Friday, December 29, 2006 at 2:02am
Redeeming the Catholic Church
Avery Cardinal Dulles in his book, "Models of the Church" writes about different leadership models of the Catholic Church. He points out that whatever model is chosen the images associated with it must be, "deeply rooted in the faithful's experience."
I have wondered about this thought often especially in the midst of the priest sex abuse scandals. Is there really an experience of the faithful that would work today? And if so what images would be most appropriate to shape a new model of church in this age?
To be fully effective and accepted our images must be rooted in what most people can understand. Yes, to be fully effective and accepted our images must be rooted in what calls us to that deeper instinct or consciousness. Cardinal Dulles states in "Models of the Church," "Christians cannot agree about the measure of progress or decline because they have radically different visions of the Church." Even though we have these differing visions, the visions themselves are rooted in our collective experience. Every image that can be given out of our "collective experience" can be traced back into a larger truth.
The Church is a mystery and can therefore not truly be defined by human ways. Cardinal Dulles reminds us of this when he wrote, "The Church is a union or communion of men with one another through the grace of Christ. Although this communion manifests itself in sacramental and juridical structures, at the heart of the Church one finds mystery."
There are many "experiences" of the faithful that could be identified as potential models for the Church. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance, the Call to Action group, Voice of the Faithful and the St. Pius organization all have "experiences" that they hold up as models of the Church. We can pull from these groups as well as others, models like the Church as Teacher, Liberator, Tradition and Empowerment.
And rightly so, they all speak to an aspect of the Church's mission but does that make them correct? When the "experience" makes the model too narrow then that is a problem. Then it is no longer the Church calling us to move beyond our humanly limitations but it is saying, "come to our level."
The "experience" should never have a negative result and is never the whole but only part of the image. God's presence must be in that "experience." So we can say that if there is a negative result in the image or model of Church then the presence of God is not a central part of it.
In today's society the "experience" can be synonymous with "what is good for me, right here and right now." Models of the Church need to serve more than that in our lives. Jesus' redemptive action is more than the right here and right now. It is for the here and now but also the always. The one model that I would add in light of my "experience" is the model of redemption. I speak to this model from my "experience" of being a survivor of priestly sexual abuse.
Redemption is the model that the Church needs. redemption implies that you are being saved from something. The Church admits to the sin of leading the flock astray by its lack of action in bringing the abusers to admit their sins and its failure in attending the victims in their sin of the loss of faith.
It places responsibility on all levels of Church and not just the ordained. We all are called to redeem each other: the Bishop who covers up the actions of the abusers, the lay leader who doesn't share all the relevant information with the Bishop, the Vicar who overlooks negative information because the abuser is a "good guy," and so on, all the way down to the person in the pew who stops giving donations.
Christ came as our redemptor. The Church must model that behavior. Christ calls us to action, to turn our back to pain and to restore faith. It is in this realization of his presence that the Church serves us well. As a victim I had turned my back on the models of the past Church and in Redemption I seek to live more fully and returned.
It is in the model of Redemption that I strive to move beyond the things I can see and touch to the things of grace. Like the Israelites of old, many Christians today are saying, "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost; we are clean cut off" (Ezekiel 37:11).
The Lord must say to us, as he did to Ezekiel, "Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people" (Ezekiel 37:13). It is through this redemption that our dry bones will get up and dance. It is through redemption that we are all called to acceptance by God. It is through redemption that we accept and forgive others.
It moves us beyond and becomes a sacrament. It is the invisible in the visible world. It is the challenge of our leaders and the gift given by Christ. It is the saving grace that rescued me from my abuse and it speaks to all people throughout all of our history. redemption is at hand and it is attainable.
