The captivating comment that shed light on the role of priests within the Church was made on Saturday, by Monsignor Gerard Burns, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Wellington, during the installation ceremony of Catholic Archbishop Paul Martin at St Teresa's pro-Cathedral.

Speaking on behalf of the clergy, particularly priests of the archdiocese, Burns utilised a metaphorical approach, comparing the clergy to an 'Ensalada Mixta' or mixed salad.

"We've got some fresh green lettuce among us.

"We've got some salty olives.

"We've got some crunchy carrots, some tomatoes.

"And as I look around, quite a bit of shredded chicken.

"But we're not the main course.

"We (priests) are here to help bring savour to the main course."

Standing near the Baptismal font, Burns emphasised the significance of baptism as the starting point for all believers.

He stated, "So it was right that we started with a welcome from those living their baptismal vocation as laity and as religious. And all of us gathered here.

"We all start with baptism.

"So I'm so delighted to be standing here saying these words close to the baptismal font because that, as disciples of Christ, is where we all officially begin."

Burns highlighted the shared mission of followers and disciples of Christ.

"We're all in this together.

"Followers of Christ, disciples of Christ, sent to carry that light as is entrusted to us at our baptism, to others," he said.

In his welcoming speech, Burns also highlighted that the Archdiocese of Wellington has developed as a synodal archdiocese with successive archbishops and over several decades.

He referenced the Second Vatican Councilbwhere, rather than the other way around, the Council's focus initially centred on the community of the Church, eventually leading to a deepened understanding of the collegiality between bishops and the pope.

Furthermore, Burns noted the archdiocese's appreciation for Lectio Divina prayer as a cherished method of discerning the ways of God.

He also mentioned the archdiocese's commitment to caring for the environment and fostering encounters with others, aligning with the teachings of Pope Francis in his encyclical "Fratelli Tutti."

Burns spoke on behalf of the clergy, particularly the priests of the archdiocese, at Martin's installation as the Catholic Archbishop of Wellington.

Martin recently reappointed Burns as Vicar General of the Archdiocese.

Source

• Archdiocese of Wellington

The ways colonisation took place varied according to place and time but usually involved the imposition of European power over local peoples and the establishment of economic and political systems benefitting the colonisers.

The 'doctrine of discovery' refers to a set of decisions and permissions given by the Popes of the late 15th century to the first main European colonising powers - Spain and Portugal.

The papacy court in pre-Reformation times was a kind of 'high court' of Europe, and these decisions were meant to avoid conflicts among Catholic rulers.

The decisions permitted 'discoverers' from Europe to take possession of lands that were 'found' and to bring the Catholic Christian faith to them.

The conquest of the West Indies, Mexico and Peru was accompanied by clergy as chaplains to the conquerors and bringers of Catholicism to local peoples.

Underlying these documents was a presumption of the superiority of European (white) ways and technology and of the Christian faith, especially in the form of Catholicism.

It was assumed that the arrival of all these things would greatly benefit local peoples.

Although later papal documents of the 16th century took a different approach -in the light of what colonisers were doing in the 'New World' - the practical effects of the initial conquest and colonisation (and the attitudes underlying them) continued.

The colonisation of Aotearoa by Britain was relatively late from the 1840s onward.

There had been a realisation by some in England (e.g., the influential anti-slavery 'Clapham sect' group) of the damage done by British colonisation in other places. Hence the move to seek a Treaty with the 'independent tribes of Niu Tireni' (cf: 1835 Declaration of Independence).

Captain Hobson gathered chief's signatures to allow British settlement.

However, when in May 1840, he proclaimed British sovereignty over NZ (not conceded in the Treaty's Maori version), it was by virtue of the Treaty for the North Island and by 'right of discovery' for the South and Stewart Islands.

The 'doctrine' was most notably summarised by US Judge Marshall in 1823 and has underpinned colonial and post-colonial legal systems in various countries.

It has come under strong attack, especially in Canada and New Zealand, as indigenous peoples reclaim lost rights.

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is part of this repudiation. In Aotearoa, the Waitangi Tribunal and constitutional change are another part of the process of recognising indigenous peoples.

Since the late 1970s, popes have sought to meet indigenous people, offer apologies for Church practices that facilitated their subjugation and recognise indigenous spiritualities (cf Pope John Paul II in Auckland 1986, also Querida Amazonia, 2020).

