"Christian hope, fulfilled in Jesus and realised in his kingdom, needs us and our commitment, needs our faith expressed in works of charity, needs Christians who do not look the other way," the pope said on Nov 17, celebrating Mass for the World Day of the Poor in St Peter's Basilica.

"We are the ones that must make his grace shine forth through lives steeped in compassion and charity that become signs of the Lord's presence, always close to the suffering of the poor in order to heal their wounds and transform their fate," he said.

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After his visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore last month, Francis was heard to remark that "some people are still too Eurocentric" when they think of the Catholic Church.

He said that his visit showed that in fact "the Church is much bigger — much bigger than Rome or Europe — and, let me say, much more alive in those countries [he recently visited]."

There's a reason for the pope's comment. Christianity was born in Palestine, West Asia, and grew up along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean (Greece, Egypt and Turkiye). Still, no one thinks of it this way anymore, so thoroughly has it been Europeanised, especially after the Reformation.

Is the Western Church doomed?

The popular image of Christianity is that of a Western religion, with Western feasts and customs, largely European saints and practices, ruled over by a pope who sits in a Western city.

But the Christian faith which grew up in Europe, has also died there.

Perhaps that was the inevitable result of popes who behaved like Caesars, and so provoked schisms, reformations, and rampant persecution from atheistic ideologies like fascism and communism.

Europe is certainly a richer place than most of the rest of the world, but it has an inner turbulence of spirit which is unsettling to many immigrants.

The fact is that the Christian faith, as the pope sagely observed, "…is much more alive in those countries," where it is persecuted, and where it is a minority.

How to make sense of this conundrum?

One way may be to understand that we are all living in an age of seismic shifts, not only ecological but also technological and demographic.

Put in simpler words, not only have we to live with tsunamis, acid rain, and global warming, but we also live in a digital universe that has shrunk space and time to the dimensions of a hand-held smartphone, even while we struggle with migration and identity politics in our backyards.

What does this do to a religion born in a completely different time and place? How does it address the anxieties of 21st-century men and women?

What synodality gives us

Pope Francis has given one answer: synodality.

It is not a static answer, for it describes a church in movement, "in pilgrimage to its destination." Even more, today's Church is not like a flock of sheep, awkwardly stumbling along, always guarded against falling out of line by sheepdogs. It is not blindly obedient, but always questioning, sometimes in dissent, usually in dialogue — "the new way of being church" (Paul VI).

And as Francis says, unlike collegiality which was mainly for the bishops and the ruling elite, synodality is for everyone: pope, cardinals, bishops, priests, sisters, married men and women, the young, the old and the middle-aged, the smart ones and the unlettered, the rich and the poor and the middle-class, which forms the bulk of our congregations.

Not everyone wants synodality, and Pope Francis has many enemies who want him out of the way so that we can all go back to the "smoke and incense" of a Eurocentric Church, which dominated the little congregations on the periphery with stuffy dogma and rigid morals.

Is this the reason why the same Pope Francis dug in his heels and refused to concede even debating points to the women scholars of Louvain/Leuven, Belgium, who contested him regarding women's ordination? Is this a topic really worth discussing in this day and age? Then why such resistance from Rome?

For what synodality has revealed is that there is no "one size fits all" whether in the Roman Catholic Church or any other religion. This "one size" was usually meant to suit the local hegemon, and was adjusted to his pleasure, not that of the majority.

Synodality tells us that in listening patiently to what the "other" has to say we can find a way to the truth — be these "others" women, young people, the sick and disabled, tribals and Dalits, even people of other faiths.

For example, how comfortable would we be — not with a papacy, but — with a patriarchate, where faith and morals would be not standardised across every area and place, but relative and particular to various regions, allowing for differences?

This would introduce variations into styles of worship, and even change the form and nature of those who minister, instead of having just one male celibate presbyterium.

It's a new "catholic" — the term originally meant "universal" — Church and can hold unity and diversity in strategic balance. Can synodality hold the key to this relationship, as baptismal conversion once was?

It's an urgent question for today.

• First published in UCA News
• Jesuit Father Myron J. Pereira, based in Mumbai, has spent more than five decades as an academic, journalist, editor and writer of fiction. He contributes regularly to UCA News on religious and socio-cultural topics.
• *The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.

