News

Catholics for Ministry meet in Melbourne
By Barry Morris
June 30, 2009

Catholics for Ministry meet in Melbourne

by Barry Morris


Inevitably the list of challenges facing the Australian Catholic Church - a church in crisis - would be long.

Almost 50 Catholic laity, priests and religious from around the nation, aware of the need for change, gathered in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern at the weekend. They were there to consider the challenges and to recommend practical steps to overcome them.

The catalyst for the meeting was a petition to the Australian bishops in 2007 calling for the ordination of married men and opening up discussion on the ordination of women. Petition organizers, Catholics for Ministry, were overwhelmed by the response. Almost 17,000 people signed including 15,000 parishioners after weekend Mass and 170 priests. The petition was largely ignored.

Catholics for Ministry, led by Paul Collins and Frank Purcell, decided on a follow-up meeting to plan the next steps. Collins and Purcell said they believed the church faced a kairos, a moment of both crisis and opportunity. Another image of the church was provided by the phoenix, a mythical bird which burns fiercely and arises anew from the ashes. Collins called for a practical agenda for action, tapping into the experience, knowledge and wisdom of those present.

The challenges loomed large.

The liturgy was moribund, the church too exclusive and addicted to power, there was a lack of credibility, the clergy faced an excessive workload, there was no effective decision-making or public accountability, a growing conservatism placed emphasis on external rituals and symbols. It was also felt that there was no structure to enable the people to be heard, ecclesiastical language was obtuse, parishes were seen as franchises, dioceses were too big placing stress on priests and bishops.

The church was perceived at large to be irrelevant and an unwieldy institution, the current model of priesthood was limited and unhealthy for priest and people and the Australian Church was dominated by Rome. The scandal of sexual abuse, the problems facing the parishes of South Brisbane and Redfern in Sydney were also discussed.

But it was not all negative. There was enormous sympathy for the work pressures placed on the diminishing number of priests struggling with their burden. After the Federal Government, the church was the biggest employer in the country with an infrastructure second to none. Its managers in education, health and other agencies were dedicated and efficient with thousands of these dedicated people quietly doing their jobs. It was time for the church to listen, particularly to the "unchurched" or exiled Catholics, those who felt excluded because of divorce or for their sexual orientation. There were opportunities to empower the laity and the Pope's comments on "perestroika" in the church were welcomed.

The gathering brainstormed the subjects of leadership, grass-roots movements, communication and technology, youth and the church in exile and conservative groups and fundamentalism.

One suggestion was for a national church summit to draw up a new national pastoral plan.

Some suggested that this gathering be a festival of small groups that are springing up nationwide.
Another proposal was for a web page similar to that organised by Get Up to canvas views and put pressure on church leaders when necessary.

After vigorous debate, the meeting called for a summary of issues raised in discussion and to be given the chance to prioritize those issues. It was a significant day in the life of the Australian church, but as Collins summed up: "There's still a lot of work to do." Delegates were enthusiastic about the energy and goodwill of the meeting. Perhaps the phoenix is about to burn and rise again.

Report by delegate Barry Morris of Sydney. Originally on Peter Maher.org

 

 
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