Recently, the Vatican declared that the 'doctrine of discovery' is not part of the Church's official teaching but came from a particular historical political and legal situation.

This should remove any question that the Church supports colonialist practices, including where they might still occur.

Some campaigners against the doctrine have claimed the declaration is a way for the Church to absolve and distance itself from the racist assumptions and consequences of these documents. They have said there should not just be a repudiation of them but a formal rescinding plus clear action for redress.

What does the doctrine mean for pastoral ministers in Aotearoa NZ, today?

It means we continue to recognise the historical exclusion of Maori in Aotearoa, the importance of te Tiriti o Waitangi and the role of the Church in safeguarding the place of that Tiriti.

Other steps

• learning good pronunciation of te reo as an official language of the country;
• reading some good histories of this land;
• learning the Maori names for objects, birds, and plants;
• learning parts of the Mass in te reo; and
• act against colonial practices.

In recent years we Catholics have been called to put a particular emphasis on the important work of decolonisation (cf, for example, Querida Amazonia nn. 9-19; Pope Francis' message to a workshop on Colonisation, Decolonisation, Neo-colonialism in the Perspective of Justice and the Common Good).

Decolonisation is the process of freeing an institution of colonisation's social, economic, and cultural impacts.

This involves our way of thinking and acting towards one another, and it is not simply about political independence.

This includes holding meaningful and even uncomfortable conversations about how the Church has been an instrument of colonisation and racism.

This could also mean korero on the rights of the indigenous all over the world and what the Church teaches about the dignity of all peoples

• Gerard Burns is the Vicar General in the Archdiocese of Wellington
• First published in Launch Out Letters. Republished with permission.

As I entered the shop to see my old friend and barber, I noticed - further along the street - the blanket-covered body of someone sleeping rough.

I had thought that most of the homeless in Wellington were being housed at this time so wondered what was happening that someone was so evidently not housed. As the person was sleeping I did not disturb them at that moment.

I was reminded of that person when I was reading some of the comments from people about the nonopening of churches under the current Covid-19 alert level.

It sometimes seems that the measure of a Christian/Catholic life has become the opportunity to worship together.

I too love that opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist - the gathering of the faithful, the encounter with Christ in various ways during the Mass, the profundity of the ritual bringing me deeply into saving story of the Lord's death and resurrection.

However, wonderful, important and nourishing as that is, it's not the test of my Christianity.

The test is whether I recognize and welcome Jesus present in the poor, vulnerable and excluded.

At least that's according to Matthew 25, when Jesus says whenever we did it to the least of his brothers and sisters (hungry, thirsty, homeless, imprisoned, sick) we did it to him.

It is in such people that we encounter Christ also. Could people identify us as Catholics if we had no churches?

For some of our community, returning to our usual liturgical gatherings seemed to become the central issue for us as a Church.

However, our tradition also gives us guidance on considering whether the role of the state to protect the common good can outweigh the legitimate freedoms of citizens to exercise their normal rights.

Getting back to Mass is not the most important thing.

Catholic social teaching sees protecting and fostering the common good as a prime responsibility of the state (in New Zealand commonly called ‘the government' of whatever political party or coalition of parties), but upholding the common good is also our responsibility as a church and as citizens.

The common good is the good of all of us, as individuals and groups within a population, that leads to human flourishing.

It cannot mean any section of the population, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, are left behind or excluded.

Part of the protection of the common good is the recognition of the innate human dignity of persons and ensuring various freedoms including the right to marry, found a family, voice one's opinion, associate with others, etc.

In times of emergency or special need the state may suspend some individual and group rights to ensure the safety of a population.

During war it may be that the right to travel abroad might be suspended or the right to found a party supportive of a group looking to destroy the state. For example, in England during the war against Nazism my right to found a pro-Nazi party would have been suspended.

In questions of general public health which affect all of us (especially during pandemics), as we have previously seen in New Zealand, the normal rules of society can be suspended.

For example, during polio epidemics in New Zealand schools were closed to stop spread among children - to some extent curtailing the ordinary right to an education.

Likewise, during the current Covid-19 pandemic our rights to move about and to associate have been curtailed. How this has been managed has varied according to ‘alert levels' and the measured progress in this country of the virus.

