This page has been formatted for printing from the
website of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.
The original article
can be found at http://www.bne.catholic.net.au/bishops/statements/statement.php?Item_Id=111
Response to the outcomes of the Synod consultation - Archbishop John Bathersby
Monday, September 16, 2002
MY dear people who have already participated in the 2003 Synod process, and
all my brothers and sisters of the Archdiocese of Brisbane:
At the end of
2001 I endeavoured to communicate a vision of the Christian faith based on sound
theology, and nurtured through daily devotion to Eucharist and Prayer of the
Church. It is a vision that, captured in the documents of the Second Vatican
Council, seeks under the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit to comprehensively
link Christ's proclamation of the Kingdom or Reign of God, with His
establishment of the Church as a sign of the Kingdom, all of which is
spiritually fuelled by the Eucharist, the liturgical distillation of His life
and message.
The Holy Spirit, through the power of the Eucharist, drives
the Church inward towards communion and then outwards in mission towards the
world in a never-ending rhythm that strengthens both. It is a dynamic vision -
capable of attracting the minds and hearts of people today, especially young
people. In Christ's vision all people are invited to become a part of God's plan
according to their talents, no matter how significant or insignificant those
talents may appear. These theological ideas contain the skeleton of a vision for
today that, once enfleshed, is capable of becoming the total vision for which
people are searching.
I articulated this vision in order to present an
alternative to an older vision that served the Church splendidly in times past,
but that needed a clearer engagement with the world after the example of Christ,
if it was to appeal to people searching for religious meaning at the beginning
of this new millennium. I was also convinced that, as the older vision waned,
the Church would also need a new education in the faith based upon the theology
of the Second Vatican Council, and driven by a spirituality of the Eucharist
that linked liturgy and life as Christ did, particularly at the Last Supper. I
was therefore surprised but delighted to discover that the highest priority in
the archdiocesan-wide consultation for our eagerly anticipated Synod was given
to 'education in the faith'.
Although I had expected the consultation to
show a greater emphasis upon mission to the world, I also realised that it would
indicate where the archdiocese was in reality rather than where I wanted it to
be. I also realised it would not see mission as a priority unless mission
belonged to the essence of the faith as understood by the majority of people.
Before that could happen re-education in the faith was an absolute necessity.
Concepts such as Christ 'the prophet of the Kingdom or reign of God', the Church
as 'sign of the Kingdom', the Eucharist as 'spiritual powerhouse of the Church',
and the interconnectedness of communion and mission, are still not widely
grasped in the Church but need to be, if it is to become the dynamic reality
described in the Second Vatican Council documents.
Its basic vision also
needed to be complemented with other significant Catholic truths, such as the
place of Mary in the Church and others, if it was to be the comprehensive
reality that we know, love and understand as the Church.
As it turned
out, the top priority chosen by the consultation seemed to indicate that the
archdiocese was stating emphatically: 'Now is the time to consolidate the gains
made in the council, and for that to happen we need to undertake a comprehensive
re-education in the faith'. I am therefore delighted to endorse this primary
emphasis of our archdiocesan consultation. I truly believe it is an inspiration
of God's Holy Spirit. At the same time I am also happy with the nine other
choices made, namely: building faith communities; engaging and connecting with
young people; celebrating liturgy; deepening spirituality; serving in ministry;
effective communication; Christian mission in daily life; working for justice;
strengthening ecumenical and interfaith collaboration. They too must be given
adequate emphasis in the discussions of the Synod.
In a fragmented world
the Church must be an effective communion if it is to link people with God and
one another in a loving community. Moreover it will not be a true communion
unless it is oriented to mission. The Church must reach out to all baptised
people who have little sense of belonging, as well as to all those who have
never heard the good news of Jesus Christ, or have heard and
forgotten.
Linked closely to these first two priorities is the challenge
of young people. In a world where love and truth are difficult to discover,
young people need all the attention and love that the Church can give, if they
are to discover Christ as a life-giving hero for our times. They intuitively
know that engagement with the world is the way to proceed, although they may not
yet fully understand, that only by walking in the footsteps of Christ will they
find the happiness and fulfilment they so desperately seek, and that only by
walking in the footsteps of Christ will they create the type of world for which
they yearn. Older people in the Church need the faith, energy, optimism and
courage that young people bring to the Church, while young people in turn have
every right to expect from older people the religious wisdom accumulated over a
lifetime.
All the other priorities as indicated in the consultation, I
welcome in their entirety. The list is comprehensive. I am delighted that
mission, social justice, and ecumenism find a place, even if only in the final
category. Their low grading is understandable when one realises that social
justice and ecumenism have been recognised as integral to Christ's vision only
recently. They will undoubtedly become more central to the Church's life in the
future. For the moment they remain on the edges, and that is understandable.
The tension in the Church between its local and universal reality is
indicated by certain other matters named in the consultation that cannot be the
Synod's major focus, otherwise it will grind to an unproductive halt. These
matters thrown up by the consultation indicate the desire of some people to
dream beyond present limits towards ministries and practices that are not
allowed by the universal Church. Such matters as the ordination of women,
married clergy, return of priests who have left active ministry, the greater use
of the Third Rite of Reconciliation, and a number of others, although
understandable in a world where diversity is the rule, for the moment can only
be noted, and if possible communicated to the authorities of the Church through
appropriate channels. This tension between the universal and local Church will
no doubt continue into the future, and for most of us will probably not be
resolved in our lifetime.
Nevertheless the pain associated with some of
the matters raised in the consultation is a sign both of the privilege of
belonging to such a huge community, as well as an indication of the difficulty
which large institutions have in effecting change quickly. The Synod is both an
exercise in discerning the Spirit from below, as well as an opportunity to place
the local Church's collective wisdom in contact with the teaching authority of
the Church so that our Synod reflection may enable us to see God's design more
clearly.
As spiritual leader I am very happy and delighted to note all
that the consultation has produced. At the same time, as spiritual leader, I
will try to indicate the pathway we should pursue within present constraints,
for the benefit of the archdiocese. I believe the consultation has been
enormously successful and I thank all those priests, religious, lay people and
different groups who participated in it, either through discussion, or through
the collation of the results obtained. Based upon this enormous but solid
foundation I believe we can move forward with a great deal of hope into the
future.
May God, and Mary the mother of God, assist our humble efforts
to shape this archdiocese in and through our Synod, so as to better promote the
Reign of God in our midst. Our ultimate aim must always be to try to convey to
all Catholic people, especially young people, the overwhelming excitement of
being a disciple of Christ in and through the cross. Christianity is about
excitement, and I hope that through the Synod we will experience that excitement
ever more deeply. May God bless you all.
Sincerely in
Christ,
Archbishop John Bathersby
|
This page has been formatted for printing from the
website of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.
|