If I Had My Own Church

Anyone who likes Church-crawling, like me, will constantly come up against the power that the owner of the benefice had over the Church he (or she) possessed if she (or he) had a compliant vicar.

This struck me as a step too far, though.

A stained glass picture of a saint, as I thought, worshipping the Precious Blood, turned out to be ...



Sir Galahad!

Wonderful as his part in the Grail legend is, I don't think he should be in a church window!

Priests And Laity: Whose Role Is It Anyway (Part 3 And Final)

The response of the Bishops' Conference to all of this was much as one might have expected: it endorsed all that the Congress had asked for but dressed up in language the Vatican would accept.  The relevant section of the Bishops' response - The Easter People - was called Different Ministries But Shared Responsibility: just how the Congress report back had characterised the relationship!

Here are some extracts:

In the light of what we have been considering about the Church we now wish to add something about the various forms of ministry, or service, in the Church, some ordained and some not ordained, but each in its own way sharing responsibility. In the Congress in Liverpool the maturity, strength and apostolic courage of the lay delegates were clearly to be recognised, together with their desire for a more responsible role in the future. We should like to see the lay members of our Church, men and women, young and old, become steadily more aware of their true dignity as the people of God and of their daily calling as baptised Christians to evangelise the society in which they live and work. Their role brings out an essential dimension of the work of the Church, an extension of Christ's kingdom to wherever they are in God's creation. For they are not simply delegates of the bishops and clergy, they are gospel-inspired lay-people, members of the laos (or people) of God, and in their own right missionaries of Christ to the world.  In many ways the lay contribution to the Congress was its most striking feature. We desire to see its development, not in a spirit of take-over from one ministry or another - any more than was the case in the Congress - but as a proper, fully recognised and responsible extension of the Christian mission of our Sharing Church.

We should like to see our religious, both men and women, as outstanding and up-to-date examples of single-minded fidelity to Christ and his Church in all their apostolates, whether contemplative or active, reminding us all by their lives and dedication of the supreme values of God's kingdom. We have the impression that, so natural and easy was their relationship with the other delegates in the various sectors of the Congress, perhaps inadequate attention was drawn to the role religious men and women are already playing in the post-conciliar Church, where their specialised vocation is gradually becoming more integrated within the life of the local dioceses and parishes and in Catholic lay organisations.

Elsewhere we shall develop the indispensable role of the priest in calling, helping to form and to sustain his lay brothers and sisters in the Church's apostolate to today's society. A recent pamphlet of the National Conference of Priests says: ‘No longer can we be in charge of everything. The priest must be for lay apostles, small groups, communities within his care, the one who gives new life, enabling people to work by themselves' (Set Priests Free to Preach and Pray, n. 12). But we are convinced that it is in their very collaboration with fully active lay men and women that priests will discover the depth of spirituality in their ministry. Priests are not required of necessity to be expert in all the secular concerns which are the primary sphere of the apostolate of the laity. But lay men and women will expect a priest to help them to set the problems which challenge our lives today within the light of the gospel.

If you haven't already given up, the phrase "the role religious men and women are already playing in the post-conciliar Church" might have rung a new bell in all of this.

And so the new role of the new laity was defined in this New Church, and the old role of the old priest was diminished.  This was the starting gun for all of the dreary apparatus we have today, run by a semi-professional Catholic laity who belong to a caste which parallels the Hierarchy: Catholic Brahmins at whose head are the Directors of the big Charities and the Trustees of The Tablet and the rest of the Magic Circle, and in which the poor struggling priest is pestered from all sides as the demands of the inflated bureaucracy of the dioceses are matched by the demands of self-important lesser Brahmins in the parish who demand their right to play what they have defined as their part.
The really depressing part of this has only really dawned on me as I have been writing these pieces.  I have wondered for a while, and have expressed the thought once or twice, that I don't understand why these people have remained in the Catholic Church: aren't there more congenial places for them elsewhere?

The answer is a resounding "No!"  The point of Liverpool 1980 was to give the Church in England and Wales to them.  They believe, because they have been taught that it is true, that their view of the polity of the Church is correct, and that their belief system is the Catholic belief system; that Pope Benedict is a reactionary throwback. 