Now that at least the first wave of the virus seems has been beaten, general freedoms are being gradually restored.

Some asked why freedoms were returned in some areas, such as shopping and some forms of social gathering, but not for church gatherings.

• Did this deny religious freedom?
• Is it to privilege the economic over the spiritual?
• Should not our bishops have "stood up to this (godless) government', as some asked, and not be pushed around by people who side-line religious gatherings as ‘irrelevant' or not ‘essential'?

Where does the truth and best practice lie?

In terms of public health and the common good it is a question of ‘prudential' judgments.

‘Prudence' in this sense means taking into account all the factors and finding what is best in the circumstances.

A government facing a health crisis like the pandemic has a right to prudentially decide which activities to open up at which rate.

However, we also have a role as a Church community to contribute to that decision-making.

Along with government officials, we also need to weigh up our right to religious practice alongside the right to life and health of the most vulnerable among us.

People of faith, including myself, may have wanted the chance to return to ‘normal', as with schools or businesses, and return to regular church attendance.

I, too, deeply missed being able to celebrate Mass on a face-to-face basis and gather with the worshipping community for the sacraments.

However, the other factors here are the dangers of spreading the virus through the kind of intimate gathering that a Mass or a funeral is.

There is good evidence from overseas and here that church services (Masses, weddings, funerals) have been opportunities where the virus has spread easily.

I work among Maori and know that at a time of prayer the urge to touch and hongi in the Mass is extremely high - an ideal chance to possibly spread a virus.

In an ordinary congregation, the sign of peace is a similar opportunity.

It is not that people at religious gatherings cannot learn other ways of behaving in the interim (we have changed previously during the SARS epidemic) but we are asked for a time to forego some standard activities.

The test is not whether we got into our churches to celebrate Mass but our care for one another and for Christ who is present in the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the excluded.

Religious gatherings can be special opportunities for the spread of some diseases in a way that going shopping or even participating in other social gatherings does not.

We spend much more time together at a Mass than we do in the short encounters with others when shopping.

We may be sitting among strangers, especially in our bigger churches, not with 9 people we know at a social gathering.

The rules were made for all religions, not just Catholics, and other religions have their own customs which can pose a danger.

Does this impinge on our religious freedom?

Somewhat, but not completely.

As Catholics, we do rightly view the celebration in community of Mass, the Eucharist as very important - the source and summit of worship and of our community expression.

But access to our churches is not the only expression of our faith activity - prayer (which can take place anywhere) and action in love for the reign of God are keys for our faith.

The test in Matthew 25 (whatever you did to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did to me) is not whether we got into our churches to celebrate Mass but our care for one another and for Christ who is present in the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the excluded.

It's a tough request and it is not to deny the importance of prayer or the Eucharist. But it is to recognize that there are ‘two tabernacles', as Pope Francis said on the feast of Corpus Christi, 2018.

At the Corpus Christi procession in Ostia, outside Rome, Francis took up the theme of Matthew 25.

He spoke of the Eucharist as the ‘beating heart of the community' and of making the Mass a priority for encountering Christ.

But he also spoke of finding Christ not in ‘exclusive, select places' but rather in ‘uncomfortable places, untouched by hope, untouched by love' and of people who are ‘lonely, troubled and in need' as ‘lonely tabernacles'.

So, difficult as it is to accept, getting back to Mass is not the most important thing.

The health of the community is a key part of the common good.

As Catholics, we should support that and remind ourselves of our priorities.

The Mass is indeed central, and I am privileged as a priest to be able to celebrate it and have access to Eucharistic communion.

Will that save me if I neglect those in need?

No.

• Monsignor Gerard Burns is Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Wellington.

On Sunday (Rome time) he will be installed as the titular parish priest of Sant' Ippolito.

All cardinals are made nominal parish priest of a Roman parish.

Next week he will be at the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.

Msgr Gerard Burns is also in Rome at a Caritas Internationalis meeting.

After that Burns is going on to Peru to attend the beatification of three priests with whom he worked during his years in Peru.

These three priests were murdered by Shining Path members and are being beatified and recognised as martyrs.

Father James Lyons is the acting vicar general during the time both Cardinal Dew and Msgr Gerard are away.

Msgr Burns is the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Wellington.

Source

radiovaticana.va

Monsignor Gerard Burns said his deepest concern about this bill is that it shakes the relationship of trust between the State and the citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand.

