"The Church Is Sick" (Hans Kung)

Even if you don’t accept everything he says, you have to admit that Hans Kung makes a strong case for his diagnosis that the Church is sick. You may not agree that it has “a debilitating and potentially terminal illness,” but you will have a hard time disproving his contention that “the Catholic Church is in its deepest crisis of confidence since the Reformation.” Pope Benedict  XVI said the Church has a disfigured face.

His book Can We Save the Catholic Church? (William Collins, 2013) spells out Kung's diagnosis, points to “the Roman system” as the major cause of the Church’s illness, and offers a prescription for recovery. The accumulation of power and prestige in Rome led to what Kung calls "the Roman system."

Kung is 86 years old. He served as a peritus (expert theological adviser) at the Second Vatican Council, lost his license to teach as a Roman Catholic theologian in 1979 when he publicly rejected the doctrine of papal infallibility, and has continued to criticize the “Roman system” as the major flaw in the Church’s mission to represent Christ.

After more than 50 years of study, experience and pleading, Kung says he has published his diagnosis “only to fulfill my duty in conscience to offer this service (possibly my last) to my Church, a Church which I have endeavored to serve all my life.” Can We Save The Catholic Church? may well be his final effort to spell out what he sees wrong with the Church and once again urge its members to seek reform.

In this book he reviews Church history, summarizing here the “critical, historical account of twenty centuries of Christianity” which he published in 1994 under the title Christentum: Wesen und Geschichte (published as Christianity: Essence, History and Future in 2004 by Continuum).

Reviewing various historical and defining moments in the Church’s history, Kung keeps asking whether the Church faithfully reflects the original Christian message “which to all intents and purposes is Jesus Christ himself” (57). 

He decries the Inquisition of the past, but insists that it is still operative today even if in a less physically violent form. He notes the name change, from “Holy Office (of the Inquisition)” to the “Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith” (CDF), but explains that it “now practices more subtle forms of psychological torture, and its proceedings continue to be secret, which is one of the reasons why the Vatican was not permitted to join the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights, which demands certain minimal human rights” (290).

Kung, of course, has himself been subject to investigation by the CDF because of his book questioning papal infallibility. Just six years after the close of Vatican II Kung was writing in Infallible? An Enquiry (Collins, 1971) that “the Council put forward a magnificent programme for a renewed Church of the future” (15), but “the people of God are being deprived of the fruits of the Council” (22).

In his Disputed Truth – Memoirs II (Continuum, 2007), Kung explained why he refused to go to the “colloquium” to which the CDF had called him, describing its style as "hierarchical and heartless” (266), adding, “I will in no way submit to an inquisitional procedure disguised as a ‘colloquium’ in which in the end there is no other possibility for me of safeguarding my rights (something that is granted even criminals in civilized states) than ultimately to subscribe to the Roman dictate if I don’t want to fall victim to Roman sanctions” (268).

In effect Kung argues that the CDF will not discuss but only condemn what it deems contrary to Church doctrine. Kung believes that theologians need to be given an ear, an opportunity to explore, to seek the truth. He believes that over the centuries Rome has shown itself capable of learning, and he hopes that someday the organ of the inquisition will become an organ of  proclamation of the faith. “The protection of the faith is better served today not through the exclusive persecution of errors but through the positive promotion of Christian doctrine” (266).

Inquisitorial practice, however, is only one of Kung’s criticisms. Among other ailments of the Church are: 1) the Roman monopoly of power and truth; 2) juridicism and clericalism; 3) hostility to sexuality plus general misogyny; 4) theological vindication of the use of force and war; 5) great financial power; 6) refusal to reform. All these ailments are contrary to the Gospel and the health of the Church. 

Failure to acknowledge the problems and refusal to speak up exacerbates the illness. Denial is not a redeeming or curative factor.

Kung goes on to list therapies for restoring the Church’s health; among them are 1) exercise of  pastoral leadership by office-holders, not a ruling dominium (often a dictatorship) but rather a ministerium (healing service); 2) reform dictated by the testimony of the Gospel not by canon law; 3) a papacy which maintains community with the Church (an idea that seems part of Pope Francis’ style of ministry); 4) development of a Curia in accord with Gospel values; 5) appointments based on competence rather than cronyism; 6) openness in and restructuring of Vatican finances (another concern of Pope Francis); 7) allowing priests and bishops to marry; 8) opening Church offices to women; 9) inclusion of  laity and clergy in election of bishops.

Kung concludes his diagnosis, therapy and prognoses of an ailing Church with these remarks: “I have once again --this time at a very advanced stage of life--  set forth in summary fashion my vision of a Church which could fulfill the hope of millions of Christians and non-Christians alike. It is a vision based on my experience over decades of careful study, and my experience of struggling and of suffering for it. It is a vision of how the Church could not only be saved and survive but also flourish once again” (331).

