A new reformation for the 21st century must transcend "the current forms and boundaries of Christianity," resist simplistic answers to contemporary challenges and contribute to uniting into ‘One Body' all of humanity, together with all of creation.

On the second day of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Thirteenth Assembly in Kraków, Poland, keynote speaker Monsignor Tomáš Halík urged participants from across the global Lutheran communion to be "witnesses to the ongoing resurrection of the Giver of Hope,".

They could do this by working for a spiritual renewal that goes beyond national, religious, social or cultural boundaries, he said.

Ecclesia semper reformanda

In his keynote address to delegates attending the 13 to 19 September Assembly, Halík recalled that the Church must be "ever reforming, […] especially in times of great change and crisis in our common world."

Reformation is necessary, he said, "where form hinders content, where it inhibits the dynamism of the living core."

Looking back to the Lutheran and Catholic Reformations of the 16th century, he noted that they "renewed and deepened Christianity, but they also divided it."

The 20th century, he said, "saw the beginning of two great parallel reformations - the global expansion of Pentecostal Christianity and the Second Vatican Council," marking the Catholic Church's transition from "confessional closedness […] to universal ecumenical openness."

But the ecumenism of the 21st century, he continued, must go much further than the ecumenism of the previous one.

Just as St Paul had the courage to lead "Christianity out of the narrow confines of one of the Jewish sects and into the broader ecumene" during "the first reformation," Halík said, Christianity today has a role.

Christianity today needs "to transcend existing mental and institutional, confessional, cultural and social boundaries in order to fulfil its universal mission."

Faith and critical thinking

Reflecting on the "constant struggle between grace and sin, faith and unbelief, waged in every human heart," he called for an "honest dialogue" between believers and unbelievers living together in pluralistic societies.

"Faith and critical thinking need each other," he insisted, adding that a "mature faith can live with the open questions of the time and resist the temptation of the too-simple answers offered by dangerous contemporary ideologies."

Turning to questions of religious identity, he noted that "populists, nationalists and religious fundamentalists exploit this fear [of identity loss] for their own power and economic interests."

They exploit it, he said, "in the same way that the fear for the salvation of one's soul was exploited when indulgences were for sale" in Luther's days.

Comparing Luther to the Catholic mystics of that era, he said, "I am convinced that Luther's theology of the cross needs to be renewed, rethought and deepened today."

Part of the new reformation or "new evangelization," Halík said, "is also a transformation of the way of mission. We cannot approach others as arrogant possessors of truth."

The goal of mission, he reflected, "is not to recruit new church members, to squeeze them into the existing mental and institutional boundaries of our churches but to go beyond" to create a "mutually enriching dialogue" with those of other beliefs and none.

Reconciliation and spiritual discernment

In central and eastern Europe, Halík said, where countries suffered "the dark night of communist persecution," Churches have an important role to play in the process of reconciliation.

"Democracy cannot be established and sustained merely by changing political and economic conditions" he warned, but instead requires "a certain moral and spiritual climate."

Halík also warned that Churches that become corrupted by political regimes deprive themselves of a future. "When the Church enters into culture wars with its secular environment, it always comes out of them defeated and deformed."

The alternative to culture wars, he noted, "is not conformity and cheap accommodation, but a culture of spiritual discernment."

A renewed and newly understood Christian spirituality, he concluded, "can make a significant contribution to the spiritual culture of humanity today, even far beyond the churches." Read more

• Tomáš Halík served as advisor to Václav Havel, the first Czech president following the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of the Cold War. A professor of sociology and head of the Religious Studies Department at Prague's Charles University, he is also the recipient of numerous awards for his work to promote human rights, religious freedom and interfaith dialogue.

Greater attention needs to be paid to the wider context of the synodal renewal, to the preconditions and consequences of this process.

It concerns a much larger and more demanding task than simply transforming a rigid clerical system within the Catholic Church into a net of flexible communication.

Synodality, the common way (syn hodos), is designed to renew, revive and deepen not only not only communication within the Church, but the Church's ability to communicate with other systems in society, with other cultures and religions, with the whole human family.

The synodality is to be an inspiring response to the question of how to overcome the crisis of globalization, how to transform a civilization of technological, informational and economic interconnection and, at the same time, dangerous divisions and tensions into a culture of coexistence in peace and justice.

Synodality is a way of developing the catholicity (universality) of Christianity.

