim of external social groups, even of the official church (sic!), also establishes a principle in opposition to increasing totalitarianism.” Let us gladly offer Pope Benedict XVI the homage of our prayerful support, our love, respect, and obedience—even as we hold on to the primacy of conscience, that “supreme and ultimate tribunal” (his words!) Charles Finnegan OFM Fr. Finnegan resides at St. Francis Inn, he formerly labored in Latin America and was the Franciscan Emissary for missions all over the earth. |