Parish Life In A Synodal Church
Summary of conversation:
The Church moves and changes slowly. It has a large horizon. The changes we hope to see may not happen in the next 10 years – maybe not even in our lifetime.
We’re witnessing the collapse of the church of our grandparents! Now, faith, saying prayers, etc. is seen as being for grannies. Present day parents no longer feel equipped/capable of dealing with religion. Modern people of course, are sensitive to the spiritual life. You’ll hear: “I’m spiritual, but not religious”. They are not interested in the institutional church. That is because the culture has changed radically since the 60’s. People have different expectations now. Therefore, parish life is collapsing in rural areas in particular. So, what will the future parish look like? What kind of parish life is needed to support faith/religion?
The old system is not what the Church is about, therefore parish life as it was had to implode for new growth to occur. Ignoring the decay of parishes is irresponsible, demoralising and destructive.
“Renewal” will not come from young people; it will come from people with life experience who will take responsibility for changing things to suit the culture.
“Lumen Gentium” deals with the culture. We have to re-imagine Church and the Church’s relationship with the world. We need to move to a new reality of community faith life, where there is mutual respect for all boundaries. We need to move away from a paternalistic structure that disempowered and infantilised the majority. We need to move towards a community of faith that empowers everyone, marked by adult respect, responsibility and interaction. We need to move from a priest-centred parish to a community of faith supported by a priest.
In a community of faith:
- People believe in Christ
- Strive to live in harmony with the New Testament
- All members form a network of religion, each taking responsibility for their gifts
- Form a social organisation.
It requires “enlarging the tent” where everyone is welcome. When people are on the move the tent moves with them. Dismantle the power dynamics where one person has institutional power. Decentralisation needs to be promoted to allow a full expression of singularity, responsibility, individuality…
What makes one a Christian is Baptism, not responding to needs expressed by a priest, but based on what one understands by one’s gifts. Everyone has a specific charism for communal life, for the good of all. The body is not healthy if all the gifts are not used. We all have different responsibilities, we mutually complement each other. That will call forth a future for Christian faith.
In a Synodal Church the whole community is called together to listen, to dialogue, to
discern and offer advice on making pastoral decisions. Fr. Michael will explore these concepts in
the light of current events in the Catholic Church.
Fr. Michael is a professor of Faith and Culture in the Theology department at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth.
He gives talks regularly on the changing face of religion, spirituality,
and faith throughout Ireland.
