They must find ways "to get by" Father Augustine Anwuchie from Nigeria said on July 19.

He was speaking during the latest of a series of digital meetings with theologians and other experts in Africa.

The meetings aim to deepen understanding of the Synod on Synodality 2023 synthesis report.

Better formation needed

Anwuchie said he wants institutions forming future priests to encourage better communication. He decried the "lack of authenticity" in priestly formation in Africa.

"I saw ‘survival mentality' where seminarians, because of how formation is structured, adopt ways to survive around their formators — how to survive around bishops, around Christians and in Christian communities.

"I have been a vice-rector at a seminary and I saw a lack of openness. You see lack of authenticity."

Copying everything that is done in Europe is unnecessary, he said. There are aspects formators in Africa can borrow from other places though.

These include encouraging openness, communication and authenticity with seminarians. Priests who are not formed "to be authentic" find relating to other Christians difficult.

"Instead of becoming men, we continue to live as boys and this is not helping in our pastoral work."

Many major seminaries in Africa neglect aspects of human formation and the expansion of emotional intelligence, he said.

Seminarians are taught what they "ought to do" and how they "ought to behave". They then become reactive to situations, which continues when they become priests, he said.

Crises between clergy and laity in most African parishes stem from having "emotional intelligence" overlooked during their formation.

Connecting with the synod

During the online meeting participants concentrated on the theme "The Revision of Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis in a Missionary Synodal Perspective".

In this they were guided by the December 2015 document of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy translated as "The Gift of the Priestly Vocation".

Structuring their discussions around present-day seminary formation in Africa, participants considered what does and does not work according to their experiences in different parts of Africa.

Priests overwhelmed

Ugandan-born Sister Dominica Dipio told the online meeting there is a disconnect between seminaries and the life of priests in parishes and communities.

Dipio - a consultor of the Pontifical Council for Culture and university professor - is concerned that many priests do not continue with formation.

It should be ongoing, meeting participants agreed.

Dipio told the online meeting that most priests she meets are overwhelmed and quickly burn out.

"They hardly have time to engage in their own formation, which is supposed to be ongoing" she said.

"I have met priests in retreats who have for years not had the experience of retreat.

"The involvement in mission takes all their time and burns them out" Dipio said.

She wants bishops to allow priests "to reconnect with God as the centre".

Cape Town's Cardinal Stephen Brislin reminded participants that ongoing priestly formation is a matter each episcopal see and religious order is responsible for.

Seminarians should be involved in the joys and struggles of ordinary people, he said.

Source

• CNA

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

I want to emphasize the call to mission. This is indeed what the Lord asks for in the final lines of the Gospels, including that of Saint Matthew.

We suffer when we see that there are people in the Church who are obstacles to the encounter with God.

The urgency of a more faithful Church was received with such force that the synodal consultation began at the same time as France's Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) published its report was published.

As for the whole of society, the difficulty lies in the exercise of authority.

The Church is suspected of abuse, of not respecting minorities and even of covering up abuse, and Pope Francis has expressed this well by pointing out that the three types of abuse - abuse of power, as well as spiritual and sexual abuse - often feed off each other.

Many words, or writings, conclude that the cause of all this is the specificity of priests and bishops, meaning both their lifestyle, including celibacy, and the authority they exercise in the Church.

They say that changing both would be the remedy for the excesses that have produced so many offenses and crimes.

A possible path forward

I resist this causal link.

I might be told that the reasons for my resistance is that I am defending and justifying who I am: a celibate and an archbishop. I want to go beyond this argument that stops all reflection.

Both the CIASE report and the synodal syntheses question the systematic character of priestly celibacy in the Catholic Church of the Latin Rite — it must be remembered that the Catholic Churches of the Eastern Rite have preserved the tradition of a married or celibate clergy.

I have spoken about the possibility of the Latin Church ordaining married men to the priesthood.

This possibility would not be a solution to the number of priests, which is estimated to be low in Europe today, nor would it be a guarantee against possible deviances, especially sexual ones.

I have written the reasons why I believe this path is possible and undoubtedly desirable. But this would not call into question the possibility of a celibate clergy, nor would it lead current priests to be able to marry.

Indeed, the Gospel calls for fidelity to commitments, and the tradition of the Church commits those whom it ordains to remain in the state which they were when they were ordained.

A misunderstood choice

Many years ago, I did not want to consider the possibility of ordaining married men because I saw in it an argument that would be understood as denying all meaning given to celibacy.

I am aware, as are many priests that our choice of celibacy is often misunderstood, even mocked, or even suspected of not being faithfully lived out in private.

Without deluding myself about the falls and failures and without presuming to speak for others, I want to express everything about the meaning behind the celibacy that I strive to live.

Even if there were married priests, it would still make sense to me... how can one not find meaning in what one lives?

First of all, I want to affirm that I did not choose to be a priest, I was called to it.

Of course, none of this happened without my consent, nor even without my expressing a certain expectation and a certain desire, but it is through being called that I am a priest.

The Church, through men and women, has been the interpreter and the servant of God's call.

Excellent priests, but bad celibates

As for celibacy, I chose it. Others like me have discerned and verified their ability to be a priest in the Catholic Church in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, but it was I, myself, who perceived that celibacy suited me.

Of course, this celibacy is the corollary of my availability to be a priest, but it must also correspond to a human and psychological state, allowing me to experience it as a path of humanization.

I have known several young people who had the desire to be priests, but they could not see themselves living without a wife or children. They would have made excellent priests, I am certain, but bad celibates.

The rule of mandatory celibacy thus deprives the Catholic Church of some excellent priests and some excellent pastors.

There is certainly no one way to live out priestly celibacy, as psychologies and cultures are different.

Of course, this life makes you feel the absence... of an emotional life, of a sexual life, of touching someone else's body. The absence of children, of intellectual intimacy... For each person, the absence will take on a different aspect.

Yet, what human life is not without some kind of absence? It is a lie to think that a person could experience everything that the human race knows.

Attitudes of seduction

Each one of us lacks something; it is the consumer society that seeks to make it unbearable, to immediately offer a remedy with an object which, for hard cash, will fill it.

However, one must learn to live with absences, to suffer from them, and to find ways of sublimation. It seems to me that this is the way to envisage a life of celibacy before finding spiritual or religious reasons for it.

These reasons certainly count, but if they are not anchored in the heart of the person, they run the risk of being nothing more than external justifications that will not nourish one's existence.

The consequence will be to seek gratification in the eyes of others, or even to beg for it, developing attitudes of seduction, including religious and spiritual ones, even to the point of taking control. The person who behaves in this way will never acquire true freedom for himself and will not allow others to grow in freedom.

Rather, it is a man who is called to be a priest, and a man who has been verified as being more or less balanced!

Attachment to Christ

I am increasingly convinced that the priestly celibacy, which has been understood and lived above all as a means of availability for mission, can and will only make sense - notwithstanding human capacities - for spiritual reasons, thus coming closer to the celibacy of religious and consecrated persons.

The conditions of Christian life in a secularized world have done away with the social and reputational rewards that priests previously received. This affects all Christians.

Therefore, without a life of attachment to the person of Christ, a life of prayer and of giving, all believers - including priests - can feel a loss of meaning in their lives.

We must always be aware that we live not by what we do, but by the gift of ourselves; without having the exclusive right to do so, celibacy is an expression of this.

• Pascal Wintzer is the Archbishop of Poitiers in Western France. He currently heads the Observatory on Faith and Culture within the French Bishops' Conference.
• First published in La-Croix International. Republished with permission.

We must be careful not to jump to quick conclusions or make judgements. The "reasons" for a suicide are intimate and will always retain, even if it is painful for those around them, their share of mystery.

But this suicide touches all of us. Not only because it involved a prominent, brilliant, and enterprising priest. But also because he was known to be in the grip of difficulties with his bishops and deeply unsettled by accusations that he felt were very unfounded.