"Because a healthy society can only function on trust and because the State is more powerful than individual citizens, those citizens need to be able to know and trust that the State will not abuse its position. The range and extent of surveillance powers given to the State in this bill has a chilling effect on the ability of citizens to freely express their views, to associate and organize for social change, to defend the rights of others." said Burns.

He listed has his particular concerns:

• not sufficient oversight or remedies.
• potential and actual abuse of powers.
• access of foreign powers to intimate information about NZ citizens (via Echelon).
• waste, inefficiency and potential fraud in computing systems (intransparent budget).
• use of surveillance to continue economic and political inequality and injustice.
• no role for conscientious objection and whistle-blowing in the Bill.

In his submission Burns emphasised that his submission was being made in his capacity as a New Zealand citizen. They were, he said, his his personal views; they were not an official submission on behalf of his Church.

Source

• Image: Scoop Screenshot

About 25 people attended the week-long event, including representatives from Caritas Internationalis, and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) - Asia. Many of the states represented, such as Tonga and Kiribati, are among the most vulnerable to climate change due to their low-lying nature or vulnerable shorelines.

A closing statement from the forum said its members stand ‘in solidarity with the poor and marginalized of the region. We are particularly concerned by the impact of climate change in our area.'

The group heard from New Zealand climate scientist Professor Martin Manning. ‘We keep seeing surprises,' he said and some changes in climate and impact were happening faster than scientists' predictions.

Those present spoke of changes they have seen in recent years. Amelia Ma'afu, Programmes Officer for Caritas Tonga, said they were experiencing more coastal erosion and contamination of drinking water as sea levels rose. Young people were planting mangroves and trees for coastal protection and taking action against climate change, but ‘there's a sense of hopelessness', because they are isolated, contribute so little to climate change, but are feeling effects more acutely than many other places.

Mavis Tito from Caritas Papua New Guinea said a severe drought was expected in Papua New Guinea next year. ‘Most vulnerable are the highlands and coastal lowlands.' Food security and water will be a problem.

Clare Baiteke, Chair of the Diocesan Peace and Justice Committee for Kiribati, said they have been running programmes making people aware of the impacts of climate change, and preparing for change. Kiribati President Anote Tong takes every opportunity at international fora to highlight the dangers his nation faces as sea levels rise. People are building sea walls, planting mangroves and installing water tanks to capture rainwater, as groundwater supplies become contaminated.

‘Maybe we see a day when Kiribati is no more,' she said. ‘But be sure, God loves Kiribati very much - out of the whole universe.'

The forum also considered the impact of mining and large-scale resource extraction in Melanesia, disaster communications planning, political and social change in the Pacific, and how Caritas agencies in the region can genuinely empower the poor and promote integral human development.

CARITAS OCEANIA FORUM STATEMENT

The annual gathering of Caritas organisations from across the Pacific stands in solidarity with the poor and marginalized of the region. We are particularly concerned by the impact of climate change in our area.

The Caritas Oceania Forum was held in Auckland, New Zealand from October 3-7. At the start of the week we were movingly welcomed by tangata whenua. At the opening Mass with Bishop Pat Dunn, Bishop of Auckland, we were drawn into deep reflection on our work. In the gospel of the day we heard the question put to Jesus: ‘And who is my neighbour?' (Luke 10:29)

In the light of that question we examined our humanitarian response to disasters, the quality of our local development work, our advocacy and the strength of our coordination.

We deepened our understanding of Catholic social teaching. We shared stories of the practice of social concern and social justice. We learnt more about what it is to be poor in different contexts.

We studied the questions of climate change and the effects of mining in our area. We heard the cries of our neighbours, the poor and the earth.

We are grateful to all those who work with us and support us and we reaffirm our commitment to:

Working in solidarity with the poor and marginalized that they may become architects of their own development.

Being responsible stewards of God's creation and to locally-appropriate sustainable living.

We strongly call upon industrialised countries to be aware that their emissions, policies and lifestyles impact on both the climate and on poor and vulnerable peoples. The earth, Papatuanuku, is our mother and the poor are our neighbours. We are one human family.

Rev Gerard Burns
President of Caritas Oceania
7 October 2011

Source:

• Martin de Jong, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
• Image: Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand