Two responses to Bishop Pat Power

Faith

  

Shane Woods and Peter Hai May 04, 2010
 

 

 

 

 


 

What do Hans Kung, Geoffrey Robinson, and Pat Power have in common?

They have all commented recently on the crisis in the Catholic church, both locally and universally.

This is a crisis that emanates from the pain and suffering of the hundreds if not thousands of victims of church personnel in the sex abuse cases that we already know about, and those which remain private. However, the other aspect of the crisis, that these three eminent churchmen have broken ranks to highlight, is the dwindling confidence of the diminishing faithful in the leadership offered by their bishops, including the Bishop of Rome.

This apparent lack of awareness by many of the bishops of the world, and even in Australia, was highlighted again for me by the recently released pastoral letter from the Catholic Bishops of Australia for the Feast of St Joseph the Worker. It makes for interesting reading. The subheading is 'A time to set new rules'.

For the bishops to speak publicly on the social justice issues surrounding the economy and the plight of low paid workers is right and proper. However, in the current climate one wonders whether anyone will listen, and whether the bishops can see any irony in their words.

The challenges the bishops set before 'decision-makers in government and business' in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis could just as easily be turned towards themselves and the universal church as a result of the continuing sexual abuse cases and the way they are and have been grossly mishandled in many instances.

Their instructions include the following, and I have taken the liberty of substituting in square brackets the words that could be used to assist the bishops to reflect on their own behavior:

Imagine what changes could be effected if this advice were taken on board by our bishops.

The Pastoral Letter concludes with a quotation from Pope Benedict himself, that could not be more apt for the current crisis in the church if it were written for this purpose and not in relation to the GFC:

The current crisis obliges us to re-plan our journey, to set ourselves new rules and to discover new forms of commitment, to build on positive experiences and to reject negative ones. The crisis thus becomes an opportunity for discernment, in which to shape a new vision for the future.

The bishops and the church should be grateful to Bishop Robinson for his work on setting up structures to deal with and prevent cases of sexual abuse within the church. They also owe him a public apology for the way they treated him after the publication of his book. The analysis he provided was timely and thorough; the warnings he gave have come to pass; the measures he advocated have not been taken up, and so the mess will continue.

As they did with Bishop John Heaps years before, Robinson's brother bishops cut him adrift and attempted to publicly humiliate him. This only gave him more publicity. He has never been more free to do the good work he began years ago than he is now, freed from his episcopal responsibilities. The Australian bishops need to eat humble pie before they are discredited altogether. Robinson will end up being vindicated.

Clearly and thankfully, Bishop Power has also decided he will not be restricted by some misguided notion of club solidarity and loyalty, and speaks the truth as he sees it. He will probably be the next to receive some sanction from his brother bishops.

Recently, Fr Kung addressed an open letter to the bishops of the world. It contained recommendations for change within the structures of the Church, and encouraged the bishops of local conferences to 'act in a collegial way ... work for regional solutions ... [and] use the episcopal authority that was reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council' to address the real needs of the faithful under their care.

The letter has received much publicity. For this not to be an agenda item on the next meeting of the Australian Bishops Conference would be to ignore the 'elephant in the room'. To address the issues he raises, many, if not all, of which are relevant to the faithful in this nation, seems to be of the utmost importance.

This view has been reinforced by Power's recent comments in Eureka Street. It seems to me that facing these issues with humility, honesty and courage, with a pledge to seek guidance from the 'ordinary' faithful would, as Kung suggests, provide 'signs of hope and encouragement and give our church a perspective for the future'.

The child sex abuse cases are not part of history. The cases are ongoing. The hurt experienced by victims continues. The causes are by and large unaddressed. The ramifications for the whole church are significant.

Along with many who have expressed their thoughts and feelings on these matters, I desperately hope these pleas from at home and abroad, summed up by Kung, Robinson and Power, will not fall on deaf ears, but be genuinely considered as a matter of the utmost urgency when the Australian Bishops next meet.

–Shane J. Wood cfc

 

 

The Absence of 'Faith' in a Bishop's essay

When a Catholic bishop writes in a public forum proposing a solution for a serious Church problem without reference to faith, holiness and grace, it gives cause for concern. Indeed, Bishop Pat Power's paper in the Canberra Times and Eureka Street fails to recognise that the clerical abuse crisis is ultimately a crisis of faith, the inability to see and treat others as the images and children of God.

By failing to recall a main focus of Vatican II teaching that all in the Church, whether they belong to the hierarchy or not, are called to holiness, his paper stands in marked contrast with Archbishop Philip Wilson's 'Letter to Women from the Catholic Bishops of Australia' issued in February 2010. In this letter, writing in his capacity as President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Wilson declares that 'holiness of life is the greatest service any of us can give our Church and our world'.