Offering his prognosis Kung said, “I hope very much that this book will assist the English-speaking world in supporting Pope Francis’s reforms by offering a precise historic and systematic analysis and viable, practical proposals for reform” (xii)…Doubtless, Pope Francis will awaken powerful hostility, above all in the powerhouse of the Roman Curia –opposition which is difficult to withstand. Those in power in the Vatican are not likely to abandon the power that has been accumulated since the Middle Ages” (337).

“Can we save the Catholic Church?” Kung asks, and then provides a positive answer, “…sooner or later, we will once again become what Christ founded us to be” (338).

Synod on the Family

The Vatican’s General  Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops released on June 26, 2014, a summary of  input concerning the pastoral challenges facing families in preparation for an Extraordinary Synod  to be held in October. The document is described as instrumentum laboris, a “working document.”  

A Preparatory Document issued in November, 2013, posed questions to allow “particular Churches to participate actively in the preparation of the Extraordinary Synod.” Bishops from around the world were invited to send their experiences and opinions about the social and spiritual crises of families and to suggest how the Church can better respond to them and to new family-related situations “requiring the Church’s attention and pastoral care.”

The summary of the world-wide consultation (the instrumentum laboris) has been given to the members of the upcoming Synod “to define the ‘staus quaestionis’ and to collect the bishops’ experiences and proposals in proclaiming and living the Gospel of the Family in a credible manner.” A second meeting, the Ordinary General Assembly in 2015, will focus on “working guidelines in the pastoral care of the person and the family” according to the Preparatory Document of November, 2013.

World-wide Consultation

The committee charged with developing the instrumentum laboris  faced the mammoth task of collating observations and recommendations from dioceses all over the world, input which on occasion offered culturally-based and sometimes conflicting conclusions.

The document notes, for example, that “the responses indicate that in Europe and across America a very high number of persons are separated, divorced or divorced and remarried; the number is much lower in Africa and Asia” (paragraph 86).

In the discussion about natural law (a concept often quoted in Church teaching) the feedback from the bishops indicates “large scale perplexity surrounding the concept of natural law” and affirms that “the concept of natural law turns out to be, in different cultural contexts, highly problematic, if not completely incomprehensible” (20, 21).

The summary says that “several Episcopal conferences in Africa, Oceania and East Asia, mention that, in some regions, polygamy is to be considered ‘natural,’ as well as a husband’s divorcing his wife because she is unable to bear children –and, in some cases, unable to bear sons” (25).

The survey results garnered from the preparatory document of November, 2013, confirm that the Catholic Church is truly worldwide and multi-cultural.

Difficult Situations

In addressing the question of same-sex unions or marriages the instrumentum laboris explains that in some cultures homosexuality is prohibited by civil law, while in other cultures homosexual behavior is not punished but simply tolerated, and still other cultures have introduced legislation to recognize civil unions of homosexuals (110-112).

The input from Catholic bishops insists that “there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions” but “according to the teaching of the Church, men and women with homosexual tendencies ‘must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided’” (110).

Of special concern to many is the question of admitting divorced-and-remarried Catholics to the sacraments. In Europe and in some Latin American and Asian settings, “the prevailing tendency among some of the clergy is to resolve the issue by simply complying with the request for access to the sacraments” (93).

A significant number of responses recommended consideration of  “the practice of some Orthodox Churches, which, in their opinion, opens the way for a second or third marriage of a penitential character” (95). It was noted that “in some cases, Catholics in countries with a major number of Orthodox Christians remarry in the Orthodox Church following their customary ritual and then ask to receive Communion in the Catholic Church” (96).

Long List of Challenges

I cannot in this blog touch on all the elements under consideration for the October 2014 Extraordinary Synod based on the instrumentum laboris. The Vatican’s English translation of the document is 48 pages long. Other areas of concern include communication (64), abortion (65), sexual violence (66), trafficking (67), drug abuse (68), migration (72), pedophilia (75), impact of war (77), cohabitation (81), and more.

My reading of the document leads me to believe that the Bishops will be tempted to initiate a large number of new programs and/or promote existing ministries for the support of family life. Among the recommendations are: 1) formation of the clergy in presenting better homilies; 2) ongoing catechesis of the families; 3) using language which is accessible to all, especially in liturgy; 4) parish programs to support married life; 5) ministry to those in irregular marriages; 6) more pastoral approach to the marriage “annulment” process; 7) programs to offer spiritual care for single, homosexual people; 8) programs to promote openness to life; 9) formation-aid to assist parents in the education of their children; and several more.

I suspect that genuine, effective response will require more than implementation of new programs. Talking about the challenges must be only a start. Development of programs can help. But true pastoral response to the need of today’s families will require conversion both in the thinking of the hierarchy and  in the lives of the faithful.

One element I do not detect in the instrumentum laboris is the need for a review and self-analysis of Church discipline and teaching to render them more pastoral in meeting the challenges of the modern family.

