" My
real program of governance is not to do my own will,
not to pursue my own ideas, but to listen, together
with the whole church." Pope Benedict XVI at his
installation
“What
the Church needs today, as always, are not adulators
to extol the status quo, but men
whose humility and obedience are no less than their
passion for truth; men who brave every misunderstanding
and attack as they bear witness; men who, in a word,
love the Church more than ease and the unruffled
course of their personal destiny.” Josef
Ratzinger from "Free Expression and Obedience in the
Church" during his work at Vatican II, 1963, later
quoted at the beginning of Christianity
and the Religions: From Confrontation to Dialogue by
Jacques Dupuis, SJ, (2000).
In
the plethora of media coverage of the new Pope, one
finds a curious but familiar phenomenon. At the dawn
of this new papacy, we hear repeated expressions of
both gloom and relief from all quarters of Catholic
America. Liberals are disappointed. Conservatives are
jubilant. Centrists are taking a wait-and-see approach.
Bottom line – this Pope and concerns over his past
orthodoxy or prospects of his adopting an entirely
new papal persona, are red herrings. The question Catholics
should be asking today is the question all Catholics
should have been asking for at least the last three
years: What kind of Church do we want?
Readers
know from coverage in these pages that parishes and
many state legislatures are noisier with the sound
of Catholics speaking out. During the revelations of
sexual abuse by clergy and a hierarchical cover up,
many saw the ailing Pope as the problem. Others cited
bishops’ autonomy, clericalism, sexism, lack of collegiality – the
list is truly endless. Again, the bottom line: The
reasons for the Church’s failures are not going to
disappear simply by identifying those reasons, so – what
kind of Church do we want?
The
world’s civilized minds are embarrassed by the routine
of silencings and book “bannings” – even certain subjects
are banned from discussion (which has only drawn attention
to the folly of doing so.) All of this advances the
reality of ferment. We ask: How long can the surface
withstand the upheaval beneath? What can we hope for
by way of dialogue if we factor in the recent dismissal
of Tom Reese, editor of America magazine, following
so quickly the “discipline” against Roger Haight?
Surprisingly,
there is some quantifiable hope, if these last three
years tell us anything. While most Catholics would
no doubt welcome any initiatives our new Pope
might take toward calming our rumbling landscape,
there is a refreshing understanding among us that
the Pope
is not the Church. The message is getting out – the
laity, too, are called to speak and to act and to do
so in love and in all places.
Look
around – things
have changed. Our faith has found tens of thousands
of us taking already challenged calendars and creating
a space for the Church we want today and for our children.
This issue of In the Vineyard is only one
snapshot of who we are (voices of many faithful
Catholics), what we are doing (bearing witness),
and where we’re
going (Indianapolis, for starters!)
What
kind of Church do we want? Come to the VOTF Indianapolis
convocation July 8-10. Voice of the Faithful will get
specific about the Church we want, beginning with accountability,
which, like charity, begins at home. Remember Rilke’s
words: “All will come again into its strength … longing
for what belongs to us and serving earth, lest we remain
unused.”
Peggie
L. Thorp
pthorp.ed@votf.org
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