And they probably wonder why people like me are still in their Church causing trouble: they probably wonder why I didn't go off to join the Lefebvrists.  How many of us have faced the incomprehension of people who cannot understand why any normal person (especially one who regularly attends a normal Sunday Mass in E&W) could possibly want to attend an EF Mass - in fact who view any attempt to have an EF Mass in "their" parish (especially if the Parish Pastoral Council is not consulted) as something personally insulting.

Summorum Pontificum, the reconciliation (DV) of the SSPX: these are big deals on the world stage: but not in England and Wales, where "our way of doing things", which is already ensnaring a second generation, is gradually cutting us off from Rome.

Priests And Laity: Whose Role Is It Anyway (Part 2)

The delegates to the Congress discussed the role of priests, religious and the laity and we are lucky that we have two records: the summary of the input from those who followed the discussion outlined yesterday and the formal report back.  The notes of the local discussions are, shall we say, less nuanced than the formal report.

Priesthood: What is the role of the priest?

There is a significant agreement on how people see the role and task of the priest:

He is to serve God's people, particularly by meeting their spiritual needs through celebrating the Eucharist, leading prayer, praying and counselling.

He is to give leadership: ‘to inspire and animate the laity to fulfil their role in the life of the Church'.

He is to visit, make contact, build living relationships with the people; this is particularly important for families and youngsters.

What a dispiriting vision of the man consecrated to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!  But remember that the people at the Congress are not a representation of Catholics in England and Wales: they are drawn from a narrow, ideologically-focused, group which is in alliance with the more progressive Bishops, led by Hume and Worlock, to implement their vision of Vatican II.  They criticised the quality of preaching, but their suggestions for change start to give the ideological game away:

Weekly parish discussions on the Sunday readings and an openness on the part of priests to accept comment and criticism from parishioners. A distinct feeling exists that priests should give greater encouragement to lay people to use their talents more. Many stress the importance of fostering the right sort of relationships within parishes.

Some see a need for a change of attitude on the part of clergy so that they become more sensitive, open to new ideas and above all willing to listen and to share responsibility with lay people. A few expressed concern that the life style of clergy should not be middle class or remote, but open and challenging.

I was thrown at first by discussion of Permanent Deacons and Nuns:

Some reports state clearly that there is little point in having deacons except where there is acute shortage of priests. Others acknowledge that the number of deacons is likely to increase in the future, but do not find this an exciting prospect.

Some see the role of the deacons positively. They see their main role as pastoral work: ministry to the housebound, the elderly, catechesis and marriage preparation, witness in secular situations. Worker deacons are seen as an alternative to industrial chaplains.

Not many saw a significant liturgical role for deacons, preferring to see a larger role for lay people.

Since Vatican II religious orders have extensively reviewed their way of life and redefined their particular apostolates. A considerable change of outlook has resulted.

They have gradually reinterpreted their role in the life of the Church and many communities have explored new possibilities for their work.

The new potential offered by religious communities is not widely understood in parishes.

The work of sisters in parishes

Where sisters have worked in parish ministry, a much more positive response is often found, urging their involvement in all aspects of parish life.

Many sisters now live in small open communities within the parishes and this seems to be very welcome. They contribute to the life of the parish in many ways, for example:
• Preparing liturgy, especially with children and young people.
• Preparing children for the sacraments.
• Working with the mentally handicapped.
• Marriage preparation and family support groups.

It is felt by a number of people that religious can help the parish to deepen its own sense of community by the witness of their life and involvement. They can also do this by stimulating and leading small groups such as prayer groups, house groups or study groups.

It all feels a bit lukewarm, but of course, the answer is ataring me in the face:

Lay People In The Church

Lay people appear to be more aware than they have ever been of their right and duty to make a full contribution to the life and mission of the Church. The enthusiastic way in which many have participated in the Congress and found it to be valuable is a measure of this awareness.

Many do not see why they should not share responsibility for meeting each other's spiritual needs and act upon this by organising and leading prayer groups, retreats, vigils, pilgrimages, and similar activities.

In this they see themselves as working in close cooperation with their priests whose role of leadership and presiding at the celebration remains central.

And, of course:

THE ROLE OF WOMEN

Opinions vary on this issue. Parish and diocesan reports on the whole show a comparative lack of interest in it; but reports from special groups and organisations submit firm proposals and strong comment.

There is one central theme in the few reports received on the question: that the ministry of women should have ‘full and open discussion'. ‘The Church must find ways to accept and to use to the full the gifts and talents of women; without this, the ministry of the Church is incomplete'.