This suicide also touched us at La Croix, because we had given this priest the opportunity to express himself in an article in which he gave an unvarnished analysis of the difficulties of ministry in a diocese.

The cry behind the tragic act

This is not the place to look for the causes or to accuse his bishop. Neither is it the place to point out this or that personal psychological fragility.

But there is a cry behind this tragic act that we must pay attention to.

It is the cry of a priest, which is in line with the deep malaise of many others in the Church in France today. Is it not time to question ourselves, collectively, on the way we treat priests in our Church? We celebrate the hero on the day of his ordination, but then what?

No one is concerned about how they are supported and what mediation structures are provided, other than those created by the goodwill of the bishop, who acts as both "father" and boss...

Do priests have time to catch their breath? Are they afforded psychological help? Continued human formation?

There is a lot of talk about the "sense of resignation", an attitude that affects employees in companies who refuse to work without seeing the meaning of their task.

For priests, this "sense of resignation" began fifty years ago, with a drastic drop in vocations, without anyone really caring about it.

Some have blamed it on a lack of faith: we need to pray more! Others blame the lack of marriage opportunities — at a time when marriage is increasingly discredited!

But, instead, shouldn't we be wondering about the opportunities that are opening up before priests?

Guilty indifference towards priests

The way in which they are appointed to a parish, often with a certain amount of arbitrariness, is perplexing. We no longer manage people today as in the past...

The only model that still attracts people is the one of the 19th century, with priests who are very committed but according to a rigid, hierarchical type of Church that no longer corresponds to reality.

The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) spoke a lot about bishops and laity. But very little about priests. Benedict XVI decreed a "year of the priest", but as a model he gave the holy Curé of Ars, St. John Vianney, who - to say the least - did not encounter the same problems as today's priests.

For that is the urgency. Our indifference to what priests are going through is sinful because they are at the forefront of the very deep crisis of the Church.

If the disaffection of the practice and the eradication of Christianity from society are hard for all of us, imagine how terrible they are for the priest who embodies the institution!

"We know what we are losing, but we don't know what we are going to become," a priest confided to me.

The transition is violent, brutal. Many priests are showing great creativity, but others are exhausted.

Who can face such a crisis alone without real support from the community? This is a question that concerns us all, not just the bishops.

During the synodal process that just took place in France many people voiced opinions. But not many spoke of priests, except to criticize them.

Moreover, few priests participated in the proces. There was a significant silence. And that is disturbing.

• Isabelle de Gaulmyn is senior editor at La Croix and a former Vatican correspondent.
• First published in La-Croix International. Republished with permission.

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Parishes are being combined, the ordained ministers being spread more thinly around communities, and the access to gathering for Eucharistic activity is being curtailed.

The process is sometimes given an elegant name derived from analogies with businesses that are "down-sizing", but this does not hide the reality that this is driven by two key factors: fewer and ageing presbyters.

Moreover, there is little prospect that this situation—even with the addition of presbyters from Africa and India (a practice that is itself a form of colonial exploitation)—will change any time soon.

In answer to this, we need to reflect on the basics of ministry and not merely imagine that what has been the paradigm of ministry in the Catholic Church since the early seventeenth century is either set in stone or in any way ideal.

Rather than being an ideal, it was instead a pragmatic response to the Reformation which, in terms of the Council of Trent's vision of "the priesthood" (sacerdotium), was perceived as an officer-led rebellion that was to be prevented from recurring.

Liturgical ministry

Every religion, and every Christian denomination, has spiritual leaders, and these take the primary roles at its rituals. Moreover, ritual requires expertise, and the amount of expertise required is usually a direct function of the length of the group's remembered tradition.

But there is a binary model at work here: a sole minister or small ministry group that acts, leads and preaches/speaks/teaches on one side and, opposite them, a much larger group that attends/listens/and receives ministry.

We see this model in a nutshell in the statement "the clergy administer the sacraments".

This is a valuable and widely appreciated model because it fits well beside other expert service providers in society (e.g. medics providing healthcare to the rest of the community, or accountants providing financial services), and so full-time "ministers of religion" are aligned by society, and often by themselves, with those other experts.

Because society needs a "chaplaincy" service, we have a justification for the clergy and their liturgical ministry within society.

Discipleship as community service

In stark contrast to such highly structured notions of ministry or priesthoods, Jesus was not a Levite; his ministry barely engaged with the formal religious expert systems, and when those structures are recalled (e.g. Lk 10 31 and 32; Jn 4:21), they are the objects of criticism or presented as transient.

Moreover, while Jesus was presented as appointing messengers/preachers (apostles), there is no suggestion that these were thought of as ritual experts.

Leaders emerged in the various early Churches with a variety of names: e.g. "elders" [presbuteroi] or "overseers-and-servants" [episkopoi kai diakonoi]. The latter was possibly a double name for a single person, which we would later divide into two ranks: "bishop" and "deacon".

But it took generations (until the later second century; we now know that Ignatius of Antioch wrote after AD 150 at the earliest) for those patterns to be harmonized between communities, and then systematized into authority structures.

There is no suggestion in the first-century documents that leadership at the two key community events, baptisms and Eucharistic celebrations, was restricted in any way to or was the preserve of those who were community leaders, much less a specially authorized group.

The link between (a) leadership of the community and (b) presidency at the Eucharistic meal (a linkage that would drive much later thinking on ministry and even today is a major source of Christian division) would not be forged until the third century, and only later again would "the history of its institution" by Jesus be constructed.

The Church within society

It has long been an illusion of the various Christian denominations that a study of history—particularly the first couple of centuries and the texts from those times that they held to belong to the New Testament Canon—could provide a blueprint for ministry (e.g. "the three-fold structure of order": bishop, presbyter, deacon).

Neither can it offer a conclusive answer to issues relating to ministry that have arisen in later situations (such as, at the time of the Reformation, what "power" can be seen to come from the Christ to the priest, or whether a woman can preside at the Eucharist today).

This is an illusory quest. Not only does it fall victim to the anachronism inherent in all appeals to a perfect original moment, a much imagined period in the past when all was revealed (at least in nuce).

But it also assumes that ministry as it later developed was not itself the outcome of multiple, often conflicting, forces in particular societies, as well as adaptations by Christians to well-known inherited religious structures (e.g. orienting worship in churches because pagan temples were so aligned).

So, for example, the clerical system, within which was/is located liturgical ministry, for much of Christian history-related originally to the political needs of the Church as a public body within the Roman Empire.

Given that there was no "original" plan for liturgical ministry in the Church and, as a result of centuries of disputes, there are many conflicting views about what constitutes someone within ministry, so it is quite impossible—except within the mythic spaces of particular denominations—to produce a systematic "original plan" for liturgical ministry.

However, given that ministry occurs and is needed, one can set out some criteria that can help individuals and communities to develop a pragmatic theology of liturgical ministry.

Criteria for ministry

Every specific ministry is a particular variation of the ministry of all the baptized, and in baptism there is a radical equality: "there is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28).

This radical equality is a characteristic of the new creation brought about in Christ.

Therefore, any subsequent distinctions such that particular ministries are not potentially open to every baptized person are tantamount to a defective theology of baptism by which all ministry is brought into being.

So, by making further demands for "signs" of particular divine election (e.g. being able to speak in tongues or handle snakes) as indications of suitability for ministry fly in the face of the incarnational dispensation seen in baptism.

Likewise, regulations that restrict ministry to particular states of life (e.g. demanding celibacy as a condition for the presbyterate) have to be seen as an undue concern with the status of certain ministries.

They imply that baptism is merely some basic entry requirement for "Christianity" rather than that which creates the new person who can minister, and in that new creation no such distinctions exist.

Similarly, the notion that women, as such, can be excluded from ministry on the basis of some pragmatic historical appeal (e.g. "Jesus did not ordain women!"—assuming such a pre-critical view of "history" has any value), fails to take account of the fundamental role of baptism in all Christian existence and action.

We must also respect the awareness that all action and ministry by Christians is Christ-ian in nature.