Cardinal Kasper’s Input

In February of 2014 Pope Francis called together an extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals, and part of their agenda included an address by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. His topic, The Gospel of the Family, was clearly preparatory for the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on the Family.

Cardinal Kasper caused a stir when he questioned how the Church could best respond to Catholics who have divorced and remarried without a Church “annulment.” He acknowledged that the Church cannot propose a solution that is contrary to the words of Jesus, but also acknowledged the  wideness of God's mercy and asked “how the Church can conform to the indissoluble cohesiveness of fidelity and mercy in its pastoral practice with civilly remarried, divorced people.”

He recalled the address of Pope Francis to the Roman Rota on January 24, 2014,  in which the Holy Father emphasized that the juridical and the pastoral dimensions are not in opposition to each other. “Mercy does not exclude justice,” Kasper said, emphasizing that  “pastoral care and mercy are not contradictory to justice.”

He reminded the bishops about the response he found in his study of the Church Fathers where “in individual local churches there existed the customary law, according to which Christians, who were living in a second relationship during the lifetime of the first partner, had available to them, after a period of penance, admittedly no second ship –no second marriage—but indeed a plank of salvation through participation in communion. Origen reports on this custom and describes it as ‘not unreasonable.’”

Concluding his address, Kasper noted that “we may not limit the discussion to the situation of the divorced and remarried or to many other difficult pastoral situations that have been mentioned in this context. We must begin positively, discovering and proclaiming again the gospel of the family….families are the test case for pastoral care and the most serious test case for the new evangelization.”

Kasper did not provide the answer to the questions he raised, but he raised the questions in response to the problems and needs faced by families today. It is his hope that the “forthcoming Synod, guided by God’s Spirit and after consideration of all points of view, can point out a good path that all can endorse” (The Gospel of the Family by Cardinal Walter Kasper, Paulist Press, 2014, p.p. 52-53).

Oremus

As I read the instrumentum laboris, as I reflect on Cardinal Kasper’s Consistory Address on the family, as I recall the hundreds of responses we received in our archdiocese when Archbishop Schnurr chose to consult with his Archdiocesan Pastoral Council and with the faithful of the Archdiocese by means of the online survey, and when I think of the challenges to the family I see in our parishes, I am more than convinced that we must (all of us) pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the bishops when they gather in Synod.

Pope Francis has asked the faithful to pray to the Holy Family, and he composed this prayer for our use:

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in you we contemplate the splendor of true love, to you we turn with trust.

Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that our families too may be places of communion and prayer, authentic schools of the Gospel and small domestic Churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth, may families never again experience violence, rejection and division; may all who have been hurt or scandalized find ready comfort and healing. 

Holy Family of Nazareth, may the approaching Synod of Bishops make us once more mindful of the sacredness and inviolability of the family, and its beauty in God’s plan. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, graciously hear our prayer.

Let us pray.

AUSCP Assembly 2014

The third annual assembly of the Association of US Catholic Priests (AUSCP) took place June 23-26, 2014, in St Louis, Missouri, bringing together 230 of its 1000 members.

The theme was “Dei Verbum, Revelation in Our Lives and Time,” a review of  the dogmatic constitution on divine revelation, a major document from the Second Vatican Council.

Four nationally known speakers (Scripture expert Donald Senior, Capuchin Franciscan Michael Crosby, biblical theologian Sister Dianne Bergant, and theologian Father Jim Bacik) developed the theme, assessing application of Dei Verbum for today and offering suggestions for its on-going implementation. (Their insights are summarized below.)

Four pre-assembly workshops focused on 1) consensus building and decision making (offered by Father Doug Doussan), 2)  ministry to the Afro-American Community (Father Paul Marshall, SM, and Father Clarence Williams, CPPS),  3) ministry to Hispanics (Father David Garcia of Catholic Relief Services), and 4) the priest-labor initiative (Father Tony Cutcher of the National Federation of Priests Councils).

Also providing input via Skype were Father Brendan Hoban, an administrative team member of ACP (a priests’ association in Ireland) and Father Helmut Schüller, a member of the Austrian Priests Initiative. Each described the goals, membership and hopes of his respective organization as well as the status of the Church in Ireland and Austria.

Archbishop Quinn receives award
 from AUSCP Chair Father Dave Cooper

Archbishop John Quinn, the retired ordinary of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, presided at Mass, and was the recipient of one of the AUSCP’s awards honoring outstanding contributions to the Church in the light of Vatican II. Theologian/author Father Jim Bacik was also honored with an AUSCP award.

Proposals

AUSCP members in attendance at the assembly discussed and voted on eight proposals as goals and resolutions for the association’s focus in the coming year.

The membership agreed to petition the US Catholic Bishops to address the translation problems of the current Roman Missal and to petition the US Catholic Bishops to refuse to allow the principles which produced this awkward and sometimes incomprehensible rendering to be applied to other liturgical translations. AUSCP members have been asked to forward examples from the Roman Missal which they find difficult to read or which may reflect an inappropriate theology for our time.