My research explores, in the inner lives of Pacific women, how their relationship with God can affect their wellbeing, and how their image of God relates to their relationship with their parents.

How we name, visualise and describe God is most often directly correlated to our relationships with attachment figures such as a caregiver or parent.

The way we talk about God and how we perceive God is also influenced by our upbringing, religious involvement and commitment, religious artwork in churches, museums and on social media.

Pacific peoples see religion and spirituality as important for wellbeing, alongside relationships with the physical environment, family, and culture.

Yet there is much we don't know about religious belief in the Pacific.

The disciplines of Christian theology, indigenous studies, psychology, and sociology are yet to adequately investigate specific religious practices, their theological basis, and how this affects mental wellbeing for Pacific peoples.

For my doctoral studies in theology I had the chance to speak with, and learn from, 64 young Pacific women in Tamaki Makaurau about how their images of God and cultural identity affected their mental wellbeing.

I met young mama who were working and studying at the same time, women who were deeply immersed in their language and cultural reclamation journey.

I met women who had been clinically diagnosed with a mental illness, women who were angry at the church, yet also those who wholeheartedly were serving in the church.

I met women who, when faced with a physical illness equally sought traditional Pacific healing methods, Western medicine, and prayer.

In our talanoa (free discussion), we laughed, cried, untangled our family and village connections, and talked about how church communities in Aotearoa might better engage with Pacific congregations to talk about and support mental wellbeing.

What struck me is how much Pacific women carry - emotionally, socially and psychologically. They need to navigate how to express their cultural identity in a Western, secular context.

If they aren't fluent in their native tongue they could be mocked by their wider extended family, unable to understand conversations and so feel inadequate.

They must also fulfil their families' expectations of what it means to be a Pasifika woman, whereas their male family members may have more social freedom. They may be responsible for caring for family members, as well as having to study and work.

And they feel obliged to succeed because that's what our older generations moved to Aotearoa for - educational opportunity, more employment options and a different future.

These young women were also grappling with what their Christian faith meant to them in light of being able to learn more about our cultures before colonisation and the harm churches caused in their compliance with racist colonial regimes.

• Dr Therese Lautua is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Department of Theological and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Auckland.
• First published in Newsroom

It shouldn't surprise, given the 2021 census results concerning religion, those critical of Christianity and the Catholic Church have used the fall in numbers to suggest religion is moribund and no longer relevant to Australian society.

With newspaper headlines like "Abandoning God: Christianity plummets as ‘non-religious' surges in census" (Sydney Morning Herald), "Losing our religion as Christianity plummets" (The Age) and comments like "Australia's rapidly changing population is more godless (the Guardian) it would be easy to conclude religion is in its death throes.

In the same way the report of Mark Twain's death was premature (Twain replied "the report of my death was an exaggeration) it's also true that religion, Christianity and Catholicism, are still powerful and significant forces in Australian society.

While the numbers identifying as Christian have fallen significantly over time and now sits at 44 per cent, the reality is 60 per cent of older Australians still identify as Christian and it should not surprise, given the concerted public campaign telling Australians not to tick the religious box, numbers have fallen.

Leading up to and during the week of the census, groups like Humanists Australia and staunch Christian and anti-Pell critics including Tim Minchin, on television, radio and social networking sites, told young people, in particular, to tick no religion.

What critics ignore, as detailed in the recently released Christianity Matters In These Troubled Times, is Christianity underpins and nourishes Australia's political and legal systems, our way of life and much of Western civilisation's art, music, language and literature.

Concepts like the right to liberty and a commitment to social justice and the common good, as detailed in Larry Siedentop's Inventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism, are derived from the New Testament and Jesus' admonition to "love thy neighbour as thyself".

As the Bible states "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus". To listen to Rachmaninov's Vespers, to admire the stained-glass windows of Chartres Cathedral or to contemplate Michelangelo's Pieta is to sense the divine and to soar with the angels.

Christian virtues and religion's ability to engender a sense of the spiritual and transcendent are vital for human flourishing. Also ignored by secular critics is without Christianity Australia's education, health, welfare, aged care, social welfare and charitable services would collapse.