Christians form a people: a priestly people. We all too often, and too easily, lose sight of the fact that Christians must think of their liturgy in a way that is radically opposed to that commonly found in other religions of a "religious service" due to God or the gods.

In that paradigm, the divine is the opposite of the world in which we live and to which something is owed, presented or transferred, and this constitutes a mode of contact with the divine realm, which might constitute a debt of loyalty/praise/petition or appeasement.

Making this connection, whether by an individual or a group, assumes a technical knowledge and some sacred skill—usually the work of a special priesthood—such that the divine recognizes that the action performed is the appropriate sacred deed.

The priesthood holds the sacred key not permitted to the mere worshippers!

Christians, contrariwise, conceive their worship on the basis that their servant is with them in a community.

Therefore, where two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus, he is with them (Mt 18:20).And so their actions together—such as celebrating a meal—take place in the presence of the Father, because the Christ present among them, is always their High Priest.

This theological vision has important implications for individual Christians who find themselves performing specific acts, ministries, within the Church. Within Christianity, the ministry is that of the whole community.

Language and priestly ministry

It is also worth remembering that language plays us false in understanding "priestly ministry" in particular.

The Old Testament cohen (which we usually render by the word "priest") performed special tasks on behalf of the rest of Israel (see Leviticus and Numbers).

This was rendered in the Septuagint by the word hiereus—a word commonly used for pagan temple officials—and then, later, into Latin by sacerdos, which was a generic word covering all the various special temple "priesthoods" such as flamenes and pontifices.

The early Christians did not use these words for their leaders. Hiereus and sacerdos belonged to Jesus alone in the heavenly temple. Christian leaders were designated by their relation to the community: as the one who oversaw, led, or served it.

Later, the hiereus/sacerdos language was absorbed and became the basis of Christians' perceptions of their presbyters. Our word "priest" is etymologically from the word "presbyter", but conceptually it relates to the sacerdotal functions.

Once this had occurred, it had to be asked what made them different and what special religious quality they had that others did not possess.

The answer came with the notion of a power "to consecrate", and then this power (itself the subject of rhetorical inflation) became the basis of "ontological difference" between them and "ordinary Christians" or whose ministry is "praying, paying, and obeying".

After more than a millennium and a half of these confusions in Christianity, both East and West, it is very hard for many who see themselves as "ministers" in a Church—especially those with elaborate sacerdotal liturgies—to break free of this baggage.

Tradition can be like a great oil-tanker turning at sea: it takes a long time to overcome inertia, and for the ship to answer the helm!

Where do we start?

In every community, there are those who have the skills that have brought that group together and given it an identity. The task is to recognize these actual ministers and to facilitate them to make that ministry more effective and fruitful.

Some will have the gifts of evangelizing and welcoming, others the skills of leading the prayer and offering the thanksgiving sacrifice of praise, others the gifts of teaching, others of reconciling, others for the mission of each community to the building up of the kingdom of justice and peace, and some will have management skills.

None is greater and none is less!

In every discussion of ministry we need to have the advice of Paul to the Church in Corinth around 58 CE echoing in our heads as he presents ministry as the working out of the presence of the Spirit in the assembly:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another, various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit (1 Cor 12:4-13).

If these statements were to reverberate through our discussions today we might need to talk less about "closing churches" and "combining parishes" and could then move on to the more fruitful task of discovering the wealth of vocations that are all around us.

But there is only one [merely logical] certainty: the future will not be like the past. And when the present seeks to recede into its past, it is untrue to its own moment.

• Thomas O'Loughlin is a presbyter of the Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton and professor-emeritus of historical theology at the University of Nottingham (UK). His latest book is Discipleship and Society in the Early Churches.

Where these practices became the default of bishops, the potential failure of the synodal process is high because these practices were made possible by sidelining the laity. What is the potential for bishops to listen to the laity when they have excluded them from their liturgical participation?

Some will argue that liturgy is not the centre of the Church's life or that bishops used online formats out of compassion and care in a pandemic. Nevertheless, if the Church leaders can exclude the laity liturgically, what's the point of including them in another ecclesial conversation?

My point is this: where the liturgical practice is not seen as ecclesial, it is not seen.

The Church is the kyriakon (belonging to the Lord) ekklesia (assembly) of Christ. The liturgy celebrates and makes this manifest. Liturgy, worship, thanksgiving—whatever word you wish to use—stands at the centre of the Church's being and purpose. Without the liturgy, the Church is just another club or social welfare system.

Not just about in liturgical style

Often, liturgical divisions are treated as differences in style when one person prefers Bach to Led Zeppelin. At this shallow level, arguments of style and preference dominate, but these are only a starting point.

Liturgy, at its deepest level, articulates humanity's primary and perennial quest: "Who is God, who am I, and is my life eternal?" This quest is taken up sacramentally and expressed liturgically.

How individuals and groups perform liturgical rituals is instructive of much more than just a style preference.

Liturgical rituals articulate an individual's or a group's understanding and beliefs of the relationships between God and the Church, the priesthood, sacramental living and ecclesial authority. Ritual enactment illustrates a much deeper, formative religious culture of belief.

This culture is formed, informed and reformed through ecclesial life, sacramental mediation and theological thinking.

During the liturgical lockdown of 2020-2021, the increased use of online Masses was made possible for four main reasons -

• the performative nature of the Mass's ritual structure,
• the functional nature of priesthood,
• the presumption that the function of the Mass is essentially clerical, and
• that the presence of the laity at liturgy is not constitutive.

While many lay recipients of online Mass reported that they found the experience "comforting," many also reported that it was too priest-centric and ultimately dissatisfying. By contrast, many priests saw the increased online numbers as validation of their ministry.

The critical problem of the absence of the laity was never fully addressed. The success of online Masses can only be praised by avoiding questions of authentic liturgical presence as a physical presence.

Why would any layperson entertain a dialogue about Church life after being systematically excluded by their God-given leaders from their rightful participation in their own liturgical life?

Synodal, liturgical practice

An authentic approach to the synodal process requires that we review the liturgical responses during the lockdown.

One's liturgical practice is essentially ecclesiological. Where the liturgy (Mass) is considered a ritualised, institutional form that functions independently of all other Church business—we go to Mass, we don't live Mass—synodality has already failed because the essential link between the Church's mission and action has been discounted.

The institutional structures and doctrines (God, priesthood, baptism, ministry and ecclesial authority) that Johann Adam Moehler (1796-1838) - in Die Einheit in der Kirche called Gemeinschaft and Romano Guardini in Vom Sinn der Kirche - described as essential to spiritual or mystical communion in Christ, find their authentic expression in liturgical practice.

Liturgical practice is ecclesiology in action.

Liturgical ecclesiology

A robust liturgical ecclesiology contributes to the development of synodal ecclesiology through the examination of actual liturgical practice and culture. It offers a window into the strong, often submerged cultures of belief, dogma and identity that drive individual and group practice because it requires participants to consider their practice first.

For example, when a person agrees that authentic liturgical practice belongs primarily to the priest/bishop by ordination, and not to the laity by baptism, there is little need to discuss inclusive governance. The liturgical default setting has already defined the ecclesial outlook.

Equally, a person who approaches liturgical practice as transformative will look for transformation through the synodal process. They will probably say that worship is predicated on baptism and not see liturgy as essentially performative or functional.

If the synodal process is not transformative, this person will turn away, disappointed.

Lockdown and Synod

Covid's liturgical lockdown practices are not incidental to the synodal process and vision, neither were they the product of Covid. The lockdown practices already existed deep in the psyche of the Church because they are the default setting of a much deeper ecclesial culture.

The online Mass, with its passive, observer layperson and its performative, functional priest, is the clearest example of the synodal process's challenge.

If we cannot hear one another at worship, what is the point of engaging with each other at the level of governance? Will a change in governance change our approach to liturgy, or must our liturgy change first?