Other proposals included: 1) affirmation and promotion of the Catholic Common Ground Initiative (the encouragement of dialog proposed by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin shortly before his death);  2) study of immigration reform as recommended by the United States Catholic Bishops; 3) urge the USCCB to request ordination of married men to the priesthood in the light of Pope Francis’ suggestion that he is open to such a proposal; 4) issuance of a statement urging payment of all workers’ pensions; 5) ongoing support of an earlier resolution regarding lay and clergy participation in the selection of bishops.

Two additional proposals addressed increasing the AUSCP membership and ways of fostering dialogue with Bishops and AUSCP members.  All eight proposals passed with large majorities.

The Membership

Elections to the AUSCP Board were also held, with Frank Eckart and Bernie Survil being re-elected, and Joseph Ruggieri as the newest board member.

The new AUSCP chairman is Bob Bonnot (Youngstown), VP is Kevin Clinton (Minneapolis-St Paul), Secretary is Jim Schexnayder (Oakland), and Treasurer is Frank Eckart (Toledo).

Priests in attendance were diocesan and religious order clergy (e.g., Benedictine, Franciscan, Oblates of Mary),  coming from across the country, with eight from Cincinnati, three from Covington, at least one from Texas.

The Assembly 

The opportunity to share with like-minded ministers of the Church and to be re-charged with the spirit and letter of Vatican II are among the primary benefits of participating in an annual assembly.

During meals and over drinks, priests from a variety of Church ministries, personal backgrounds, and diocesan assignments exchange experiences, frustrations, hopes, and moments of grace as they carry on their commitment to Christ and the Church.

Some have been abbots. Most have been pastors. One was suspended by his bishop for giving communion to a Lutheran. Several were or are teachers. Many are retired (the gray hair or lack thereof was obvious). A handful were missionaries at home or in foreign missions. All are eager to support and implement the vision they received from Vatican II and are encouraged by the teaching, simplicity, and direction being provided by Pope Francis. (A cut-out of the pope’s photo was a major attraction, even to other guests at the Marriott!)

Liturgy of the Hours and Mass are key elements in the Assembly’s four-day program.

Three well-known Catholic song-writers provided an evening concert: David Haas (“We Are Called”), Marty Haugen (“All Are Welcome”) and Michael Joncas (“On Eagle’s Wings”)—the music played and sung the way the composers intended.

The Speakers

Father Don Senior reviewed the development of biblical studies in the Catholic Church, starting with Pope Pius XII’s Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943) which encouraged Catholic scholars to explore the historical-criticism method of biblical study to Vatican II’s Dei Verbum (1965) and on to the Pontifical Biblical Institute’s The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church (1973).

Focusing on Dei Verbum, Senior found five important dynamics in that document which should inspire our understanding and use of the Sacred Scriptures in the Church’s preaching, teaching and prayer: 1) rooting divine revelation in the Trinity (recognizing that ours is a relational God, and thereby helping us to understand God’s reason for creating in the first place); 2) recognition that humans, made in the divine image, have the capacity for relationship with the Creator and even communion with this God; 3) the acknowledgement that God is not aloof, but is indeed involved in human activity, present to the world; 4) appreciation that the culmination and definitive expression of God’s revelation is the Word-Made-Flesh; and 5) and acceptance that the word of God is entrusted to the Apostles and the apostolic Church, sent to repair the world.

Father Michael Crosby asked which Gospel priests and people are to proclaim. He noted that Jesus preached the Kingdom of God and that Paul preached Jesus Christ. In Crosby’s analysis the true Gospel of Jesus was subversive in as much as it differed from the good news of imperial Rome and further was an archetype for all relations on earth creating a model of how humas are to live by imitating the source of life who is God.

Drawing conclusions from the Trinitarian understanding of God, Crosby explains that the Church is to promote the “house” (oikos) of God in which all persons are equal, all members share equitably, and there is no domination of one over another. Quoting Pope Francis, Crosby concluded that “no one is useless in the Church,” and all members should recall the observation of Dom Helder Camara that “your lives may be the only Gospel your brothers and sisters may ever hear.”

Sister Dianne Bergant, CSA, suggested that base communities in mission lands were fertile fields for the new energized study of Scrupture promoted by Vatican II. In the past Scripture was often used to prove Church dogma, but in recent decades the Scriptures became the ground of dogma.

Sister Dianne further noted that interpretation of biblical passages used in preaching requires recognition of cultural and societal differences in the audience. The wealthy listener may interpret “Blessed are the poor in spirit” quite differently from the listener who is economically destitute. Preachers must also be wary of adding to what the Scripture really says.

Father Jim Bacik presented four ways of reading, understanding and preaching a Gospel passage, based on the theology and experience of the preacher. Preacher #1 (he called him Abraham) may think of himself as a cultural warrior and interpret every reading as a stage for attacking the cultural values of the day; he puts Catholicism on the line against the values of the world. 