At present many women feel they are only called upon to do catering and domestic work in the Church. They want to participate fully in decision making in parish life.

Their ability to care for people should be channelled into a pastoral ministry with the elderly, the handicapped, the sick.

They should exercise a ‘rightful role in the worship of the Church' by being allowed to serve at the altar, encouraged to read, to preach, and to act as special ministers of Holy Communion.

Women and the Ministries

Some feminist groups feel that the Church's attitude to women is unjust. They wish to see some form of ordained ministry open to women.

The groups propose the diaconate as an appropriate ministry for which there is scriptural and historical precedent.

With regard to the ordained priesthood, the same minority groups feel that the Church does not have the right to deny women the possibility of a vocation, and feel that potential vocations should at least be tested.

At least it is honest: dioceses and parishes have shown little interest; special interest groups have special interests.  But it is the special interest groups, the groups who want their role to increase and the priest's to decrease who are on the front foot.  Deacons are a potential threat to their vision, because they are lay men (or maybe women?) who have become clericalised; nuns will be accepted if they become declericalised.

Ironically, it was a nun, Sr Imelda Marie O'Hara LSU, who was responsible for the report back.  Just the title gives an idea of how things have developed: "The People of God - Ministry, Vocation, Apostolate".  It begins with a ringing statement that puts the laity in an empowered central position, Baptism having endowed each of us with rights in respect of the Church's ministries:

OUR baptism gives us both the right and the duty to participate in the various ministries of the Church. We recognise the unique role of ordained ministers with regard to sacrament and word, but we believe that all other responsibilities should be shared fully with all the people of God, and shared rather than delegated.

What about priests and deacons?

The priest should be free to pray, to celebrate the sacraments well and to preach. Mindful of the spiritual needs of his parishioners he should foster the development of prayer-groups and house Masses in his parish, both of which enable priest and people to listen and to talk to each other.

We see it as a top priority that every priest should accept regular inservice training and spiritual renewal as a normal part of his priestly life. So highly do we rate this need that it leads most of us to accept that some parishes might even be deprived of Sunday Mass at these times. Where teams of lay people, sisters, deacons and priests could operate more effectively than one priest working alone in a parish, we urge that this be done.

The inestimable value of celibacy was unanimously accepted, but we ask that careful consideration be given to the question whether it be God's will that married men should at this time be called to the priesthood. A more detailed exploration of the possibility of admitting women to the ordained 'ministries was also felt to be necessary. It was urged that particular attention be given to fostering the personal and spiritual maturity of those to be ordained.

In considering the diaconate we felt the need for the Church in England and Wales to be led to a clearer understanding of this ministry and to the way in which it operates in our countries. Lay ministries should not be stifled by establishing the ministry of deacons.

In general the delegates were looking for more positive encouragement and energetic leadership from bishops and from priests.

Nuns come between the Role of the Laity and the Role of Women: the sisters seemed not to have much time for the Sisters; but it is in the report's peroration, entitled Different Ministries But Shared Responsibility that we get what is wanted, the rebalancing between priest and laity.  There is more than this, but this will do:

In the light of what we have been considering about the Church we now wish to add something about the various forms of ministry, or service, in the Church, some ordained and some not ordained, but each in its own way sharing responsibility. In the Congress in Liverpool the maturity, strength and apostolic courage of the lay delegates were clearly to be recognised, together with their desire for a more responsible role in the future. We should like to see the lay members of our Church, men and women, young and old, become steadily more aware of their true dignity as the people of God and of their daily calling as baptised Christians to evangelise the society in which they live and work. Their role brings out an essential dimension of the work of the Church, an extension of Christ's kingdom to wherever they are in God's creation. For they are not simply delegates of the bishops and clergy, they are gospel-inspired lay-people, members of the laos (or people) of God, and in their own right missionaries of Christ to the world. 'The primary and immediate task of lay people is to put to use every Christian and evangelical possibility latent but already present and active in the affairs of the world. The more gospel-inspired lay-people there are engaged in these realities, clearly involved in them, competent to promote them and conscious that they must exercise to the full their Christian powers which are often buried and suffocated, the more these realities will be at the service of the kingdom of God and therefore of salvation in Jesus Christ' (Evangelii nuntiandi, n. 70). In many ways the lay contribution to the Congress was its most striking feature. We desire to see its development, not in a spirit of take-over from one ministry or another - any more than was the case in the Congress - but as a proper, fully recognised and responsible extension of the Christian mission of our Sharing Church.