Suppose your participation in a process is not a constitutive element of your organisation's practice. Would you participate based on this presumption?

Liturgical practice reveals the ecclesial culture that synodality needs to address but probably will not.

Joe Grayland is a theologian and a priest of the Diocese of Palmerston North. "Liturgical Lockdown: A New Zealand Perspective" is available from Amazon.com

• First published in La-Croix International. Republished with the author's permission.

To the modern ear that "can't" is jarring.

After all, the history of humanity is very much a history of proving that we can do something that we couldn't do before. And the Christian faith expands human capabilities well beyond natural limits.

So when she says she "can't," the church must be drawing from a deep biblical, historical and theological tradition, as Avery Dulles, S.J., noted in "Gender and Priesthood: Examining the Teaching."

And that reality raises another possibility: Perhaps when we ask if women can be ordained, we are asking the wrong question.

There are some cases where women experience a sincere desire to be priests, as in the case of St. Therese of Lisieux, who eventually understood her vocation to include a special dedication to supporting priests.

Her writings manifest the prayerful way she processed her desire. I have no doubt that it was challenging for her, nor that it continues to be challenging for other women.

But the experiences of many may be more connected to a desire to improve upon flawed understandings or experiences of the priesthood.

When we see our ordained leaders fail us, sincere Catholics start to look for solutions.

For some, this includes women's ordination.

The problem with this is that we are responding to a failure, an abuse of power, which is more of a management crisis.

And we think that in order to remedy the situation, power must be redistributed.

That might be part of the solution, as I will discuss below.

But it also reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the priesthood and an underappreciation of its being based on the priesthood of Christ who came as "a servant for all." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1551)

That particular role of servant is actually one of profound love, culminating in the passion and death of our Lord.

And yes, unfortunately, that reality has not been lived out by some of the ordained, even if we can all point to good examples of men who are ordained ministers.

When we experience more than a few tragic examples (like the sex abuse scandals), faithful Catholics cannot but look for solutions to the problem.

Including the laity

In terms of decision making, there is no reason why clerics cannot better incorporate the laity. Yes, canon law does have a top-down model.

At the same time, it does not limit a bishop or priest from delegating decision-making power.

Last year, I worked on webinars with Cardinal George Pell from Australia (and the Vatican) and Archbishop Anthony Muheria from Kenya.

When speaking on the topic of transparency and the Catholic Church, each of them said that because they picked competent people—people who were skilled and willing to ask the tough questions—they never had to contradict the decisions of their diocesan finance councils.

The same should be true of other advisory boards, such as those that review cases of sex abuse.

Relying on expert and strong-minded laywomen and men is a way for a bishop to utilize professional expertise outside the realm of his own skillset and to be more certain in his decisions.

While the bishop is ultimately responsible for the final decision, canon law does not prohibit him from diffusing the power of his office through collegiality.

I would also add that often we think that priests are someone who they are not; in these cases, the laity performs a reverse clericalism.

We expect them to make significant decisions on important matters as if the only people who should weigh in are those in clerical collars.

In the words of my mother, "Gone are the days when the priest was the only one in the parish who could read and write."

In fact, those days have been gone for a really long time.

The governance and decision-making structures of the parishes and dioceses could evolve to include much more input from lay people without contradicting canon law; this would be very much in concert with Pope Francis' ideas for church reform.

In some places, this is already happening.

When Cardinal Pell was Prefect of the Secretariat of the Economy at the Vatican, he was known for designating a laywoman on his staff who was eminently qualified in economics to attend meetings that were traditionally reserved for ranking clerics.

Ordination, he understood, does not confer an M.B.A. on the ordained man.

Pope Francis has famously said that our ordained leaders need to "smell like the sheep."

This could also be applied to decision making so that decisions are not made in isolation from the flock.

In our Program of Church Management in Rome, we have been fortunate to construct a faculty that is representative of all vocations, in which practitioners share their expertise with current and future church leaders so that they may better steward the assets of the church.

Of course, in order for this to work, the church has to be willing to pay competitive salaries for competent expertise.

My proposal is more structural than the superficial attempts of those who want to keep dysfunctional clerical structures in place and simply add women.

I recently read of a highly qualified woman who had been appointed to one such structure, and my immediate response was, "Great, now they're wasting her time, too."

While it was somewhat of an honour for her to be given the appointment, I couldn't help but think that she would probably be a lot more effective if she were given more of a leadership role to create and direct something.

Most of these roles in the church do not require priestly ordination.

Abolishing clericalism, not abetting it

In addition to women's ordination being the wrong solution to the problems we face, I find it limiting and another form of clericalism.

The church teaches consistently that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven are not the ordained, but the saints. And for those who have been exposed to terrible clericalism, they tend to join in Dante's famous opinion that many ordained ministers are sadly not in heaven.

I would like to think that we are beyond the 1980s when many women in the workplace felt that to be accepted they had to act and dress like men.

Women should not have to change who they are in order to have their significance in the church recognized.

Also, it is important to recognize that the vast majority of men are not called to the priesthood; it makes little sense to limit or shape conversations about the vocation of women in the church around the subject of ordination.

Similarly, at least in developed countries, we have seen a shift in the meaning of diversity.

Forty years ago, diversity meant including people who would not normally be at the table because of their ethnicity and/or sex while expecting them to conform to the behaviours, norms and characteristics of those who already had a seat at the table.

Now, when practised integrally, diversity means that we value the perspectives of people of different backgrounds rather than expecting them to conform to the pre-existing ideals and characteristics of a larger group of people.

Scriptural examples

When it comes to the question of the role of women in the church, I am particularly convinced that we can only move forward by thoroughly reexamining our past and, by doing so, deepening our understanding of the roles of women in Scripture.

The Bible offers numerous examples where Jesus refused to be constrained by cultural norms around the diversity of vocation.

In his encounters with everyone from the Pharisees to the adulterous woman, he modelled new behaviours and called people to unique roles.

A few examples come to mind.

We are generally familiar with the account of Mary, the young teenager, giving her assent to become the mother of God in Luke 1:38: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."

Her powerful witness to accept the will of God is not often enough seen as a precursor to Jesus' acceptance of his cross during his passion—one which he arguably accepted before

Mary's acceptance but which is made known to humanity in a different sequence: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done" (Lk 22:42).

Jesus had two natures: human and divine.

In his human nature, he humbled himself to learn as we do. Various parables demonstrate that he learned from his mother as a child, accompanying her in her daily duties that involved bread making, sewing and other household tasks. Perhaps on a human level, he also learned from her the fiat ("let it be done") that preceded his own fiat as articulated during his Passion.

Another favourite scripture passage of mine is the story of the woman at the well (Jn 4:4-29).

She is cut off from her community because of the public nature of her sins, so she gets water at midday when most people would be inside avoiding the heat of the day.

To this woman, who is not even Jewish, Jesus reveals himself as the Messiah.

Upon hearing this revelation, the woman goes to tell people about him, and they come to him. In many ways, she could be called a proto-evangelist.

When Mary of Bethany washes the feet of Jesus with a costly ointment and dries them with her hair (Jn 12:1-3), tradition and commentators relegate her to the role of the sinful woman (though we all share that part of the human experience).

But keep in mind that John says that this happens just six days before the Passover, the same Passover where Jesus will wash the feet of his disciples (Jn 13:4-10).

Matthew and Mark also record this event, putting it within two days of the Passover (Mt 26: 1-13; Mk 14:1-9).

Tradition holds that she was cleansed of her sins in this unique gesture of humility toward the one who could forgive sins.

Strikingly, Jesus uses that same gesture to model to his apostles how they are to model his forgiveness towards penitents. Nothing is simply coincidental in Scripture.

Soon after, knowing that his mother and other women are nearby in Bethany, Jesus tells his disciples to make preparations for the Passover (Mt 26:17-19; Mk 14:12-16; Lk 22:7-12).

In other words, he told them to do "women's work."

Given his divine nature, he knew the greatness of his mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. He also knew that some of the apostles would fail him the very night of his Passion.

After his death, Mary Magdalene is the first to whom Christ appears (Jn 20: 11-18).

He instructs her to go to the apostles and tell them what she has seen.

For this reason, in the 13th century, St. Thomas Aquinas called her the "apostle to the apostles." In 2019, Pope Francis elevated her feast day to a feast for the universal Church.

And finally, through her active openness to grace, Tradition holds that Jesus's mother becomes—in the same room where the Last Supper was held—the authority of grace on Pentecost for the apostles (Acts 2:1-3).

Priests, prophets and kings

Clearly, these women responded to Jesus in a way that set them apart from others, even from his closest disciples.

He did not choose to limit their role in the church to that of his ordained ministers; but he clearly elevated some to at least the level of his apostles.

We ought to spend more time considering this reality.

By revisiting the examples provided in Scripture, we can expand our vantage point for understanding the exercise of power in the church and thereby clarify the relationship between management roles and ordination.

Then, with a deeper appreciation for the value of the kingly component of baptism, we can unravel the identity crisis identified by the Second Vatican Council and overcome the burden of clericalism.

Jesus said that the harvest is great.

Perhaps the labourers are so few simply because we have not yet appreciated the depth and breadth of his witness.

• Pia de Solenni is a moral theologian. She currently serves as the president and executive director of the Global Institute for Church Management.
• First published in America Magazine.

But this year's Petertide has been marred by what many have interpreted as an attack on the future of the Anglican priesthood itself.

As Britain's national church prepared to gather for its General Synod, which begins Friday (July 9), one of its most senior clerics submitted a paper for discussion arguing that the future lies not with clergy in the pulpit, but with worshipping communities led by laypeople.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell — second-only in the hierarchy to the archbishop of Canterbury — first floated his ideas last year in a report from a "Vision and Strategy" (pdf) committee that Cottrell heads. But its publication last month, just before the laity, bishops and other clergy attended the Synod sessions online, has caused an outcry.

Cottrell's latest reflections include not only a proposal for 10,000 lay-led communities within the next decade but a focus on young people: It urges a doubling of the number of children attending church and what he calls "active young disciples" by 2030.

The Church of England, he maintains, has to become a "church of missionary disciples," to "become younger and more diverse," and to become a church "where a mixed ecology is the norm" — referring to a mix of digital and lay-led services.

Cottrell's plan does not include dismantling the ancient parish system, but his criticism of it — calling it ineffective "in the networks of contemporary life" — has caused fear that this will signal a major change in the way the church is structured, leading to church closures and cuts to clergy numbers.

It also points to the growing influence of American-style evangelism in historically more staid Anglicanism.

The parish system is part of the warp and weft of England, especially in rural life.

England's more than 16,000 Anglican churches still dominate the country's landscape, and the vicar and his role in village life pepper English culture and art, from the works of Jane Austen to the crime novels of Agatha Christie.

But attendance at those churches has been in decline for many years.

Despite being the established church to which every citizen theoretically belongs, only an estimated 750,000 people out of an English population of 56 million attend regularly.

An internal church report, Perspectives on People, Money and Buildings, published earlier this year, showed that church attendance has declined 40% in 30 years and warned that stipendiary clergy positions — filled by priests and deacons supported by the church — would have to be pruned.

In Chelmsford — Cottrell's diocese before moving to York — 61 stipendiary posts are being cut by the end of this year.

The biggest financial issue for the Church of England, however, maybe its buildings.

Three-quarters of its churches are officially listed as historic and demand costly maintenance.

Some of those costs are covered by tourism and charitable grants, but the greatest burden falls on the church and each parish's membership.

If lay-led communities meeting in people's houses are the future, many fear that more of these treasures will be closed.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which led to churches being locked, collections not taken and services moved online, caused an 8.1% fall in the church's income as of November 2020.

But one of the most vocal Anglican priests, the Rev Marcus Walker, vicar of London's oldest parish church, the 900-year-old St. Bartholomew the Great, has warned that the bishop's plan envisages the death of the parish and argues that "this must be fought."

In Walker's view, the parish system has survived hundreds of years precisely because it works so well.

"The parish system works because the parish is local. It responds to local needs," he says.

What has particularly alarmed Walker and his fellow priests is that publication of Cottrell's paper coincided with another given at a conference on church planting supported by Cottrell and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, which goes much further in its critique of parishes.

Critics believe this second paper lifts the lid on the thinking of an increasingly influential evangelical strand of Anglicanism.

Canon John McGinley, a priest in the Diocese of Leicester and a leader in New Wine, a church planting and renewal organization that is part of an evangelical surge in the Church of England, argued at a recent conference that lay-led communities release the church "from key limiting factors," such as buildings and clergy pay and training.

He envisages a new Anglican lay structure based on groups of 20-30 people meeting in people's homes.

Archbishop Welby told the same audience at Multiply X 2021 that church planting would be a new discipline for Anglicans.

"We are not meant to leave Jesus inside the church when we go out, and pick him up again when we come back in the following Sunday but to go with him," said Welby.

Anglicanism has always performed a balancing act between a sacramental approach that puts the Eucharist at the centre of the life of a worshipping community, requiring a priest to celebrate the sacrament — and an evangelical idea of the church focused more on Scripture and lay leadership.

The Rev Andrew Lightbown, rector of Winslow, Buckinghamshire, said: "Within the reformed Catholic tradition of the Church of England we are a sacramental church. And it is also incredibly important that at the end of every service people are blessed and sent out to do God's work. You don't do that with a lay-led church. This plan could be rolling back hundreds of years of theology and changing the Church of England."

Lightbown also pointed out that a lay-led group of 20 would not have the same inclusiveness and sense of service to the whole community.

"The parish church is not limited to the worshipping community. It is there for everyone. Will these new lay-led groups carry out baptisms, weddings and funerals?"

The Rev Barnaby Perkins, of St. Peter and Paul in West Clandon, southwest of London, offers another difficult question in Cottrell's proposal: Will lay people be diligent keepers of the faith? "There has been a change in the way the hierarchy views the clergy, but there is a need for them to teach the faith and order the life of the church," he said.

Source

• Catherine Pepinster is an author at Religion News Service
• First published in RNS. Republished with permission.

"My Catholic identity is so important to me, and it informs so much of how I interact with the world," said MacMaster, who is a candidate for a master's in divinity.

"I know the Church can be a force for good and instrumental change in the world, and it became very important to me to help affect that change."

MacMaster wouldn't pursue ordination if it were available to women and has not felt excluded from any forms of lay ministry by her gender, she said in an email interview.

Even so, she has often felt that other Catholics expect her to pursue children's ministry, or that her gender and age have caused her to be "talked over or pigeonholed into certain affinity ministries" in her work in the church.

In her multifaith seminary, she has experienced misogyny and anti-Catholic sentiment. Despite these experiences, MacMaster remains committed to her calling: "If I have to carve out a niche for myself, I will."

"Everything I've experienced has only made me stronger in my conviction to help all feel at home in their faith — to see themselves in this beautiful community," she wrote.

MacMaster's experiences and feelings about women's work in the church aren't uncommon, according to a recent survey conducted by the Women's Ordination Conference (WOC).

Titled "Mainstreaming Women's Ministries in the Roman Catholic Church," the survey found that 82% of those surveyed felt that women's ministries were not valued equally to men's.

Of the 224 young Catholic women in formation and ministry in the U.S. who responded, 80% were dissatisfied with the ministry opportunities available to them in the global church, and 73% said the same about local opportunities.

Although the survey respondents overwhelmingly described their Catholic identity as "extremely important," they also described a lack of women's leadership opportunities, financial insecurity and clericalism as barriers to the fulfillment of their ministerial paths.

"What this survey affirms is that women of the church are overwhelmingly educated and trained and thoughtful Catholic leaders, and they will persist," said Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women's Ordination Conference.