Preacher #2 (he called him Isaac) is caught up in the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, and may reflect the notion that the teachings of Vatican II were hijacked by liberals or may emphasize the truth and beauty of Christ as outlined in Balthasar’s Trilogy, 16 volumes focusing on the Glory of the Lord.

Preacher #3 (Jacob) is a student of Karl Rahner, thinking of Vatican II as a dialogic approach, describing his preaching as a dialog between the divine and the human. This preacher will be especially eager to address the experiences and needs of the people, fully conscious of the a focal point in his homily that touches the audience where they are in their circumstances of life. 

Preacher #4 (Joseph) approaches his homily from experience of poverty and societal brokenness; he may find Gaudium et spes (Vatican II’s Constitution on the Church in the Modern World) as too hopeful. He wants to identify with the brokenness of society and offer the corrections and encouragement that come from the Gospel and Christ.

AUSCP Assembly in 2015

The fourth annual assembly for the Association of US Catholic Priests is planned for June 29-July 2, 2015, in St. Louis. Additional information about the AUSCP, the form for membership, etc. are available on line at the AUSCP website or uscatholicpriests.org.

New Insights in Scripture

I’m not a Scripture scholar, but I think we’re living at a time when traditional interpretations of biblical passages are being re-evaluated and on occasion a new exegesis emerges.

Take, for example, Jesus’ parable about the ten gold coins (Luke 19:11-27). A king gives his servants gold coins and advises them to invest them in his absence. Upon his return the king finds that one servant earned ten additional coins, a second servant earned five more, and a third simply returned the coin with no interest. We usually make heroes of the two servants who returned more than they had received, and criticize the third for being unproductive.

Recently, however, we have put the parable in an historical context, identified the king as Archelaus, the Roman-approved ruler who had executed some 3000 rebels and then went to Rome to ask Emperor Augustus to give him the title of king. The servants are his henchmen whom he left in charge and their “additional coins” represent the terrorism they imposed while Archelaus was away. The servant who had no additional coins was the hero –he refused to be as cruel as his master.

This exegesis makes it easier to understand the king’s decision to slay his enemies on his return.  Jesus was not suggesting that the king was God, but was insisting that establishment of the kingdom of God would not be accomplished without persecution. Franciscan Richard Rohr concludes that Jesus’ lesson is: “If you want to live the truth then you must be prepared to pay the price for it” (Simplicity, Crossroad Publishing, 2003, p. 167).

Or take a second look at the Our Father in Matthew 6:9-13. Jesus has advised his followers, “Go to your room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret.” And recall that at Mass, the presider prefaces our recitation of the Lord’s prayer with “we dare to say.” Our daring and the secrecy Jesus suggested may reflect the subversive nature of that prayer.

Recently scholars have interpreted the “Father” not as parent but as patron. In Jesus’ day in conquered Palestine the Father-figure was the Roman emperor. The patronage system was part of the culture the Romans brought to the lands of conquest. In this cultural construct persons of means and influence (patrons) would do favors for clients (in exchange, of course, for loyalty and services). The emperor was the chief patron, and was known as pater patratus.

Social-science exegetes Bruce Malina and Richard Rohrbaugh explain that “the mutual obligations between patron and client were considered sacred and often became hereditary…The Roman emperor related to major public officials this way…A pervasive social network of patron-client relations thus arose in which connections meant everything” (Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Fortress Press, 2003, pp. 388-89).

Christians who called upon God as “Father” were subtly challenging the emperor’s position and prestige. In his analysis of the Lord’s Prayer, Capuchin-Franciscan Michael Crosby concludes, “I have found it better, for cultural reasons as well as for my stance at prayer, to approach God not as parent called ‘Father’ but as patron upon whom we can always rely” (The Prayer That Jesus Taught Us, Orbis, 2002, p. 33).

This exegesis makes it easier to understand Matthew’s Jesus who says, “Your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (6:6) and “Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven” (23:9). Jesus was challenging the political scene with this prayer --perhaps a good reason for his followers to pray “in secret.”

A third participant in the patronage system, was the broker, the go-between who brings patron and client together. Malina and Rohrbaugh cite the story in Matthew 8:13 in which Jesus acts as broker for the centurion whose servant was suffering dreadfully. The patron is God, the centurion is the client, the broker is Jesus.

Episcopalian priest, teacher and writer Cynthia Bourgeault notes in her book The Wisdom Jesus (Shambalah, 2008) that we have had several avenues opened for us to better understand Jesus, his teaching, and the biblical accounts. She points to the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Codes (“a veritable treasure trove of early Christian writings”), to the influence of “a relatively new field of scholarly study known as Syriac studies,” to the recovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, and to a return to the contemplative tradition which had been “an important stream of insight” in the early Church (pp. 16-18).