Catholicity, as well as unity, holiness and apostolic character, was given to the Church as a gift and at the same time as a task for the journey through history to its eschatological goal.

The Second Vatican Council emphasized that the mission of catholicity includes ecumenical and interreligious cooperation.

Pope Francis enriches the understanding of catholicity and ecumenicity with an emphasis on ecological responsibility: care must be taken to ensure that the whole planet returns to being an "oikumene", a habitable space, a home for the whole human family and all life on earth.

Ecumenicity includes openness, welcoming, hospitality and inclusiveness - not a naive and uncritical conformity to the external world, but an openness and receptivity to the dynamics of the Holy Spirit.

The God we confess speaks in the polyphony of Scripture and tradition, through the teaching authority of pastors and theologians and through the non-conforming and often unwelcome voices of prophets and the mystics.

He speaks through the daily practice of the people of God ("consensus fidelium") and through the "signs of the times" - through events in history, society and culture.

The seeds of his Word are richly scattered in the fields of different cultures, and are found in philosophies, religions and artistic creations all over the planet.

To embark on the path of synodal renewal requires the courage to be led across many boundaries by the dynamics of the Spirit, of whom Jesus says that "we do not know where he comes from or where he goes."

At the same time, the synodal journey must be a journey of spiritual discernment.

Jesuit spirituality in particular offers methods of spiritual discernment, for example in the form of "examen", a regular reflection on the contents of our minds, thoughts and emotions with which we respond to inner and outer stimuli.

One must carefully discern the Zeitgeist, which is the superficial "language of the world" (public opinion, advertisements, ideologies and the entertainment industry) from the signs of the times, which are the language of God through events in the world, through profound changes in society and culture.

The art of spiritual discernment is the fruit of a contemplative approach to reality, of contemplative prayer.

In the epoch of modernity, Christianity has lost its cultural-political role as a religion (religio) in the sense of integrating the whole of society (religio in the sense of religare - to bind together).

Synodal reform can prepare the Church for the role of religion in another sense, in the sense of the verb re-legere (to re-read or read anew).

The Church can be a school of "new reading", of a new hermeneutic, of a new, deeper interpretation of God's speech, of God's self-sharing.

This is one of the indispensable tasks of the Church of our time, and therefore of the synodal renewal: to be a school of a contemplative approach to reality.

The Church as the ongoing event of the resurrection

A contemplative approach to reality allows us to perceive the constant presence of God: to perceive our relationship with the natural environment as our relationship of cooperation and responsibility for the "creatio continua" (ongoing process of creation).

To understand the missionary task of the Church as a participation in the "incarnatio continua", in the inculturation of the Gospel into the ways of thinking and living of people (or as a responsibility for the "ex-culturation" of Christianity).

To consider the pains of the Church, of individuals and nations, as a "passio contitua", as participation in the cry of the Crucified and in the difficult silence of the Holy Saturday.

The Church participates in the drama of Easter not only through the liturgical celebration but also through the events of its history.

The Church also participates in Christ's cross, suffering and death through the death and extinction of its many forms - institutionally, doctrinally and spiritually, and through the individual and collective "dark nights of faith."

The mystery of the cross cannot be cheaply emptied; without death there is no resurrection.

Just as Christ's resurrection was not a mere resuscitation, a return to a past form, but a startling transformation, so it is with every awakening of the Church to new life. The Church is "ever renewing" (semper reformanda), but this "semper" (continually) has its own dynamics.

The history of the Church is not a one-way "progress" but an open drama.

The ongoing event of the Resurrection (ressurectio continua) happens in the stories of conversion, and not only in the lives of individuals. The present synodal renewal called for by Pope Francis is also a kairos, a time of opportunity - an opportunity for transformation, for renewal, for another of the many great conversions of the Church.

Synodal renewal and its obstacles

Synodal reform must be more than a mere continuation of the line of the Second Vatican Council. It is to open up space for the mission of the Church in a postmodern age of radical plurality.

Pope Francis identifies synodal reform as a program for the entire third millennium. Synodality is to be the permanent form of the Church throughout its future history - to its final eschatological consummation. It is a journey through history into the arms of God.

To regard any particular state of society and of the Church, of theological or scientific knowledge, as final, perfect and unchangeable is to succumb to the temptation of triumphalism.