But they will "persist to a point," McElwee said, referring to young Catholics who choose to disaffiliate with the institutional church.

"It's a loss that's happened for many generations before this one, and our hope is that we can work to support these women to stall their exit," she said.

McElwee said the survey was a response to the resurgence of her organization's Young Feminist Network and Women's Ordination Conference members struggling with ministerial discernment after completing pastoral degrees. Continue reading

• The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of CathNews.

Like other clergy members, this priest can deliver sermons and move around to interface with worshippers.

But Mindar comes with some ... unusual traits. A body made of aluminum and silicone, for starters.

Mindar is a robot priest.

Designed to look like Kannon, the Buddhist deity of mercy, the $1 million machine is an attempt to reignite people's passion for their faith in a country where religious affiliation is on the decline.

For now, Mindar is not AI-powered. It just recites the same preprogrammed sermon about the Heart Sutra over and over.

But the robot's creators say they plan to give it machine-learning capabilities that'll enable it to tailor feedback to worshippers' specific spiritual and ethical problems.

"This robot will never die; it will just keep updating itself and evolving," said Tensho Goto, the temple's chief steward.

"With AI, we hope it will grow in wisdom to help people overcome even the most difficult troubles. It's changing Buddhism."

Robot priests are changing other religions, too.

In 2017, Indians rolled out a robot that performs the Hindu aarti ritual, which involves moving a light round and round in front of a deity.

That same year, in honor of the Protestant Reformation's 500th anniversary, Germany's Protestant Church created a robot called BlessU-2.

It gave preprogrammed blessings to over 10,000 people.

Then there's SanTO — short for Sanctified Theomorphic Operator — a 17-inch-tall robot reminiscent of figurines of Catholic saints.

If you tell it you're worried, it'll respond by saying something like, "From the Gospel according to Matthew, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Roboticist Gabriele Trovato designed SanTO to offer spiritual succor to elderly people whose mobility and social contact may be limited.

Next, he wants to develop devices for Muslims, though it remains to be seen what form those might take.

As more religious communities begin to incorporate robotics — in some cases, AI-powered and in others, not — it stands to change how people experience faith.

It may also alter how we engage in ethical reasoning and decision-making, which is a big part of religion.

For the devout, there's plenty of positive potential here: Robots can get disinterested people curious about religion or allow for a ritual to be performed when a human priest is inaccessible.

But robots also pose risks for religion — for example, by making it feel too mechanized or homogenized or by challenging core tenets of theology.

On the whole, will the emergence of AI religion make us better or worse off?

The answer depends on how we design and deploy it — and on whom you ask.

Some cultures are more open to religious robots than others

New technologies often make us uncomfortable.

Which ones we ultimately accept — and which ones we reject — is determined by an array of factors, ranging from our degree of exposure to the emerging technology to our moral presuppositions.

Japanese worshippers who visit Mindar are reportedly not too bothered by questions about the risks of siliconizing spirituality.

That makes sense given that robots are already so commonplace in the country, including in the religious domain.

For years now, people who can't afford to pay a human priest to perform a funeral have had the option to pay a robot named Pepper to do it at a much cheaper rate.

And in China, at Beijing's Longquan Monastery, an android monk named Xian'er recites Buddhist mantras and offers guidance on matters of faith.

What's more, Buddhism's non-dualistic metaphysical notion that everything has inherent "Buddha nature" — that all beings have the potential to become enlightened — may predispose its adherents to be receptive to spiritual guidance that comes from technology. Continue reading

Further reading

• Nun pitches gender-neutral robot priests to solve problems in Catholic Church
• Catholic theologian wants gender-neutral robot priests to tackle church's ‘sexual abuse crisis'
• Robot priests more acceptable to Protestants than Catholics
• In robota Christi? Why robots can never be Catholic priests

The Church of the Sacred Heart, in Boho, Co. Fermanagh, canceled a regularly scheduled service because of a shortage of priests.

This is a serious concern in Ireland and around the world. According to The Catholic News Agency; The Catholic Church is experiencing a global crisis with a shortage of priests.

The number of Catholics per priest increased from 1,895 in 1980 to 3,126 in 2012

In a study by Georgetown University, they reported; The Catholic Church in many parts of the world is facing a "priest shortage" or a "priest crisis."

This crisis is not new.

The U.S. data confirmed that in the last 50 years the priesthood has decreased by 33%.

In 1970, the U.S. reported 37,300 priests in the church. According to Georgetown University, the most recent number is 25,800.

In America, in 1970 there was one priest for every 800 Catholics.

Today, that estimate is one priest for every 1,800. This is alarming.

Another startling detail is the number of the aged priest still working.

The statistics released from The Church Militant confirmed that there are more men over 65 years of age in the priesthood than under 35 years old.

Additional research shows that by 2025 the religious sisters, brothers, and priests over 70 years of age will exceed those under age 70 by approximately 4 to 1.

The church must find solutions

One solution is to assign a priest to minister at several locations. A high percentage of priests perform Mass for several parishes in their region.

The big question is, Why is the church facing this priesthood shortage?

First, half (51%) of candidates faced discouragement from one or more persons. They reported discouragement from friends/classmates (30%) or a family member other than a parent (21%).

Second, the priesthood is a challenging job. A priest's duties are broad and demanding. They must provide care for others, compose sermons, speak regularly, host meetings, cast vision, oversee facilities, and stay connected to community events. Challenging for sure.

Third, salaries are below normal.

The salaries (in the US) range from 28,000 to 80,000.00 in top parishes.

Well below the levels of other college graduates.

Some priests attend college for 8-10 years and gain a master's degree and even PhD's. Ministry is not the ideal occupation for competitive compensation. Continue reading

• Thomas McDaniels is an aspiring writer and the guy behind thomasmcdaniels.com.
• Image: thomasmcdaniels.com

St. Paul mentions deacons along with bishops in his letter to the Christians of Philippi.

Later, in the first epistle to Timothy, Paul (or more likely someone writing in his name) talks of the qualifications for those ministries. There is a sentence about women that might refer to deaconesses since it is in the middle of the list of qualities that should typify a deacon.

Art historians have discovered early representations of the liturgy that show women sharing a role at the altar with men.

So, it is clear that from the early days of the Church, at least in some places, there were bishops and deacons, perhaps of both genders, though they would have been very different from their evolved descendants.

Those ministries postdate Pentecost when the Church received the power of God to fulfill its mission.

Presbyters (we call them priests, though the ordination rite calls them presbyters) apparently came to share the priestly ministry of bishops sometime after the New Testament period.

The Acts of the Apostles presents the origins of a ministry that evolved into the deaconate we know today.

In Acts, seven men were appointed in response to a practical problem in the Church. The charitable work of the community was expanding beyond the ability of the leaders to equitably serve all (Acts 6:1-6).

So, the community, at the behest of the leaders, chose men to engage in that work.

After the Ascension, the newborn Church had no problem organizing its life and ministry in accord with needs and opportunities with which Jesus did not, could not nor needed not deal.

The ordained ministries of bishop, presbyter and deacon arose out of concrete needs and were intended to meet those needs that could only arise after the Church developed into a more or less structured community.

It is need, not precedent, that determines the way the Church meets new situations.

The Vatican has been studying the question of ordaining women as deacons, focusing on history.

However, whether or not women in the first, second or third century exercised what we would call ordained ministry is irrelevant.

Answers to situations back then in the Mediterranean basin are, in themselves, of no use in the 21st century.

What is relevant, and is the true tradition, is confidence in the presence of the Holy Spirit guiding the Church to innovate in meeting the needs and cultural situations of that time and place.

What does that mean two millennia later when the Church has become truly catholic, truly universal?

Obviously, there are different needs, needs that will not and cannot be answered by continuing or restoring ancient precedents.

In major parts of the world, the spread of the Gospel is hampered by the increasing perception of the irrelevance and injustice of the Church's relationship with women.

Women are taking their place as equals of men.

That is not the case everywhere, but it is a major and growing trend in large parts of the world.