These developments in history, language, and prayer have influenced the way we interpret what we read in the Bible.

The Pontifical Biblical Commission in September of 1993 issued the document “The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church.” It acknowledged that biblical interpretation can be a problem, calling the historical-critical method “the indispensable method for the scientific study of the ancient texts,” but acknowledging that “no scientific method for the study of the Bible is fully adequate to comprehend the biblical texts in all their richness.”

Nevertheless, “Catholic exegesis freely makes use of scientific methods and approaches which allow a better grasp of the meaning of texts in their linguistic, literary, socio-cultural, religious and historical contexts…Catholic exegesis actively contributes to the development of new methods and to the progress of research.”

Our study of the Bible is inexhaustible.  I think it engaging that we live at a time when history, archealogy, and other sciences give us new insights into these sacred writings. Even as we look out into space and discover a far greater cosmos, universe or multiverse than we ever imagined, we can likewise explore the Good Book and discern meaning and subtleties we never knew were there.

I’m not a Scripture scholar but I am energized when I read of new ways of interpreting the New Testament.

Pope Francis' Style of Leadership

There is a pattern emerging in the way in which Pope Francis exercises the authority of the papacy.

His style is not to impose but to invite.

By word and example he brings the faithful back to the heart of the Gospel, that is, to the values of the Kingdom of Heaven.

In his book Repair My House  (Orbis, 2012), Capuchin Franciscan Father Michael Crosby distinguishes three Gospels:  1) the gospel Jesus preached , 2) the gospel Paul preached, and 3) and the gospel the Church preaches.

Jesus’ Gospel focused on the Kingdom; Paul’s Gospel focused on Jesus; and the Church’s Gospel focuses on teaching authority.

Crosby believes that many, if not most, Catholics define themselves more by the third gospel. “They identify their faith with membership in an organization called Catholicism rather than their baptism into a living body that makes them disciples of Jesus Christ” (p. 79).

He recalled an occasion when he asked a classroom full of bored students, “How many of you are ‘disciples of Jesus Christ?’” No one raised a hand. After repeating the question and getting the same non-response, he asked, “How many of you are Catholics?” Almost all raised their hands.

There is validity in all three gospels, but focusing upon one to the detriment of the others undermines them all.

Pope Francis is bringing us back to an awareness, a consciousness, of the values of the Kingdom: mercy, forgiveness, simplicity, poverty, purity of heart, courage, love. This is Jesus' Gospel.

One of the tactics Pope Francis has chosen for Church renewal is collegiality. If the Church is to be reformed and renewed, it will not happen by a decree of the pope but by the collaboration and consensus of the people. He is responding to one of the signs of the times.

About three years after the final session of the Second Vatican Council, Cardinal Leon-Joseph Suenens, one of Vatican II's major players, wrote a letter to Pope Paul VI lamenting that discussion of certain issues had been forbidden at the council and in a recent synod.

Suenens explained: “The Council has given the Church a new awareness of collegiality; everything that promotes such collegiality in turn promotes pontifical primacy, enhancing its role as the heart and head of collegiality in action” (Memoirs and Hopes by L-J Cardinal Suenens, Veritas, Publications, 1992, p. 190).

Continuing his appeal for collegiality, Suenens added, “The central fact, which we cannot ignore in today’s Church, is that adhesion to any decision is dependent, not on the uncontested legal authority of the one who makes the decision, but on the ‘credibility’ of the authority itself, which must show that all the ‘pre-conditions’ to the decision have been met and respected, and that the interested parties themselves –be they clergy or faithful—have been properly consulted, if the decision concerns their lives” (p. 191).

Pope Francis is a model of consultation, collaboration, and collegiality.

His forming the Group of Eight Cardinals who are offering advice on reforming the Curia and restructuring the Vatican Bank, his worldwide consultation with bishops and laity about their input for the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on the Family, and his suggesting that he would be open to the ordination of married men if a conference of bishops has considered the matter and asked for dispensation from the Canon Law which prohibits such ordinations in the Roman rite –all these gestures reflect his collegial spirit and, I believe, the way in which he chooses to exercise his papal authority.

Father Jorge Bergoglio learned a valuable lesson in the 1970s and 80s when he was Provincial Superior of the Society of Jesuits in Argentina. Appointed to fix a number of problems among the Jesuits in Argentina, Bergoglio came down rather hard on his fellow religious, returning to pre-Vatican II values and lifestyles.

“Bergoglio’s stances became increasingly dogmatic,” as his biographer Paul Vallely put it in Pope Francis: Untying the Knots (Bloomsbury, 2013, p. 57).

Vallely continued, “Certainly when Bergoglio finished his term as Rector his superiors in Rome did not know what to do with him. It was decided that it would be best if he was removed from Argentina for a period. Bergoglio was dispatched to Germany…” (p. 58).