Power's paper also does not highlight the primacy of prayer and the Eucharist in this Year for Priests, ideas that Pope Benedict XVI emphasises in his recent letter to the Church in Ireland. It is worthwhile to recall Georges Bernanos' Diary of a Country Priest and Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory, both of which treat the theme of God's grace in a powerful and moving manner, an idea that did not rate a mention in Bishop Power's article.

Another concern is that by arguing for 'a total systemic reform of Church structures' without discussing in detail the strategies that should precede this reform Power did not pay sufficient attention to one of the most basic management principles, that 'structure follows strategy'; that is, strategy determines structure, not vice versa.

Here strategy has to do not only with vision and mission, but also with people (how to recruit, train and retain) and with organisational culture.

My final observation is that it is not beneficial to simplify the complex issues relating to Vatican II reforms in a couple of sentences crafted mainly for public consumption. Power's message gives a clear impression of sincerity, urgency, and also frustration.

My wish is that Bishop Power will use his ready access to the media to address other critical issues facing the Church, namely, atheism (does God exist?), interfaith dialogue (who is God?), and social justice or the dialogue with the poor (where is God?).

–Peter Hai

 

Shane Wood cfc lectures on the Broome Campus of the University of Notre Dame Australia. He has previously worked in the Office of Justice, Ecology & Peace and as Professional Standards Coordinator for the Diocese of Broome.

 

Peter Hai holds a doctorate in theology from the Australian Catholic University and the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in the PhD Thesis for his dissertation on the role of lay people in the documents of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.

 

Source:
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=21065

 

 

Catholic Church needs total reform

Pat Power April 23, 2010

 

The current crisis facing the Catholic Church arising out of sexual abuse is arguably the most serious challenge the Church has faced since the Reformation in the 16th century. The response must in the first instance be clearly focussed on the victims of such abuse, their families and other secondary victims. The untold damage done to innocent people and its life-long consequences in many cases need to be clearly and honestly acknowledged. I am pleased where every effort is being made to see that justice is done for those affected and where all possible measures are being taken to bring about healing and reparation.  

In responding to sexual and other forms of abuse within the Church it is not enough to concentrate on the sinfulness and failure of those guilty of abuse. It is not just a question of individual repentance but a total systemic reform of Church structures which is needed. An ecclesiastical environment which allowed such aberrant behaviour can no longer be tolerated. Bishop Geoffrey Robinson in his 2007 book Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church “came to the unshakeable belief that within the Catholic Church there absolutely must be profound and enduring change”. Hardly a day goes by without me hearing a cry from the heart for such change from people who truly love the Church, young and old, male and female, lay people, priests and religious. During this Year for Priests, many of my colleagues around Australia are crying out for credible leadership from the hierarchy which involves more than mere words. I am certain that these pleas will be heard when the National Council of Priests meets in Parramatta next July.

Yet, people often feel that no one is listening to their concerns. Groups calling for reform are regularly dismissed as trouble-makers with little love for the Church when in fact their hearts are breaking for the Church which they see as drifting further away from the message of the Jesus. Maybe it has taken this present crisis to bring us all to our senses.  
In 1996, I gave a talk in which I expressed my hopes for the Catholic Church. They were that it would be
 

I have restated these hopes many times since, including at the Oceania Synod of Bishops in Rome in 1998 in the presence of Pope John Paul II, the future Pope Benedict XVI and  my brother bishops. Surely such aspirations are even more pressing today.

The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) called by Pope John XXIII provided so many opportunities for reform by empowering the laity as part of the People of God, engaging with the modern world, other Churches and non-Christian religions, promoting religious freedom, encouraging greater participation in the liturgy, enabling all to have a deeper relationship with God. Unfortunately, these days we are more likely to be warned of the “excesses following Vatican II” or told of the need for “reform of the reform” in regard to the liturgy or the “re-interpretation of Vatican II”.

The reform needed by the Church today will involve much more than just “tinkering around the edges”. Issues such as the authoritarian nature of the Church, compulsory celibacy for the clergy, the participation of women in the Church, the teaching on sexuality in all aspects cannot be brushed aside. Listening must be a key component of reform and at times that will involve listening to unpalatable truths. It needs to be recognised that all wisdom does not reside exclusively in the present all male leadership of the Church and that the voices of the faithful must be heard.

At Easter I pointed out that it was largely Jesus’ female disciples who stood by him dying on Calvary, that Mary Magdalene was the first witness to the resurrection and that she could legitimately be called an apostle in that she was sent to bring the good news to the other followers of Jesus. I wondered aloud if the Church would be in its present state of crisis if women had been part of the decision-making in the life of the Church.

There may be people who question the views I am espousing, but I wish to re-state that there is a whole body of faithful Catholics who are saying “enough is enough” and that we all need to grasp this opportunity to enable the Church to be its best self in bringing the message of Jesus to its own adherents and to the wider society.

This article was first published in The Canberra Times.

Two responses to Bishop Pat Power

Bishop Pat Power is the auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Canberra-Goulburn.

Source:
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=20866

 

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