There are many reform movements active in the Catholic Church. Most seem to focus on changing the structures and systems of the church, on reshaping doctrinal positions and updating teachings. Organisational reform is necessary and long overdue but there is also need for a complementary movement among ordinary Catholics.
In recent decades, the sense of ownership that people have over their own lives has undergone a significant shift. Personal authenticity and autonomy are the order of the day. More people feel they each have unique ways of being themselves and seek forms of expression that frequently do not fit traditional moulds.
There is a historically unique process of individuation going on. Finding one’s identity and understanding one’s personal experience are core concerns. More often now we understand we have a role in and responsibility for what we are to be. The structures of communities are quite different and more varied and complex.
The relevance of community has not disappeared but it has taken a different shape. In modern Australia, community is often taken for granted and accepted as background, evidenced for instance in social media.
Parishes are important local realisations of the church but there are many Catholics who do not feel comfortable or at home with present structures and ways of operating. I regard myself as a faithful Catholic, steeped in the tradition, theologically and spiritually literate, seeking a relevant, supportive community of like-minded people. However, I do not find the weekend liturgies in our parish churches to be reflective or expressive of my understanding of Christianity; they just do not speak to my world.
In Para.14 of 'The Joy of the Gospel' Pope Francis refers to three settings for evangelisation: ordinary pastoral ministry; the baptised whose lives do not reflect the demands of the Gospel; and those who do not know Jesus Christ or who have always rejected him
In the first setting, he distinguishes two groups, both of which are regarded as faithful Catholics. Those who 'take part in community worship and gather on the Lord's Day' and those 'who preserve a deep and sincere faith, expressing it in different ways, but seldom taking part in worship'.
I find myself identifying with the second group. This reality of many Catholics of good faith who do not attend weekly liturgies needs to be addressed in any serious church renewal or reform.
"There are many Catholics who do not feel comfortable or at home with present structures and ways of operating."
Para. 87 suggests a need for action: ‘Today, when the networks of human communication have made unprecedented advances, we sense the challenge of finding and sharing a “mystique” of living together, of mingling and encounter, of embracing and supporting one another, of stepping into this flood tide which, while chaotic, can become a genuine experience of fraternity, a caravan of solidarity, a sacred pilgrimage.’
Our core business as Catholics, following the commandment, 'Love God and love your neighbour,' is promoting personal integrity and authenticity in the search for a relationship with the ultimate source of meaning and value and creating communities of respect care, and love—personal and social evangelisation. We influence one another every day through our behaviour, lifestyles, values and expressions.
Reform movements tend to focus on structures, the organisation, how to improve performance in the ways in which the work is done at present. This still leaves the task to the organisation, to the people holding office.
Pope Francis seems to be advocating a broader approach, without devaluing current efforts. ‘All the baptised, whatever their position within the church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelisation, and it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelisation to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would be passive recipients.
'The new evangelisation calls for personal involvement on the part of each of the baptised. Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively engaged in evangelisation.’ (Para. 120)
An alternative additional approach would begin at grass roots, at ground level, like the pioneers of Liberation Theology and Basic Christian Communities. If we do not begin the process of doing the work now the way we want it done, it will not be done at all.
It would involve making connections, forming networks with people in similar circumstances who identify as Catholics but may or may not be regular church-goers. It would encourage the involvement of currently disengaged people.
Kevin Liston recently completed a Master of Theological Studies at ACU after a long career working with refugees and migrants