Christian schools educate approximately 34 per cent of Australian students, charities like the Salvation Army and Vinnies serve countless thousands of the nation's most disadvantaged and Christian aged care and hospitals are an essential part of Australia's social fabric.

In emphasising what the census tells us about religious beliefs secular critics ignore what the 2021 snapshot tells us about Australian society more broadly.

Of particular concern is out of a population of just over 25.5 million there are 8 million Australians described as having a long-term health condition.

Top of the list, ahead of asthma and arthritis, is mental health where just over 2.2 million Australians describe themselves as suffering some form of anxiety and depression.

While Covid-19 may have contributed, to have so many, especially young people, at risk is an indictment of a society where so many lack resilience and the ability to find a more lasting and enriching sense of solace, strength and comfort.

While Christianity is not always a panacea to experiencing loss, fear and anxiety, as suggested by the Christian mystic St Teresa of Avila: "Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices".

Also of concern is the fact the number of single-parent families in Australia has reached one million with 75 per cent of single parents being women.

Common sense suggests, supported by research, two-parent families are one the foundation stones of a stable and flourishing society and the best place for children to be raised.

There's no doubt those professing to be Christian, since the time Jesus worked on this earth, have committed grievous and unforgivable sins, ranging from the corruption of medieval and Renaissance popes, pogroms against the Jews to paedophilia.

At the same time, there is much to acknowledge and praise about Christianity and to celebrate and defend.

The author of The Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, when explaining the millions killed and starved under communism and fascism argues the reason is "Men have forgotten God. The failings of human consciousness, deprived of its divine dimension, have been a determining factor in all the major crimes of this century".

While the numbers have diminished, religion is still a vital element in Australian society and the lives of the faithful and with God's grace, it will continue.

• Dr Kevin Donnelly is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Catholic University and the author of The Culture of Freedom.
• First published in The Catholic Weekly. Republished with permission.

Pell spoke to an online silent retreat hosted by the Australian Catholic Students' Association about suffering and the tools one can use to remain steadfast in faith through hard times.

Pell says his 13 months in prison were "difficult and unpleasant," but not the worst possible form of suffering. In fact, his imprisonment reinforced in him the truth of Christian view of redemptive suffering.

"I'm still teaching the same Christian message and I'm here simply to say that it works. Not in the sense that I was acquitted, but that this Christian teaching helped me to survive."

Two years ago Pell was convicted of multiple counts of sexual abuse.

On April 7 this year Australia's High Court overturned his six-year prison sentence. It ruled Pell should not have been found guilty of the charge and that the prosecution had not proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Before the silent retreat started, Pell offered five suggestions for people experiencing emotional hardship, including grief, loss, and personal suffering.

He suggested exercise, avoiding large amounts of alcohol, eating well and regularly, sleeping a certain number of hours a night and waking up at the same time each day.

Following these points and ensuring regular exercise helped him when he was in prison, Pell told the students. He explained the special importance for young people to take this advice sooner rather than later.

By creating these "good habits of mind and habits of practice," a person will be led in the right direction during inevitable, intense times of suffering, he said.

"Whereas, if you've been sloppy and ill-disciplined and selfish all your life, it makes it so much harder to rise to the challenge," he said.

This Easter Pell shared information about of his incarceration and how his Christian faith helped him bear it.

"I have just spent 13 months in jail for a crime I didn't commit, one disappointment after another. I knew God was with me, but I didn't know what He was up to, although I realised He has left all of us free."

"But with every blow it was a consolation to know I could offer it to God for some good purpose like turning the mass of suffering into spiritual energy."

"The only Son of God did not have an easy run and suffered more than his share. Jesus redeemed us and we can redeem our suffering by joining it to His and offering it to God."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: America Magazine

But the United States also have comparatively high levels of committed Christians.

The study analysed 84 countries with sizeable Christian populations.

In 35 of those countries, at least two-thirds of all Christians say religion is very important in their lives.

All but three of these 35 countries are in sub-Saharan Africa or Latin America. (The three exceptions are the US, Malaysia and the Philippines.)

New Zealand was not included in the study but, in Australia, 27% of Christians said that religion was very important in their lives.