Triumphalism consists in mistaking the present imperfect state of the Church in history (ecclesia militans) for its eschatological form, the perfect Church of the saints in heaven (ecclesia triumphans).

The heresy of triumphalism is often accompanied by paternalism, clericalism, fundamentalism and traditionalism.

Paternalism forgets that the teaching Church must always also be a learning Church; that in the Church there is one Father and one Teacher, Christ - and we are all brothers and disciples.

Clericalism is a manifestation of "worldliness" - it understands authority in the church as worldly power, not ministry.

The bearers of this ministry then behave like a "ruling class" or upper caste, separated in many of their actions and lifestyles from the whole of God's people.

Fundamentalism forgets that here we see and understand "only in part, as in a mirror and in riddles" (1 Cor 13:12).

The fundamentalist does not understand the images presented to us by Scripture and Tradition as icons for meditation, as means of adoration of the Mystery, but takes them as idols, idols that need no further interpretation.

Fundamentalism is guilty of idolatry, of objectifying and flattening the mystery of faith, of binding it into the shape of a closed ideological system.

Traditionalism is a denial of the meaning of tradition as a living, creative transmission of faith.

It is a heresy in the original sense of the word, an arbitrary selection - it takes a certain historically conditioned form of the Church or its doctrine out of context and absolutizes it.

Faithfulness to the content of the faith is a commitment to courageously, creatively, and responsibly revive and transform the forms of its expression so as to enable the content to be communicated in an intelligible and credible way.

Both the abundance of responsible theological reflection and the variety of practical examples of living the faith reveals the inexhaustible richness of the "treasure of faith" and the inexhaustible variety of its authentic interpretations.

The synodal development of the Church will show, in the words of Pope Francis, many new ways of being Christian, new - now unexpected - ways of being the Church in the world.

All attempts to shackle the freedom of the Spirit of God, to reduce the richness of his self-expression and to enclose it in a rigid, closed ideological system run the risk of the gravest sin: the sin against the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual accompaniment

The synodal reform of the Church is a long run; unrealistic expectations of major institutional changes immediately after the two synodal sessions in Rome must be tempered.

Nevertheless, the Instrumentum Laboris provides important suggestions that are already ripe for implementation.

In addition to the already established ministry of acolytes and catechists, the establishment of other ministries that do not require ordination is proposed.

One of these is certainly the ministry of spiritual accompaniment, which includes all the main elements of synodality - listening, openness to the action of the Holy Spirit, spiritual discernment and a common search for the right choice.

This ministry cannot be substituted by the sacrament of penance or by psychotherapy (although we may find some similarities or even partial overlaps).

It is a way of discovering God's presence in people's lives, even in the lives of "non-religious people" - to whom this ministry can also be offered.

It presupposes both the personal charisma, experience and appropriate personal qualities of the accompanying persons, as well as their competence in several theological disciplines and in the social sciences.

In addition to parishes, it will be necessary to establish centres of spirituality, spiritual exercises, spiritual accompaniment and pastoral counselling.

It is also in these centres that synodal groups should continue to meet on a permanent basis, sharing their experiences in an atmosphere of prayer and contemplation and seeking solutions to problems in their personal lives and in the Church.

Accompaniment as a political task of the Church

However, the ministry of spiritual accompaniment is not only about accompanying individuals.

The Church also has a "political", therapeutic and prophetic mission in the world.

The relationship between the Church and the world has been changing throughout history, and theology must constantly reflect this.

The synodal reform of the Church presupposes a reform of theological thinking: a shift from static thinking in terms of unchanging natures to an emphasis on the dynamics of relationships, on the need for their constant renewal and deepening.

At the centre of the Christian understanding of God is the Trinity - God as relationship, God's being as life in a relationship.

God created human beings in his image: the "human nature" is therefore a life in relationships, being with and for others, sharing in a common way (syn hodos).

The shift from thinking in terms of static, unchanging natures to an emphasis on the quality of relationships involves a renewal of both the understanding of the Church (ecclesiology) and of Christian ethics, including sexual and political ethics. In doing so, the findings of the natural and social sciences cannot be ignored.

The Church is to be a community of pilgrims (communio viatorum) in order to contribute to the transformation of the world, of the whole human family, into a community of journey, to help deepen the dynamics of sharing.

The Church is a sacrament, a symbol and an instrument of the unity of all humanity.

This unity is also to be synodal, not totalitarian.

This unity is also an eschatological goal - it cannot be fully realized during history, but it is necessary to work for its realization, to remove boundaries.

The process of globalization is necessarily incomplete.

It is in crisis mainly because technological, economic and informational interconnection has not been able to (and could not itself) create a consciousness of belonging and co-responsibility on a global scale.

No political regime, no ideology, no religion or theocratic state can offer an external framework for the co-existence of a multitude of such different cultures and civilisations, all clamouring for their own free development.

The political role of Christianity is not to offer or even impose Christianity in the form of an ideology or a theocratic state (the Russian Orthodox Church is a warning example), but through its synodal reform to inspire the quest for a new quality of relationship between people, cultures, religions and states.

The vision of the Second Vatican Council was dialogue - dialogue between the Church and the world, between churches, religions, cultures, peoples and civilizations.

But today, dialogue as a relationship between separate entities is no longer enough.

The Church and the world can no longer be seen as separate entities; the world is the internal structure of human existence, and the Church is always already thrown into the world before it is able to reflect on its relationship to the world. Civilizations and religions, states and nations can no longer be seen as separate entities.

We are interconnected - and we need to understand, develop and cultivate the way of this interconnection.

It is a challenge to and for all (per tutti) and all must be invited.

The synodal renewal of the Church is not meant to be a replication of the democratic system in the sense of majority rule, nor a replication of the type and state of democracy as we see it in today's political arena.

Rather, the principle of synodality could inspire a renewal of political democracy, a nurturing of what today's democracy lacks and why it is so vulnerable to populism and the attraction of authoritarian systems.

The Church must bring more than dialogue into the world today - namely, inspiration by the life of the Trinity.

Synodality, as a common journey, moves towards a deeper mutuality - that which the theology of the Trinity calls perichoresis, a mutual interpenetration that does not mean the destruction but the fulfillment of the identity of each of the participants in the process. By cultivating relationships with one another, by overcoming mental boundaries, we contribute - whether we are aware of it or not - to deepening our relationship to a common ground: to God, who is all in all.

• Mons. Tomáš Halík presented this text as a theological and spiritual introduction to the working meeting of the European delegates of the second session of the World Synod on Synodality in Rome. The working meeting took place in August 2024 at the Catholic University of Linz, Austria, with the participation of representatives of the General Secretariat of the Synod, CCEE (Council of European Bishops' Conferences) and COMECE (Council of Bishops' Conferences of the EU countries), bishops, theologians, representatives of religious orders and lay initiatives and movements.
• Mons. Tomáš Halík was entrusted (similarly to the European Continental Synod in Prague and the World Synod of Pastors in Rome) with the introduction and spiritual accompaniment of these synodal meetings.
• First published online in Catholic Outlook. Republished with permission.

Halík recently participated in a synodal gathering convened by the Vatican, highlighting concerns over parish priests' exclusion from previous synodal sessions and stressing the importance of their involvement in decision-making processes.

"We see ourselves as a societes perfecta", a perfect society that is too self-sufficient, said Halík.

Addressing the prevalent culture of clericalism, Halík commends Pope Francis' efforts. But he also drew attention to what he sees as "ecclesial triumphalism".

"Ecclesial triumphalism" he said, is a prideful, widespread attitude defined by a Catholicism that is closed off from the world around it.

In an address to the parish priests attending the synodal gathering, Halík lamented that "some Christians, alarmed by the rapid changes of the world, want to make the church an island of unchanging certainties".

"There are still places where the parish priest sees himself as the pope of his parish.

"The church confers the gift of infallibility on only one of its members, and then only under strictly limited conditions" he continued.

"And if even a pope relies on several consultative councils to help him make his decisions, how much more should a parish priest listen to those he has been sent to serve?"

Self-castration of the Catholic Church

Underscoring the diverse perspectives within the Church, Halík encouraged candid discussions on various contentious issues including LGBTQ inclusion and married priests.

Halík stressed the importance of embracing diversity and engaging with secular society. He criticised calls for withdrawal from the world as anti-Catholic, advocating for openness and universality.

"No wonder these people have an affinity for [Vladimir] Putin, [Viktor] Orban etc." he added.

"This type of closed Catholicism always has an affinity with totalitarian and authoritarian systems. To choose this way is the self-castration of the Catholic Church."

The synod process initiated by Francis, Halík said, takes incredible courage.

"He is not a progressive theologian, but he is a very wise pastor. He has empathy and humour, and an open heart, combined with the Jesuit strategy to go step by step."

Halík said there are those throughout the church, including in his home country, who are simply waiting for another pope to succeed Francis in hopes of a course correction.

"I think it is not possible" he said. "They are changes that are unchangeable, and he has opened the way."

Sources

National Catholic Reporter

CathNews New Zealand

To begin to find an answer to that question, please join me at a recent gathering of parish delegates from the two adjacent Welsh dioceses of Cardiff and Menevia.

It was in a parish hall in Miskin, outside the Welsh capital, at the urging of Archbishop Mark O'Toole (named in April 2022 as both Archbishop of Cardiff and Bishop of Menevia) who wanted us to consider the prospect of formally merging the two dioceses into one.

No surprises there.

Faced with nosediving numbers, such mergers are being considered across England and Wales, with Rome's blessing.

The point of this shake-up is not just to rationalise and cut costs.

No one quite articulates this, but something bigger is afoot: a reset, a shake-up.

For a long time we've been in "emergency mode", is how the archbishop explains it, and we can't go on like this.

We have to consolidate and cooperate for the sake of mission, in a Church where parishes are both spread out over a large and diverse territory (Menevia includes Welsh-speaking Catholics, Cardiff the English periphery of Herefordshire) and shrinking and ageing.

The crisis is not a shortage of priests, but a shortage of people.

England and Wales have one of the highest ratios of priests to lay people in the world.

The archdiocese of Cardiff, spread over 1,180 square miles, has 131,280 Catholics (8.4 per cent of the population) but just 8,276 at Mass, down from roughly 20,000 in 1990 and 14,000 in 2019, just before Covid snatched more than a third of them, never to return.

The ancestral rural diocese of Menevia, spread over 3,590 square miles, has just over 26,000 Catholics (three per cent of the population) and 4,650 at Mass, compared with roughly 12,000 in 1990 and 6,000 in 2019.

The trend will continue to slump.

So you'd imagine that this meeting on 10 February would be sombre, even grumpy: competing narratives to explain the decline and to vindicate agendas; sadness about the future; a painful sense of loss, especially of the young; a sense, perhaps, of failure.

I've often found such desolation in our parishes these days, speaking around the country about the Synod.

Yet the Miskin meeting had none of those craters: it was upbeat, and creative.

No magic wands were waved, but we saw change coming, and the grace in welcoming it.

Horrified at the prospect of ageing, beleagured enclaves, we sat round tables imagining a future of mucking in together for mission.

People said this would need a culture change: you can't go on in the same way, can you?

You have to go out, learn to listen, hear from the young who don't want to come in, and the elderly who since Covid stay away.

We have to learn to share ministries and resources for mission, go beyond boundaries, build bridges and synergies.

We need to create means of decision-making in common, through strong local deaneries and a diocesan pastoral council.

One person at my table said synodality had re-energised her parish, and she now realised how key it was to the future.

I doubt anyone in Miskin that day had read Tomáš Halík's Afternoon of Christianity: The Courage to Change, published in English this week.

It's been swirling around inside my head for many months: the Czech priest-prophet has penned the most compelling, thorough account of what Pope Francis means by this being a "change of era" in the Church.

The shift is much bigger than most realise, one that requires re-imagining much of what we take for granted.

But before letting Halík himself explain that change, let's name the key spiritual move being made here. Continue reading

• Austen Ivereigh is a UK-based Catholic journalist, author, commentator and biographer of Pope Francis. His latest book is "First Belong to God: On retreat with Pope Francis."

Halik recently visited Sydney and addressed various Catholic audiences, including educators, parish leaders and youth.

He stressed that ‘nones' and spiritual seekers are a growing demographic in Australia and other parts of the world.

Msgr Halík highlighted the need for evangelisation to be conversational and understanding rather than focused solely on conversion. He argued that "Evangelisation without inculturation is just indoctrination".

He elaborated that true engagement comes from acknowledging people's questions, doubts and diverse viewpoints.

Halik contrasted this approach with "evangelical Christian missionaries" and "migrant Catholic priests" who, according to him, failed to connect with the Czech people due to a lack of understanding of their cultural context.

Synodal approach needed

Halík also urged leaders to adopt a more synodal approach, echoing Pope Francis' call for a church that extends its reach to the peripheries.

He drew connections between the growing number of "nones" and the experience of the Czech Republic post-communism.

In this era, many Czechs were initially hesitant to engage with the Church but became open upon feeling acknowledged and understood. He advocated for the Church to learn from those who are not believers:

"We are all part of this secular society—we cannot create a ghetto or a sect. I tell them we can speak openly about the faith but I don't have all the answers for all questions.

"Also I think in the church we know many good answers but we have forgotten the questions, and the answers without questions are dead."

Atheism with compassion

Halík's message proposes that the church should actively engage with those outside its institutional boundaries. He suggests that spiritual seekers, often found beyond traditional parish structures, have much to offer and can enrich the faith community.

Halík also distinguished between different forms of atheism, emphasising the importance of understanding and empathising with those who have experienced profound pain or disillusionment. He advocates for a compassionate response that acknowledges the complexities of faith and doubt.

Sources

Catholic Weekly

Melbourne Catholic

CathNews New Zealand

Halík, also an acclaimed author, lecturer, psychotherapist, psychologist of religion and pastoral theologian at Charles University in Prague, joined in conversation at Victoria University Wellington's Law faculty.

Halík focussed on a number of issues facing the Church that he said were metaphorically the "afternoon of Christianity".

In an evocative address that spanned the personal and the theological, Halík, who is also a Czech theologian and clandestine priest ordained under communist suppression, delivered a powerful address highlighting the urgent need for reform within the Christian Church.

The crux of Halík's address was his call for a "deep reform" of the Church, extending beyond structural reorganisation to a profound transformation of its mentality and approach to spirituality.

Halík focussed on a number of issues facing the Church. He emphasised the concept of synodality, he advocated for a Church that fosters dialogue and openness, not just within its own hierarchy but also in its engagement and communication with the world at large. This includes other religions, non-believers and the broader ecological environment.

Halík argued that the challenges facing the Church are an opportunity.

In stark contrast to the institutionally rigid Church of the past, he drew on his experiences of ecumenical unity among persecuted Christians in communist prisons, stressing the importance of an open, serving and poor Church.

One of the most controversial aspects of Halik's speech was his critique of the reasons used to oppose the ordination of women.

Halík openly challenged traditional justifications for excluding women from priesthood by questioning the relevance of Christ's selection of male Jewish apostles for shaping contemporary Church practices.

His comment underscores a broader critique of the Church's resistance to modern societal values including gender equality.

Reflecting on what he metaphorically called the "afternoon of Christianity" he suggested a hopeful vision for the future of the Church, one that embraces change and seeks to find God in all aspects of life.

He called for a new chapter in Christian history, marked by a contemplative approach to faith that recognises the diverse spiritual journeys of all individuals, regardless of their formal religious affiliations.

Halík suggested that, in rapidly changing times, the Church faces both internal challenges and external pressures,

Halík says that going backwards, or even the status quo, has no future outside creating a small, almost ideological Church. He said that reform and inclusivity offer a pathway toward a more open, vibrant and engaged Christian faith in the 21st century.

Halík, a prolific author, is also a close advisor to the last President of Czechoslovakia, Václav Havel, and a prestigious Templeton prize winner.

Victoria University of Wellington, Te Kupenga and the Archdiocese of Wellington sponsored the Conversation.

Source

• Supplied

Warning the positive content of faith has become emptied, Father Tomáš Halík quotes the former Archbishop of Milan, Carlo Maria Martini; "I am not so much afraid of people who do not have faith; what disturbs me are people who do not think".

"For a large number of today's Christians, the positive content of faith has become empty.

"Therefore, they need to found their ‘Christian identity' on ‘culture wars' against condoms, abortion, same-sex marriage, etc", Halík writes in an article on "The Revolution of Mercy and a New Ecumenism."

Halík is professor of philosophy and sociology of religion at Charles University in Prague, President of the Czech Christian Academy and a recipient of the highly prestigious Templeton Prize.

He encourages the Church to not submit to the yoke of slavery, of legalistic religion.

I really cannot march under the same banner as Christians who align themselves with populist and nationalist political movements, hold to literalist interpretations of the Bible, deploy facile arguments against the ordination of women and engage in fanatical fights against abortion and LGBT+ rights writes Halík.

He struggles with "major doubt" in respect to those Christians who fall prey to what Pope Francis labels as the "neurotic obsession" of faith.

A champion of the current Pope, Halík is encouraging a "culture of spiritual discernment and fostering of those values that lead both to the heart of the gospel and a courageous and creative response to the ‘signs of the times.'"

Francis shows the way to a "Christianity of tomorrow", and understanding mercy is key to his reform.

"Pope Francis is not a revolutionary bent on changing church doctrine… rather, he is merciful", Halík explained.

"This pope does not change written standards, nor does he tear down external structures; however, he transforms praxis and life".

Halík observes that Francis is not changing the church from the outside, but he is transforming it "far more thoroughly", spiritually from the inside and through the spirit of the Gospel.

Halík calls it "a revolution of mercy".

"In his case, these words [on same-gender civil unions] are not mere empty pious phrases. Therefore, his reform has the potential to change the Church and bring it back to the heart of Jesus's message more profoundly than many reforms of the past", Halík insisted.

It is "through his personal example of Christian bravery… (Francis) calls us to act like free children of God, responsibly exercising the freedom to which Christ has liberated us and not submitting again to the ‘yoke of slavery' of legalistic religion".

Attacking those "high priests of the church of dead religion" who downplay Francis' reforms on LGBT and other matters, Halík calls on Catholics to continue the "spiritual renewal of the Church".

He asks Catholics to redouble their efforts to communicate the idea of God "as a kind, generous, understanding, forgiving, and healing power capable of transforming the human heart, the Church, and society".

Halík says Francis enfleshes John Paul II's call, "Do not be afraid".

Sources

• Novena News
• Association of Catholic Priests

This won't be because of outside forces like the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but because of the Church's unwillingness to reform, he suggests.

Halik says we should take notice that in many countries churches, monasteries and seminaries have been emptying out for years.

"Don't blame outside forces for empty churches."

"Why do we keep on blaming external factors like the 'tsunami of secularism' instead of acknowledging that yet another chapter of the history of Christianity is coming to an end and that it is thus necessary to prepare for the next chapter?"

Halik, who was clandestinely ordained to the priesthood in 1984 during the former Czechoslovakia's Communist dictatorship, says the Church should be what Pope Francis wants it to be: a "field hospital."

"What the pope means by that is that it should not withdraw from the world in comfortable 'splendid isolation'."

"Instead, the Church could "venture out beyond its own limits and help those who are being physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually hurt."

If the Church did that, it could begin to atone for allowing its representatives to violate people - even the most defenseless among them, he says.

Besides offering medical, social and charitable assistance - as it has done since its foundation - the Church must now go further and offer a diagnosis - just as a field hospital would.

Discerning the signs of the times also includes offering a type of "preventative medicine" aimed at immunizing society against the deadly viruses of fear, hatred, populism and nationalism, Halik says.

Rehabilitation is another aspect of healing the traumas of the past the Church needs to adopt, he adds.

Today's empty churches because of the coronavirus lockdown might symbolically show us what the future would be like if the Church doesn't seriously try to present the world with a totally different form of Christianity, he says.

"We have been far too convinced that the world - that is "the others" - must convert. And we have not thought about the need for our own conversion."

Above all, we need to become 'dynamic' Christians rather than 'static ones'".

Now is the time to think deeply about Church reform while the churches are closed because of the pandemic, Halik suggests.

This will involve profound reform that turns to the core of the Gospel message so seekers can find "a source that will quell their thirst for the sense/meaning of life."

It will mean Christians should stop trying to convert people and confine them to the Church's existing institutions and mental limitations.

Instead, Christian communities should try to aim for "a School of Wisdom where free disputation and profound contemplation is sought.

"A healing power for our sick world could flow from such islands of spirituality and dialogue," Halik says.

Source

• La Croix
• Image: Venuu.com

On May 14, the Czech philosopher priest was presented with the award, which honours a living person who has made exceptional contributions "to affirming life's spiritual dimension".

The prize is worth about NZ$2 million.

As he was presented with the award, Fr Halík said: "Tolerance is the secular translation of the Gospel injunction to love one's enemies."

"But when religious concepts are translated into secular language and concepts, something is usually lost.

"In order to tolerate an unpleasant neighbour I really don't need to love him in any sense.

"It is enough for me to ignore him, since I don't care about him," he said.

This mentality has led to the forming of ghettos and a culture in which different ethnic groups do not mix, he added.

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