— — —
Jim Negrete is currently a full time Youth Minister in a Chicago area Roman Catholic parish, and a 40-year-old undergraduate student in theology at Dominican University. He travels extensively to retreats and speaking engagements to share his story of abuse and redemption in the Church. His email address is {email jimnegrete@comcast.net}jimnegrete@comcast.net{/email}. © copyright 2006 by James Negrete
I have wondered about this thought often especially in the midst of the priest sex abuse scandals. Is there really an experience of the faithful that would work today? And if so what images would be most appropriate to shape a new model of church in this age?
To be fully effective and accepted our images must be rooted in what most people can understand. Yes, to be fully effective and accepted our images must be rooted in what calls us to that deeper instinct or consciousness. Cardinal Dulles states in "Models of the Church," "Christians cannot agree about the measure of progress or decline because they have radically different visions of the Church." Even though we have these differing visions, the visions themselves are rooted in our collective experience. Every image that can be given out of our "collective experience" can be traced back into a larger truth.
The Church is a mystery and can therefore not truly be defined by human ways. Cardinal Dulles reminds us of this when he wrote, "The Church is a union or communion of men with one another through the grace of Christ. Although this communion manifests itself in sacramental and juridical structures, at the heart of the Church one finds mystery."
There are many "experiences" of the faithful that could be identified as potential models for the Church. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance, the Call to Action group, Voice of the Faithful and the St. Pius organization all have "experiences" that they hold up as models of the Church. We can pull from these groups as well as others, models like the Church as Teacher, Liberator, Tradition and Empowerment.
And rightly so, they all speak to an aspect of the Church's mission but does that make them correct? When the "experience" makes the model too narrow then that is a problem. Then it is no longer the Church calling us to move beyond our humanly limitations but it is saying, "come to our level."
The "experience" should never have a negative result and is never the whole but only part of the image. God's presence must be in that "experience." So we can say that if there is a negative result in the image or model of Church then the presence of God is not a central part of it.
In today's society the "experience" can be synonymous with "what is good for me, right here and right now." Models of the Church need to serve more than that in our lives. Jesus' redemptive action is more than the right here and right now. It is for the here and now but also the always. The one model that I would add in light of my "experience" is the model of redemption. I speak to this model from my "experience" of being a survivor of priestly sexual abuse.
Redemption is the model that the Church needs. redemption implies that you are being saved from something. The Church admits to the sin of leading the flock astray by its lack of action in bringing the abusers to admit their sins and its failure in attending the victims in their sin of the loss of faith.
It places responsibility on all levels of Church and not just the ordained. We all are called to redeem each other: the Bishop who covers up the actions of the abusers, the lay leader who doesn't share all the relevant information with the Bishop, the Vicar who overlooks negative information because the abuser is a "good guy," and so on, all the way down to the person in the pew who stops giving donations.
Christ came as our redemptor. The Church must model that behavior. Christ calls us to action, to turn our back to pain and to restore faith. It is in this realization of his presence that the Church serves us well. As a victim I had turned my back on the models of the past Church and in Redemption I seek to live more fully and returned.
It is in the model of Redemption that I strive to move beyond the things I can see and touch to the things of grace. Like the Israelites of old, many Christians today are saying, "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost; we are clean cut off" (Ezekiel 37:11).
The Lord must say to us, as he did to Ezekiel, "Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people" (Ezekiel 37:13). It is through this redemption that our dry bones will get up and dance. It is through redemption that we are all called to acceptance by God. It is through redemption that we accept and forgive others.
It moves us beyond and becomes a sacrament. It is the invisible in the visible world. It is the challenge of our leaders and the gift given by Christ. It is the saving grace that rescued me from my abuse and it speaks to all people throughout all of our history. redemption is at hand and it is attainable.
— — —
Jim Negrete is currently a full time Youth Minister in a Chicago area Roman Catholic parish, and a 40-year-old undergraduate student in theology at Dominican University. He travels extensively to retreats and speaking engagements to share his story of abuse and redemption in the Church. His email address is {email jimnegrete@comcast.net}jimnegrete@comcast.net{/email}. © copyright 2006 by James Negrete