The United States remains an outlier among wealthy countries in terms of its relatively high levels of religious commitment.

In the US, more than two-thirds of Christians say religion is very important in their lives, compared with significantly lower levels in other rich democracies. For instance, only 12% of Christian adults in Germany and 11% in the United Kingdom say religion is very important in their lives.

Levels of religious salience are particularly high in sub-Saharan Africa: over 75% in every country surveyed in the region say religion is very important to them.

At the other end of the spectrum, levels of religious importance are lowest among Christians in Europe, where deaths outnumber births among Christians.

Prayer frequency is lowest among Christians in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and Malaysia, where fewer than 10% of Christians pray daily.

Likewise, fewer than 10% of Christians report attending church weekly in nine European countries including Denmark, Estonia and Russia.

Source

• pewresearch.org
• Image: newsweek.com

As recently as last year she wasn't considered good enough to go to the Commonwealth Games.

A nice player, and person, questions existed about whether the theology student was robust enough for international netball.

Rasmussen says her rule book is The Bible and the "coach" she wishes to please the most is God.

The Auckland sports star, who went to the Netball World Cup in Sydney with the Silver Ferns, recites her favourite passage from Colossians when describing what inspires her passion on the court. "‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,'" she quotes.

"My relationship with God has helped with my priorities. Before, I used to play to impress the selectors.

Rasmussen credits her increased focus on religion as a major cause for the way she has been able to relax on the court and let her skills do the talking.

"It's changed my mindset," she said.

"Now I realise playing netball is a gift from God. So I give glory to him and use the talent he has blessed me with."

For the last two years, Grace (27) has been juggling her hectic sports commitments with studying at Auckland's Laidlaw College, a bible school.

"People ask me if I want to be a pastor, but that's not the reason I'm studying. I'm from a family of eight, and my father Sam and mother Ruta would go to our Pacific Island church every week. I'm attending bible college to strengthen my connection to God."

Grace admits that people who are not Christian can sometimes judge those who have a strong faith.

But that doesn't faze her at all. "There's a misconception that Christians are boring."

"For me, it's the total opposite - it's exciting. I think I live a pretty normal life, while trying not to compromise any of my beliefs."

Source

• nzwomansweekly.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

Connelly's conclusion is poignant and tragic. How many kings and prophets, Christ remarks to His disciples, have longed to see and hear the truth as you have seen and heard it, without ever doing so. And how many wise men and philosophers of the ancient world struggled heroically, and with equal poignancy, through no fault of the virtue and of the intellect that were in them but rather by temporal accident of birth, to make sense of a world without possessing the Key which alone could allow them to do so.

One is struck, reading Clive Fisher's excellent biography of Connelly, by the pagan character of English literary society (reflecting English society as a whole) in the first half of the twentieth century (Yeats, Orwell, Woolf, Huxley, Greene), relieved by a small though distinguished minority of literary Christians (Chesterton, Belloc, Eliot, Waugh). Despite two cataclysmic wars that nearly destroyed Europe in the short run, and may well have been fatal to European civilization in the long one—wars that represented, as Waugh memorably said of the second World War, the modern scientific-materialist world in arms—for most Western writers and artists of the period the Faith, core and lodestone of the western intellect and sensibility for centuries, seemed to have exhausted itself through its belligerence, its persecutions, cupidity, reaction, and hypocrisy. To them, Christianity was an integral organ of the same bourgeois materialist-scientific world whose center, after two millennia, could no longer hold and was visibly collapsing all around them.

In with the Old, out with the New—even if nobody, Cyril Connelly included, had the vaguest notion of what the New might be. Continue reading

Sources

• Chilton Williamson Jr in The Catholic World Report
• Image: miriadna.com

Chilton Williamson, Jr. is the author, most recently, of After Tocqueville: The Promise and Failure of Democracy. He is Senior Editor for Books at Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture.

Professor Guzman Carriquiry, secretary for the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, said there is a growing tendency for Americans' faith to be lived with a lack of enthusiasm, lukewarmness and ignorance.

"How many Christians today have buried their baptism under a cloak of consumerism and indifference?" he asked during an international conference on America in the Vatican's Synod Hall.

Continue reading