2. LEAVING SAFE HARBOURS - A THEOLOGY FOR OUR TIMES
Any renewal within the Church must be informed by fidelity to the Word of God, understood with the blessing of two thousands years of wise, holy, women and men. That is, we need a theological basis to carry us forward. I have been greatly encouraged that in the work of Leaving Safe Harbours the theology group began to spell out a vision rooted in all that God has done and is doing for us in his Son by the working of the Holy Spirit, to shape the future of the Diocese. In the near future, through a series of structured meetings, you will all have the opportunity to reflect on this rich, challenging and encouraging understanding of God's ways. But at this point I want to provide you with a brief overview.
Fragmentation and Contemporary Experience
At the beginning of the twenty first century, one of the dominant experiences is fragmentation. We see this fragmentation most immediately in the political, religious and economic divisions that run through the international community. However, the inroads of a culture of individualism and the pressures of life and work in a consumerist setting mean that at all levels of society, right into the heart of family life, people live disjointed and increasingly isolated lives. Many of us frequently experience within ourselves a lack of focus and integration of the various strands of life. Like the tormented man Our Lord once met: our name is Legion - we are torn and our life does not feel whole and at peace. There is a profound sense that life is lived in unconnected parcels, a sense that there is no strong centre to my life where I am at peace with myself and around which I can establish a way of living that is healthy and wholesome.
The Church as a Sacrament of Unity
In the days of the Cold War, when the East and West faced each other with the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction by nuclear weapons, Pope John XXIII's Council taught: the Church, at every level, must be a sacrament of unity for the whole human family. She is called to be an effective sign in the midst of society of what it means to live as members of the Body of Christ and to be the primary means by which that communion is realised. This invites us examine carefully the quality of our community life so that we can then sincerely look outwards with the mission to be a model of reconciliation and peace.
In the future our Catholic communities should become more obviously and effectively places where scattered humanity is drawn into unity in the person of Christ, through the activity of the Holy Spirit. In practical terms this implies, both deep and inspiring liturgy, but also the creation of other forms of engaging with the Word of God and life's joys and sorrows, hopes and fears. One example is small groups gathered for a variety of pastoral purposes, to share, pray, but always under the Word of God. We need to be enriched by thoughtful engagement with the Word of God outside of the Mass. In the new situation I hope for a flowering of all sorts of other spiritual activities designed to help believers and seekers alike grow in love and faith.
Our Common Calling
There is general agreement that, in spite of our aspirations to share our fidelity to our Lord with others, our Catholic parishes easily tend towards becoming inward looking. This is often described as maintenance rather than mission; we maintain what is focussed within the Church family, but forget the task of establishing God's kingdom of justice, love and peace.
Pope John Paul II described what is needed in these words: “The eyes of faith behold a wonderful scene: that of a countless number of lay people, both women and men, busy at work in their daily life and activity, oftentimes far from view and quite unacclaimed by the world, unknown to the world's great personages but nonetheless looked upon in love by the Father, untiring labourers who work in the Lord's vineyard. Confident and steadfast through the power of God's grace, these are the humble yet great builders of the Kingdom of God in history. “ (Chapter 17 of Pope John Paul II on the Mission of the Lay Faithful)
In ordinary lives of ordinary people Christ is made present. Like Christ, every baptised Christian is to proclaim the Good News, to worship God and to serve people. Because all are called to worship God we rightly speak of the priesthood of all the baptised; because the Holy Spirit is sent to us that the face of the earth may be renewed we have, all of us, a mission to the world. In the light of this what is the role of the ordained minister? Listen to what the catechism has to say: "While the common priesthood of the faithful is exercised by the unfolding of baptismal grace - a life of faith, hope, charity, a life according to the Spirit, the ministerial priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood. It is directed at the unfolding of the baptismal graces. The ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church. For this reason it is transmitted through the sacrament of Holy Orders.” (1547)
The Priestly Vocation
Priests can fear that pastoral areas we are establishing will just multiply demands made on them. Yet the catechism article suggests a new way of thinking. The bishops with the priests, as one body, and the deacons, are to be seen primarily as those who sustain and release the gifts of each and everyone. Priests are called to encourage, to enable, to discern and guide. This does not means that priests around the Bishop cease to share in the mission of our one Good Shepherd and merely manage and co-ordinate the pastoral activity of the laity. That is not the gift of the Holy Spirit bestowed during ordination. We must be ministers of the table of the Lord's word and the Lord's body, to sustain the church as the body of Christ~ and that means they must be ministers of unity, because there is one Lord, one baptism, one Body, one Spirit, one Church. As ONE all go out together to serve the Kingdom. My role as your Bishop is to serve this call to unity. The image of Church as sacrament of Unity has to be made visible by truly being one diocese. At its heart I must accept my vocation always to proclaim, build up and facilitate unity. I must be transparent to the one Lord, the one Good Shepherd, the icon and visible presence of Christ as the one Head. The pallium I wear as Archbishop reminds me to keep us all in communion with the successor of Saint Peter and so with the universal Church.
I am named at each Mass not because I am good and holy, which I am called to be, nor because I need prayer, which I do. It is because no Mass is the Mass of this community in isolation: we are always, many parishes, but by receiving the One Body and One Cup, one diocese, one with the whole Church. Especially out of love for our divided world I must build up a positive sense of diocese, with many gifts, but one in Christ. This will be expressed in many ways but there will be a special link between myself and those priests I have invited to become Pastoral Area Leaders. This communion with one another shall also be the clear purpose when Bishop Williams and I visit the pastoral areas and seek to form a deeper sense of the diocesan family. We must recognise and confirm what is happening in each place, but always keep every enterprise, every initiative one with every other sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit: one body, many members: all needed by each other and all in need of each other.
A People at the Crossroads
The proposed move to larger local structures places each Catholic community at a crossroads. The changes envisaged must be a springboard to redress the natural tendency to echo the fragmentation of broader society. The call for each one of us, Bishops, priests and people, is to have a sense of collective ownership and responsibility for the development of the Church and her mission to the wider society.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:
Where do you see signs of fragmentation?
How could our local Catholic communities become more attractive and welcoming places?
Where is Christ made present in our lives?