In his August 2013 interview with Antonio Spadaro, SJ, as published in America magazine, Pope Francis acknowledged his failure at consultation while he was a superior in the Society: “My style as a Jesuit at the beginning had many faults…I made decisions abruptly and by myself…My authoritarian and quick manner of making decisions led me to have serious problems…It was my authoritarian way of making decisions that created problems…Over time I learned many things.”

Pope Francis’ return to Gospel values reflects the direction set by Vatican II for the renewal of religious life. The decree Perfectae Caritatis noted that up-to-date renewal “comprises both a constant return to the sources of Christian life in general and to the primitive inspiration of the institutes and their adaptation to the changed conditions of our time…It is to the church’s advantage that each institute has its own proper character and function. Therefore the spirit and aims of each founder should be faithfully acknowledged and maintained…” (2).

Pope Francis’ way of leadership and renewal will not be by heavy-handed legalism, condemnations or dogmatic pronouncements. 

Without denying the fundamental teaching of the Gospel, without undermining the magisterium of the Church, Pope Francis will apply what Pope John XXIII called for in his opening address to the Second Vatican Council, namely, making use of  “the medicine of mercy rather than of severity.”

Pope John ended his address with the expectation that the bishops would demonstrate in the Council’s proceedings “serenity of mind, brotherly concord, moderation in proposals, dignity in discussion and wisdom of deliberation.”

I think these observations give us a reasonable insight into how Pope Francis will exercise his position as the vicar of St. Peter.

Mercy

I have a hunch that when the same idea or even word comes to me uninvited three times or more, I may be experiencing a whisper from the Holy Spirit.

If that’s true, then I think I’m being asked to reflect upon, prayer over and put into action the “virtue” of mercy.

The threefold repetition came to me in the form of three books: John XXIII, The Medicine of Mercy by Massimo Faggioli (Liturgical Press, 2014), Mercy, The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life by Walter Kasper (Paulist, 2014), and The Church of Mercy by Pope Francis (Loyola Press, 2014).

In the old days theologians (Thomas Aquinas, for example) thought of mercy as sorrow in the face of  another person’s misery or as a relaxation of justice, and argued whether or not God could really be merciful since “there is no sorrow in God” and “God cannot remit what appertains to his justice.” Aquinas, of course, addressed both arguments, and concluded that mercy can indeed be attributed to God (I, 21, 3).

The Old Testament certainly attributed mercy to Yahweh (“His mercy endures forever”) but we still question how that Hebrew word hesed (used 240 times) should be understood  -- mercy? loving-kindness? compassion? faithfulness?

The connotation of faithfulness or loyalty seems present when Hosea quotes Yahweh’s challenge, “It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice.”

In 1962 in his opening address to the bishops at the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII seemed to have compassion in mind when he encouraged the Council Fathers to “make use of the medicine of mercy rather than severity.”

Later Pope John Paul II focused on mercy in his second encyclical letter Dives in Misericordia (1980), and in 2002 when he established the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.

In 2012 German Cardinal Walter Kasper addressed the contemporary failure to focus on mercy in systematic theology, and, with the publication of his book Barmherzigkeit, urged the younger generation of theologians to go beyond academic theology and give consideration in a more pastoral theology to a culture of mercy.

Pope Francis, elected in 2013, said that Kasper’s book “has done me so much good,” and his own reflections on the need for a culture of mercy are apparent in his homilies, interviews, books, and Evangelii Gaudium. His book The Church of Mercy is a collection taken from the speeches and papers of the first year of his papacy.

Faggioli says of St John XXIII, “Roncalli’s life was exceptional in the way he lived it –understanding the profound need to rediscover the mercy of God revealed through Jesus Christ for the church and for humankind” (p. 134).

Pope John’s opening speech to the Council “upset the current mentality of official Catholic culture, which was focused on the condemnation of ‘enemies’…The speech did not give Vatican II an agenda, but a perspective…(cf. Faggioli, p.126).

Kasper clarifies the idea of mercy when notes that “the Bible understands mercy as God’s own justice. Mercy is at the heart of the biblical message, not by undercutting justice, but by surpassing it” (p. 18).

Kasper’s analysis of and appeal for mercy does not undermine Church discipline or the requirements of the Gospel. He rejects any arbitrary interpretation of Church law which is contrary to the objective sense of the law, nor does mercy mean twisting the objective sense of the law “out of an erroneously understood goodheartedness” (cf. Kasper, pp. 174-80).

At the same time the Church’s judgment are not to be applied “like a guillotine,” but rather should leave open a loophole of mercy which makes possible a new beginning for a person of good will. The judge should take Jesus Christ, the merciful judge, as his or her example. “His or her benchmark must be the gentleness and kindness (epieikeia) of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 10:1)” (Kasper, p. 180).

The Pope Francis book, The Church of Mercy, is subtitled “A Vision For The Church.”  In his homily for the Mass when he accepted the chair of St. Peter, Pope Francis advised anyone in the crowd who was overcome by sin and guilt to go to the Lord and accept God’s offer of mercy and forgiveness.”His is a caress of love. For God, we are not numbers, we are important ; indeed we are the most important thing to him. Even if we are sinners, we are what is closest to his heart” (p. 5-6).