Therefore, the need facing the Christian community today is to respond to that fact where the roles and relations of men and women are rapidly diverging from what they have been in the past.

Ordaining women will not be a panacea and may not even be desirable when there are more important needs that should be met by involving women.

However, it may be step toward being a sign of openness to the call of the Spirit to once again answer the needs around us with creativity and confidence.

We do have a precedent for recognizing that women may not be excluded from full discipleship by their gender. The one who broke the precedent was Jesus himself.

When he visited Martha and Mary, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus.

In the world in which he lived and taught, that posture had a special meaning that those who saw it and those who originally read Luke's Gospel would have understood.

And that meaning would have surprised or even shocked them.

It bothered Martha.

One who sat at the feet of a teacher was that teacher's disciple.

We still speak of disciples sitting at the feet of a master.

Mary was a disciple of Jesus, entitled to sit at his feet as any other disciple would.

But in that time and place, women belonged in the kitchen, doing what Martha was doing.

For a woman to occupy the position of a full disciple was a radical challenge to the society in which Jesus lived.

Mary was claiming equality with men!

And Jesus not only allowed it; he even said to Martha that Mary had "chosen the better part."

And, he added, "it will not be taken from her."

In fact, not much time passed before it was taken from those women who followed Mary as disciples of Christ.

Jesus' and the early Church's radical view of equality did not long survive.

Customary attitudes toward women, even among women, were just too strong.

Today, as attitudes toward women that subverted the practice of Jesus are changing in many places, we are challenged to accept the fact that Jesus still has something to teach us that seems subversive of the so-called "normal" ordering of society and the Church.

What has been is not what need be.

• Father William Grimm is a New York-born priest active in Tokyo. He has also served in Cambodia and Hong Kong and is the publisher of ucanews.com. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of ucanews.com.
• Image: Supplied

Americans no longer hold clergy in such high regard, according to a recent poll, and even regular churchgoers are seeking counsel elsewhere.

A NORC/AP poll of 1,137 adults released this month shows that doctors, teachers, members of the military — even scientists — are viewed more positively than clergy.

The less frequently people attend church, the more negative their views.

Among those who attend less than once a month, only 42% said they had a positive view of clergy members — a rate comparable to that of lawyers, who rank near the bottom of the list of professions.

While frequent church attenders still hold clergy in high regard — about 75% viewed them positively — they give them only passing grades on a number of personal attributes.

Only 52% of monthly churchgoers consider clergy trustworthy (that number drops to 23% among those who attend less than once a month) and 57% said they were honest and intelligent (compared with 27% and 30% among infrequent attenders).

"If you buy into the religious worldview, then the religious leader looks completely different than if you don't buy into the religious worldview," said Scott Thumma, professor of the sociology of religion at Hartford Seminary.

"The perception from the outside is pretty bleak."

The survey confirms previous studies.

A 2018 Gallup survey of the public's views of the honesty and ethical standards of a variety of occupations found that only 37% of Americans viewed clergy "very highly" (with 43% having an "average" view of clergy).

It was the lowest Gallup recorded since it began examining occupations in 1977.

Historians say public attitudes about clergy have been waning since the 1970s, in tandem with the loss of trust in institutions after the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal.

The rise of the religious right and evangelical involvement in politics, beginning in 1979 with the creation of the Moral Majority, also played a role.

"What that did was create a certain polarization of views of the clergy," said E. Brooks Holifield, professor emeritus of American church history at Emory University's Candler School of Theology.

"The televangelist scandals contributed to that. The sexual abuse among Catholics. All that created suspicion of the clergy."

Perhaps as troubling, the NORC/AP poll, conducted May 17-20, showed that even monthly churchgoers don't want clergy influence in their lives on a number of issues.

Americans across the board said they didn't want clergy input when it came to family planning, child rearing, sex, careers, financial decision-making, medical decision-making or voting.

Clergy, the poll suggests, are growing irrelevant.

Asked more generally, "When making important decisions, how often have you consulted a clergy member or religious leader?," 13% of monthly churchgoers said they did so "often," and 31% said "sometimes."

By contrast, 56% said "rarely" or "never."

Among less-frequent churchgoers, 88% said "rarely" or "never." (Two areas where clergy are still sought out by frequent attenders: marriage and divorce, and advice on charitable giving.)

One reason may be the growing educational ranks of people in the pews.

"There was a time when the clergyperson was the most educated person in the community," said Mark Chaves, professor of sociology, religion and divinity at Duke University.

"They had access to resources and knowledge. With increasing education in the general population, the role of clergy as experts might be decreasing."

Society, too, has become more specialized. People will seek out professional therapists — a psychologist or a psychiatrist — rather than going to their pastor.

They'll seek out a financial planner if they're they're in debt or need investment advice.

"There are people who are smarter, more competent, more equipped in certain fields, and that's where we go for those sorts of answers," said Kurt N. Fredrickson, associate professor of pastoral ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Clergy, Fredrickson said, must recognize that churches today are often seen as fire stations — places to go when all else falls apart.

"I help younger pastors, pre-service, flip the power structure upside down; rather than seeing pastors as the top of the triangle I want to help pastors become servant leaders."

While a pastor may not be the person to turn to for medical or financial advice, he or she may "walk alongside" the churchgoer who needs help and help point that person toward transcendent values, Fredrickson said.

To achieve that goal, he mentors pastors to have "humble convictions" and to be of good character.

The poll also showed that the majority of frequent and less-frequent churchgoers approve of women clergy and divorced clergy.

Opinions on gay men as clergy were mixed.

Only 40% of monthly churchgoers said they would welcome a gay man as their clergyperson, but 69% of less-than-monthly attenders said they would welcome such a person.

The NORC/AP poll has a margin of sampling error for all respondents of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

• Yonat Shimron is an RNS National Reporter and Senior Editor. Republished with permission.
• Image: Catholic Philly.com

It is in stark contrast to the recent turbulent times for the church, including a royal commission which exposed widespread sexual abuse, and the conviction of Cardinal George Pell.

Those events have not made her question her faith, but they have made her question the future of the Catholic Church and changes it must make to embrace the role of women.

"If not after this catastrophe, then when?" Ms Englebrecht said.

Englebrecht does not say these things easily. Until a few months ago she worked for a nearby Catholic diocese, visiting parishioners and assisting the Bishop.

Now she has moved on and is free to speak about what she believes must happen in the wake of the Pell verdict.

"I think it was a moment of absolute clarity," she said.

"The culture of secrecy … those days have gone. They have to go."

She and others believe a greater role for women in the Catholic Church would have changed the culture that allowed sexual abuse to flourish.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse reached a similar conclusion.

It recommended women be given decision-making roles at all levels of the church after evidence suggested dioceses where women played a larger role had lower levels of sexual abuse.

But Ms Englebrecht goes further. She wants women to have a place in the highest role in the church. As long as she has been a Catholic, she has felt the calling to become a priest.

She knows due to Vatican law, that is unlikely to happen in her lifetime.

"It's very painful," she said.

"I live with the longing to serve in a way that I'm not going to be allowed to."

'It's about feeling equal with the priests'

The Catholic Church in Australia is preparing for one of the most important gatherings in its history next year, when it holds its first Plenary Council meeting since 1937.

The ordination of women priests will be on the agenda, but most agree there is no likelihood they will be sanctioned here.

That would directly contradict more than 1,500 years of canon law — the rules that govern the Catholic Church.

"It's based on the view that Jesus ordained the 12 apostles at the last supper … and therefore only men can represent Christ," Professor Dorothy Lee of the University of Divinity in Melbourne said.

"At mass, behind the altar, they are standing in the place of Christ. Therefore, the argument is they have to be male."

It is a belief fundamental to the Catholic Church and Pope Francis has been clear that, on this point, there is no room for negotiation. Continue reading

• Image: ABC

Three years ago, I was the first priest to fight in the tournament—and lost in a split decision in the heavyweight final.

