Executive Officer’s report: March 2019

Here we are in the middle of Lent. A time of giving up the bad and taking up the good – a period of remaking ourselves as better disciples. For me, and I imagine for many Catholics, the Lenten process this year is particularly pertinent to the church community as a whole.

In March, we had the sentencing of George Pell just a couple of weeks after the Vatican’s child sexual abuse summit. These two events brought to the forefront the behaviours that epitomise what is wrong in our Church – arrogance, abuse of power, huge disparities in status, leaders putting their own needs/preferences above those who they are called to serve, protection of the institution at the expense of the powerless, and refusal/reluctance to be accountable. These tendencies are characteristics that the Church, as an institution and her leaders in particular, must give up. They are corporate sins that will lead us further from God. The salvation of the Church requires nothing short of a major change in how we see ourselves and how we function.

The stages of grief theory strikes me as very relevant to those of us who are grappling with the child sex abuse crisis and the wider toxic Church structures/culture of which it is just one manifestation. Kübler-Ross et al speak of the following stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The theorists remind us that people do not pass through each stage in a set order or with the same intensity. As I look around the Church, I see that many of us are experiencing these stages. We grieve the loss of a positive image we had of our Church and its future. It is now obvious that some of that positive image was a mirage and that it masked abusive relationships. The past month has shown me that while I need to acknowledge my pain and grief, I also need to notice the other developments taking place. These positive developments give enthusiasm in the present and hope for the future.

Over the past month I have glimpsed some of the goodness to which we are called. You can read about some of these positive developments in my March posts. Early in the month, the YTU Governance Workshop was a gathering of clergy and lay people all committed to ensuring the Church learns from the past and adopts ethical and excellent governance. I was next enthused by the AMPJP Plenary Council 2020 submission where we shared our faith experience and commitments/hopes for the future. Then, we had International Women’s Day and the inspiring “overcoming the silence” campaign of Catholics from across the world calling for full equality of women within the Church. The audio of the Manning Lecture also presented a compelling course for Church renewal. In addition, I was privileged to participate in the launch of Catholic Social Services NSW/ACT and the inaugural meeting of the ACU Xavier Centre for Theological Formation Advisory Board. These and other developments within the Church show the Holy Spirit remaking existing institutions and bringing to birth new structures and ways of operating.

New events listed on the website:

• • 2-3 March 2019 Principles and Practice for Church Governance (details updated)
  • 13-16 August 2019 Peace Education Symposium
  • 23-30 November 2019 Advent Guided retreat with Fr Philip Malone MSC

New website content:

The public news section of the AMPJP website now has the following posts:

• The Catholic Community in the 21st Century (27 March 2019 – also accessible to AMPJP General and Council members)
• Church Governance Workshop 2-3 March 2019 (21 March 2019 – also accessible to AMPJP General and Council members)
• Thanks and farewell to Deacon Boniface (20 March 2019 – also accessible to AMPJP General and Council members)
• CHA maps the Catholic palliative care sector (14 March 2019 – also accessible to AMPJP General and Council members)
• AMPJP submission to Plenary Council 2020 (08 March 2019 – also accessible to AMPJP General and Council members)
• IWD: hearing women’s voices (07 March 2019 – also accessible to AMPJP General and Council members)
• Our journey through Lent begins (07 March 2019 – also accessible to AMPJP General and Council members)

The following prayer was used in a liturgy to launch Catholic Social Services NSW/ACT Inc on 26 March 2019.  I was pleased to be able to attend this event and the prayer struck me as having an applicability for many of people:

Empowering God,

Give us fortitude to endure change,

Courage to step into tomorrow unafraid,

Wisdom to make good decisions,

Love and zeal to serve people well and insight to recognise that apart from you we can do nothing.

Make this Lenten session a time when we ponder our own risks

And muster the courage to promote your Kingdom.

 

Life-giving God,

Sustain us as we attempt to grow.

Help us to meet the challenges with confidence and solidarity,

Knowing that your call comes with the promise of fidelity.

Keep us faithful,

Reminding us always that whatever we do,

We do in you, with you and through you.

 

All loving God,

Make us worthy of your outrageous love for us.

 

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

 

Amen