In the final part, we will see how this was transmuted into the CBCEW's concerted plan for the post-conciliar Church in England and Wales and I will draw some uncomfortable conclusions.

Priests And Laity: Whose Role Is It Anyway?

I published a set of posts a couple of months back about the development of the structures of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, and the way in which so much changed in England and Wales after the National Passtoral Congress held in Liverpool in 1980.  It was reading the comments made by Bishop Fellay about the Examination of Conscience for Priests that made me think just how different are the starting points for what might be called Tabletistas and what might be called Trads (supply your own labels if you want) about what priests are for.

My contention is that Liverpool 1980 was a sort of Year Zero - perhaps better, a Stunde Null - for England and Wales: the occasion for progressives and spirit-of-Vatican-2-ists, careerists and clericalist bagmen, to come together in a sham democracy to redefine one of the more conservative pockets of Catholicsm and impose this new definition on a largely uncomprehending population as something they had asked for.

This was going to be about priests, but, as I mentioned last time, the priests were rather squeezed out between an assertice collective of Bishops in the CBC and a voluble set of lay people who had self selected as representatives of the Catholic Laity and whose self-selection had been ratified by the Bishops.  This means that the role of the priest in the new polity being created and the role of the laity would be made less distinct, particularly at the edges, as what Carlo (you need to remember The Universe's forum at its height) described as the Ladies in Green Cardigans pressed closer to the altar and the priest was pushed towards the chair at the top of the parish committee table.

I went through the process in some detail last time so I won't repeat myself.  There are three parts: the discussion paper which set the direction for thinking before the Congress; the formal report back of those attending the Congress; and the Bishops' subsequent response.

First, then, the discussion paper.  It starts with a vignette of parish life:

The O'Brien family are getting ready for Sunday Mass.

Mr O'Brien shouts loudly upsptairs: For goodness sake get a move on everyone - I'm steward today. Are you one of the ministers for Holy Communion this week, Ann?' 'No, I'm next week', calls down his wife.

Twelve-year-old Alison is carrying her guitar: it is the week of the Folk Mass. Next week it will be the Sung English Mass. In the hall they pause for a moment. 'Oh, Simon, do rub your shoes with a tissue - they won't look too good on the altar'. Six-year-old Jane is humming to herself. 'What do you think we will make today?' she asks. This is because during the Liturgy of the Word, the children go out into the hall to read their own bible, sing, draw a picture of the Gospel story and make up their own bidding prayers; they come back into the church with the offertory procession.

At church, Mr O'Brien joins another man and a woman who are stewards with him. Their job is to welcome newcomers, give out newsletters and hymn books, and show people to seats. They also check that the readers, the servers and the girls who prepare the altar have arrived. If they haven't, they find others. They also find four people to take up the collection: different people do this each week. The young instrumentalists practise under their leader (aged 16), and mothers hurry in and out of the hall where the under 5's are already settled before Mass starts. There is the cheerful buzz of a large number of people getting ready. Someone walks up to the lectern to set down the sheet with the bidding prayers - this week they have been written by the house group that meets in Oak Tree Drive; last week it was the turn of the choir.

Just on time, Father arrives from the other Mass centre in the parish. Everyone takes part in the Mass: prayer, music, silence, Communion under both kinds; a few notices are read; there is coffee after Mass. The Newsletter announces a disco in the hall for teenagers; a youth discussion at Father's house on Friday; a group for mothers and under 5's; a retired people's coffee morning; a meeting of the local council of churches; a prayer group in the quiet room; the starting up of a justice and Peace group; two house groups meet this week and the Parish Council next week; the UCM are organising Bingo at the Old Folks' home; and the parish learns it raised £1 per head for the Cafod project over Christmas.

After Mass, people stay on to chat. `Are you coming to the ramble this afternoon?' someone shouts. Father is talking to some newcomers, while the parish finance and maintenance committee wait to have a quick word with him - the two of them casting a critical eye on the roof ... in this parish the laity have taken on responsibility for financial affairs.