On September 10, 2013, Pope Francis spoke at the Jesuit Refugee Center in Rome. His remarks reflected his personal experience of working with and for the poor. He said, “Charity that leaves the poor person as he or she is, is not sufficient. True mercy, the mercy  God gives to each of us and teaches us, demands justice; it demands that the poor find a way to be poor no longer” (p. 107).

Hesed, eleos, misericordia, barmherzigkeit  –mercy! I keep hearing that word. I suspect the Spirit is trying to tell me something.

Francis: Pope and Prophet

Franciscan friar Father Richard Rohr spoke to a filled auditorium at Cincinnati’s Union Terminal on May 1, 2014,  exploring the question, “Can a pope also be a prophet?” And his unambiguous answer was “Yes,” if Pope Francis is the pope and prophet in question.

Rohr describes a prophet as one who has the capacity for self-criticism. This prophetic gift, Rohr went on to say, prompts Pope Francis to analyze the journey of the Church today and offer a variety of course-corrections.

Two sources in which Catholics can find the self-criticism and course-correction are Pope Francis’ pre-conclave remarks to his fellow cardinals and his post-synodal exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel.

Prior to the beginning of the conclave, the cardinals were offered the opportunity to suggest to their fellow electors what they were looking for in a new pope.

In his remarks, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio said “the Church must come out of herself and go to the peripheries.” He spoke of a “theological narcissism,” criticizing the Church for being “self-referent” and of keeping Jesus Christ for herself and not allowing Him to go out.

It may be that these observations were a particularly strong incentive for the electors to choose Bergoglio as the man to replace Pope Benedict XVI.

Rohr said he has asked church historians whether they can recall ever finding such prophetic sentiments in a pope, and the answer has been, “No.”

Since popes are priests, it is unusual to find this kind of self-criticism and exhortation for Church reform since clerics and hierarchs tend to promote the status quo and eschew change. They are, Rohr said, “always tribal thinkers.”

In The Joy of the Gospel  Rohr found further evidence of the pope/prophet’s call for critical change.

Pope Francis reminds Catholics that God wants people to live joyful lives, and that “God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy” (3).

The Church, Pope Francis says, must go forth as an evangelizing community, and adds “Evangelizers thus take on the ‘smell of the sheep’ and the sheep are willing to hear their voice” (24).

“There are ecclesial structures which can hamper efforts at evangelization,” Pope Francis said in paragraph 26. And in 43 urged a re-examination of Church customs, rules and precepts which may have been quite effective in their time, but no longer have the same usefulness for shaping and directing people’s lives.

He recalled the point made by St. Thomas Aquinas that “the precepts which Christ and the apostles gave to the people of God ‘are very few’” (43).

Rohr noted that Pope Francis appealed to the principle of subsidiarity (decisions should be made on the lowest possible level of governance), and listed threats to Gospel joy such as economic inequality and the warring among Christian denominations who fight fellow believers for power, prestige and economic security.

Offering more than criticism, Pope Francis went on to suggest four specific principles for building of people and society (222-237):

1) "Time is greater than space,” by which Pope Francis means we must not be in a hurry to get things done, but allow processes to develop; 

2) "Unity prevails over conflict,” which means it’s more important to build community than to win arguments;

3) "Realities are more important than ideas,” that is, it’s one thing to have an idea or proposition, and it’s something else (more important) to put the word into practice;

4) "The whole is greater than the part,” or “we need to pay attention to the global,” to broaden our horizons; we must pursue the common good.

All through his talk, Rohr peppered his quotations from Pope Francis with observations of his own, recalling, for example, Mother Teresa’s directive that we must “cut the string” on the good we do, and not do things for reward or recognition.

Other of Rohr’s insights worthy of reflection and discussion include:

1)      “Every expectation is a resentment waiting to happen.”

2)      Power is where evil hides; it usually does not look like evil; it charades as obedience or loyalty.

3)      God’s covenant is with the people; it is communal.

4)      Our failures bring us to God.

5)      The so-called “para-church” is developing, namely a number of congregations of various denominations working side by side, developing their gifts without criticizing or putting down the gifts of others.

6)      Church architecture can be a trap. Big cathedrals define a stage or era in the Church’s history, but they may in fact hold back the people who use them.

7)      If a pope undoes what Vatican II directs, it becomes clear to many that the Church in fact is a monarchy.

St. Francis of Assisi, Rohr said, was an anti-establishment person, confronting the mores of the Church and culture of his day. Pope Francis is doing something similar. Pope Francis is turning the world back to the Gospel, and it is significant that others beyond Catholics or even Christians are taking note.

A pope can be a prophet, and Jorge Bergoglio (aka Pope Francis) is proof.