I consider it an honour to participate again (under the boxing nickname "Priest Mode"), but I am also aware that many people object to anyone, much less a Catholic priest, engaging in what they see as recreational violence. Read more

Costello and three others will have their decades of service celebrated in a Jubilarians' Mass at St Mary's Church in Whanganui on September 18. Continue reading

Dew, the archbishop of Wellington New Zealand, was speaking to The Irish Times on the fringes of a pastoral conference on The Future of the Irish Parish in Thurles, Co Tipperary

He said he thought the pope did extremely well to address it at the beginning of the mass at Phoenix Park: "He was upfront about it. He apologised for it."

Some 55 per cent of Irish people believe Pope Francis "did not go far enough" when he addressed the issue of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church on his visit to the Republic last week, according to an opinion poll in The Irish Times.

Responding to that criticism Dew said it was hard to know what people actually want. But he was thought that now that people have been spoken out there will be some concrete actions taken.

"But I haven't heard too many of what those actions should be at this stage. It's a massive challenge, but it's something the Holy Father knows has to happen, and other people know has to happen."

Dew also discussed the possibility of ordaining women or allowing a priest to marry. He said that while a lot of people want that he had doubts about whether it would solve the problem.

"I think there is something about being celibate and being available. You can see many more people. You can be involved in a whole range of families that you wouldn't be able to do as a married man," he said.

At the conference, Cardinal Dew delivered a presentation on how the merging of parishes and the appointment of "lay pastoral leaders" in Wellington has helped to "relieve the heavy burden that priests are expected to carry".

Read the whole article in the Irish Times

Source

• irishtimes.com
• sightmagazine.com.au
• screenshot: youtube.com

"I am not surprised" by the new reports of abuse.

"I do not think it will stop soon and, at the same time, I think it is necessary and should be seen in the framework of evolving a more consistent practice of accountability," said Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a professor of psychology and president of the Center for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

"I know that people are deeply angry and they are losing their trust — this is understandable.

That is normal, humanly speaking," he told Catholic News Service Aug. 7 as newspapers were filled with information and commentary about the case of retired Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, misconduct in a Nebraska seminary and the pending release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse.

The courage of survivors to speak out, the investigative work of both police and church bodies, the implementation of child protection measures and improved screening of potential seminarians, church workers and volunteers mean that children and vulnerable adults are safer today.

Pennsylvania not the end

But, as Father Zollner has been saying for years, that does not mean accusations of past abuse will stop coming out, and it does not guarantee there will never again be a case of abuse or sexual misconduct.

Dealing with the reality of potential abuse and the history of clerical sexual abuse in the church is a process, he said.

"We see that people were first speaking out about the misbehavior of priests and now it's bishops, so there is a development there.

"I am not surprised, and I do not think it will stop soon."

Something new

After Archbishop McCarrick resigned from the College of Cardinals and was ordered to live a life of prayer and penance pending a church trial, many U.S. bishops began speaking publicly of devising a process to review accusations made against bishops.

Father Zollner agreed that is a good idea, but he believes it must be part of "a new way of coming together as the people of God" and taking responsibility for the church.

To make that happen, he said, "we need to honestly look at what we can learn from the way society and companies function in terms of accountability, transparency and compliance."

"A church body investigating allegations needs to have as much independence as possible," Father Zollner said.

"When dealing with accusations against a bishop, there should be at least a mixed board — meaning some bishops and some independent lay persons.

If it is not possible to have a fully complete investigation by independent lay persons, there should be as many as possible and as experienced as possible.

Our canon lawyers are trained in legal procedures; they are not trained in investigation."

But the response must go far beyond setting up another new structure, he said. Continue reading

The topic given to Bishop Charles was: "Icons of Christ: developing personally and professionally as leaders of local faith communities for the new evangelisation.

Bishop Charles noted that leadership is currently a hot topic not just in the Church but in society generally given generational sub-cultures impacting on methods of communication and engagement. Among the particular challenges facing priests and parishes is growing communities - the people of God - in a time of increasing individualism.

There is a strong cult of people ‘doing me' rather than us, yet the covenant relationship of God with the world through history has been a journey from I to We.

Among the sources of leadership that Bishop Charles explored with the Sydney clergy was the central place of the Chrism Mass in the life of a diocese and its bishop, priests and people.

Drawing on the Chrism Mass gospel reading where Jesus is chased from the synagogue out into the lanes and fields of Capernaum, Bishop Charles invited the priests to reflect on where and to whom the sacred oils lead them as evangelisers, healers, and anointers or facilitators of the divine life.

He suggested that while the oils may appear like a channel of priests' ministry - which they are - they are first and foremost instruments of the Holy Spirit who is constantly at work among in the world.

Maria Cavallaro, senior PA at the Sydney archdiocesan curia, commented that the priests' assembly was "filled with joy." In thanking Bishop Charles, she said: "I am so grateful to see happy smiling men filled with hope".

Source

Supplied: Amamanda Gregan New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference

But only five of Rome's 11 new priests are Italians, having done their formation at the diocese's major seminary. The other six who will be incardinated into the pope's diocese are non-Italians. They are members of the Neo-Catechumenal Way.

They did their preparation for ministry at the movement's Redemptoris Mater Seminary and will likely be sent abroad to serve in one of its many missionary apostolates or parishes.

The ordination Mass is taking place on the 55th annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations. And in earlier-released message for the occasion, Francis said:

"Each one of us is called - whether to the lay life in marriage, to the priestly life in the ordained ministry, or to a life of special consecration - in order to become a witness of the Lord, here and now."

"In the diversity and the uniqueness of each and every vocation, personal and ecclesial, there is a need to listen, discern and live this word (of God) that calls to us from on high and, while enabling us to develop our talents, makes us instruments of salvation in the world and guides us to full happiness," he said.

In short, the pope focused on all the various types of Christian callings. But he did not say anything about what almost everyone recognizes today as a very real "vocations crisis" in the Church - especially regarding the priesthood.

Some loathe clericalism, others revel in it

There are various aspects to what might be better called a priesthood crisis.

La Croix International recently published two articles that looked at one of those aspects - the clericalist mentality that seems to be a disease (or at least a temptation) inherent in the very ethos of the ordained.

If you missed those articles the first time, please take a look at Joe Holland's "Get rid of the clergy - But keep Holy Orders" and Andrew Hamilton's "Clerical culture produces poor fruit."

Admittedly, these essays are dealing with a subjective element of the priesthood and how it likely relates to the current vocations crisis.

People will debate whether clericalism is turning young men away from exploring a call to priesthood or whether, on the other hand, it is attracting questionable candidates who actually revel in it.

There are other subjective issues relating to the vocations/priesthood crisis that need to be urgently looked at, as well. And, at least on paper, the Congregation for the Clergy has issued guidelines to help bishops and people involved in formation programs to do just that.

While the quality of seminaries and the priests they produce are largely subjective categories, quantity is not.

Objectively, the figures do not lie. It is a fact that the numbers of young men joining the seminary and being ordained presbyters are not keeping pace with the overall increase in the numbers of baptized Catholics. Nowhere.

Not even in Africa, where some people would have us believe the situation is not so dire. And where they believe that the "vocations-rich" African Church will become the protagonist of some new, "reverse evangelization" of the now greatly secularized, established Churches of Europe and the developed world.

They are very wrong.

Stats and the vocation gap

The latest Vatican-published Statistical Yearbook of the Church shows that in Africa there are currently just over 5,000 Catholics for every priest. It's even worse throughout Latin America where the ratio is upwards of 7,000 to one.

Compare that to the Churches in Europe, North America and Oceania where the figure hovers around 2,000 Catholics for every priest.

There are a number of possible steps that could be taken to shorten this widening gap.

But the most likely to be accepted at this time, also for historical and practical reasons, would be to change the criteria for admission to Holy Orders by expanding the pool of candidates to include married men of proven virtue - the so-called viri probati. Continue reading