This may not be the picture in every parish, but it is a picture of an actual parish - a parish of shared ministry: men and women, the old, the young, the practical, the intellectual - giving service, caring and sharing. St Paul talks of many ministries in the body of Christ; Vatican II talks of partnership between all in the mission of the Church.

Note that the writer says that this is the picture of an "actual parish" not a real one: there were no parishes like this in England and Wales in 1978 when this piece first began to be put together apart from those run by the two or three priests who were nationally notorious for doing exactly this sort of thing.  To take just one example: the idea of "stewards" would have been bafflingly unthinkable in any normal parish. 

(Interestingly, the one potentially good idea in all of this - that of training "girls" to be sacristans - would disappear, probably so that they could become altar-girls instead, to prepare them for becoming priests subsequently.)

As if this word picture wasn't enough, the points for discussion tell us exactly the direction in which we are travelling.

Being the Church
• How do people think of the Church:
(a) some think of it as the building where they go to Mass.
(b) some see it as an organisation that exists for the benefit people who belong to it, to the exclusion of others.
(c) some see it as a family, whose members love and care other, spreading their love to other people.
(d) in the Gospel, Jesus talks of the seed which grows into a mighty tree; of a vine with many spreading branches.

• Do you think these ideas help us to understand the Church?

• What would you say to describe the Church to someone? How would you explain what it means to belong to the Church?

Worship in the Parish
• How do you as a parish pray together at Mass:
(a) what part do people take in the Mass?
(b) what responsibility do lay people have for the preparation of worship at Sunday Mass?
How do you feel about this?
What do you think of the Sunday Mass described in the story?
In your parish, are there any particular groups who do not feel their needs for worship are met: e.g., young children; the old; the handicapped; teenagers; those disturbed by change.

• Do other celebrations involve the whole parish: e.g., baptisms; marriages; funerals; Sunday evening service - how are these prepared for? How could their celebration be improved?

• Some people say: 'I find it easier to pray to God in my heart. When I go to Church I am put off by the other people there.' What are your feelings about this?
People in the Parish Community
• What do you think of the work of lay people and religious in the parish?
The people in the story achieve community by planning and working together.
How does your parish compare?
Do lay men and women share in decision making in your parish?
Should they playy a greater part in this?
How could this be organised?
How do young people fit into the parish?
What about other special groups?
Do women have a special part to play?

• Pope John Paul II says that the supreme task of the priest is the spiritual formation of people.
What do you think the real work of the priest in the parish should be?
What prevents him from fulfilling his main task as priest?
How can he be helped?

• How can the bishop help the parish community to live up to its mission?
The Parish in the Community around it
• The parish has a responsibility to the people in the area who don't go to any church. How would you describe this responsibility? What could be done to be more effective? What do you see as the obstacles and difficulties? How might these be overcome?

• How does your parish work with the other parishes and the diocese?

• What are your relations with other Christian bodies in the neighbourhood?
Have you any suggestions as to how you can work better together?

• What can we all do to make ourselves and other Christians more alive? What kind of changes do we need in our structures so that all of us can work together to make Christian people more nearly like Christ: so that we can become:
a praying community;
a teaching community;
an apostolic community;
a witnessing community;
a serving community.

Note well what is being said here about the role of the priest, and how lay people in the discussion groups are to treat the words of the Pope.  "Pope John Paul II says that the supreme task of the priest is the spiritual formation of people.  What do you think the real work of the priest in the parish should be?  What prevents him from fulfilling his main task as priest?  How can he be helped?"

This is, to me, scandalous.  A clever linguistic trick that can be explained away by telling a Vatican monsignore that his English isn't up to understanding our language like a native speaker contrasts what the Pope says the supreme task of the priest is and what the discussing laity think the real work of the priest in the parish should be.  Look out for Catholic words as well, or, rather, mark their absence: "sacrifice", "penitential", "mystery", "alter Christus".  The author has drunk deep at the well of NewChurch and is determined to bring us all with him.

But this isn't all, and this might anyway have been a stalking horse.  What the discussion groups are being asked to work out is not the nature of lay participation in parish life, but its extent; not whether they should run the parish, but how they should run the parish.  This is the point at which the polity of the Church in England and Wales is being changed in a dramatic demonstration of the Hermeneutic of Rupture: the reaction to this scandalous document will become the way the Bishops describe the NewChurch they are creating.

But you'll have to wait for Part 2.