I was having a discussion last week with a friend and we were talking about the different ways people relate to organizations as we spoke of our children's relationship to the Church. Chris commented rather simply: “it's one thing to say that you are an affiliate, something totally different to really 'be affiliated.'”
The key difference, it strikes me, is ownership. People generally join or affiliate with an organization because there is a resonance of being 'on the same page' with its purpose or mission. But, being affiliated with an organization takes that relationship to a new level. Being affiliated connotes accepting a level of personal ownership for bringing that purpose to life. It means that I become a champion, take active steps to ensure the mission's existence, development, success. It means owning responsibility for whether or not the objectives become realized. It means exhibiting 'fire in the belly' passion.
Taking ownership for the future of my local parish and diocese, earlier this week I drove an hour and a half to a parish in Central New Jersey which was hosting a second round “speak out” session of our diocesan Synod oriented around Personnel in Ministry. Out of the numerous categories for input, I knew I had an affinity for this topic in particular and thought I might have an idea or two to share!
The sparse, assembled group was broken out into discussion tables of eight or nine participants including a moderator, facilitating orderly responses to formatted questions, and a scribe, diligently penning participants' comments and group consensus. We were tasked with sharing thoughts on: easing competing pastoral and administrative demands on priests and deacons, promoting priesthood vocations, ensuring clergy's continuing spiritual and educational formation, equitable distribution of clergy, improving accountability between clergy and religious, and how we could better support clergy and religious.
My discussion table's participants included a monsignor in diocesan specialized ministry, the pastor of the host parish, a permanent deacon from a neighboring parish, a woman who is an employee of the diocese and her husband, a young mother who is home-schooling her children (in a parish with a parochial school staffed by religious sisters Filippini), and myself. I found myself feeling quite out of place.
As we shared our thoughts on easing competing demands on parish clergy, one or two people recommended that parishes hire a chief operating officer to run the administrative side of the parish, freeing the clergy for spiritual activities. Harkening back to my discussion on affiliation, I commented that we also needed to engender a collaborative atmosphere at the parish level where parishioners shared ownership responsibility for the parish's life. I was soundly reminded that canon law precluded anyone but Father having the deciding voice. He might even be a circuit rider convening numerous parish communities, but he was still the canonical boss.
We went on to the question of promoting vocations. The young mother suggested that what was really needed was for parishes to organize Eucharistic holy hours and pray more fervently at parish events for vocations while encouraging parents to 'talk up' priest and sisterhood with their children. The other woman recommended that the diocese actively employ business marketing strategies to reach out to young men and women. And the pastor suggested that what we do not do enough of is speak about the “perks, or rather, the positive aspects” of priesthood and religious life.
I dug my hole quite a bit deeper as I suggested passionately that we were not experiencing a lack of vocations, but refusing to utilize the vocations God has already given: the thousands of transitioned priests, as well as, all those men and women with advanced theology degrees functioning as lay ecclesial ministers, women called to diaconate and priesthood, and married men open to ordination. Again, monsignor and Father reminded me quite strongly that as Synod participants, we were charged with making suggestions that were in line with Church policy. We were not supposed to think outside the box. I opined that what our bishop needed was to hear what was on our minds, not just what he might want to hear.
From there we went on to ensuring priests' continuing spiritual and secular educational formation. Hoping that what was meant by secular education would be points that connected the homilist to the lives and worldviews of his listeners, I was advised that the inference was in teaching Father about QuickBooks or other accounting packages, computer skills, or taking courses in human resources management. The young mother encouraged having priests become conversant with bible study programs. The strongest voice was monsignor's looking to tie pastoral assignments or salary increases to verified CEUs.
Feeling pretty sure we were on different planets when it comes to theology and our sense of Church, I sighed in relief that we'd reached the evening's min-point break. The best I felt I could professionally do at that point was to quietly and unobtrusively exit stage left.
Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, former master general of the Dominicans, talks about the need for both Communion Catholics, focused on strengthening core Church identity, and Kingdom Catholics, externally focused on justice issues, and the Spirit working beyond the Church walls.
I have to tell you that at some level, I have an incredible amount of respect for people like Mother Angelica and Domino's Pizza magnate Tom Monaghan, and organizations like Opus Dei. I even respect the perspectives of the people seated around that table with me the other evening. BUT we, or should I say “I” have a radically different understanding of Jesus, his message, and what that means for our Church.
I've talked to you many of you personally about our version of Women's Ordination Conference's challenging Ministry of Irritation, which I've dubbed in jest 'poking a stick in the cage and rattling it around.' For several years' now as a national and even international board, we've tried over and over to open lines of communication between CORPUS and 'official' representative groups in our Church. Except in rare instances, no invitation has been forthcoming.
Perhaps it might be different if there were official CORPUS representatives willing to be responsible for connecting with each diocese, local priest senate or pastoral council, religious community. Nationally, however, my personal sense is that it will take generations for us to 'take back our Church' as Robert Blair Kaiser, or CTA suggest. We have no national platform from which to catechize or connect with people in the pews.
Even with your increased membership generosity we are far away from having a full time staff that would create a presence to be reckoned with. Sometimes it is just important to resonate with the apostles in experience in Acts 13 - shaking the dust off our feet and moving on.
Instead of trying to get the Church to live up to my expectations, I need to be following what the Lord requires as envisioned in Micah 6:8: to act justly, love tenderly, walk humbly with your God.
Focusing energies around trying to reform priesthood, or elicit gender and marital equality in the Roman Church, has become for me, an effort that steals precious time and energy away from BEING that community which is living a renewing priesthood. It steals precious time away from supporting the journey of my partner, my family, my community and the people who enter my life each day. I need to be that encouraging voice and supporting shoulder in the diaspora.
Each of us needs the support of others in our faith journey. I have a sense that many, if not most of you, neither find that support in your local parish, nor are being fed there.
Maybe what CORPUS can best do for me, for you, and for our greater Church faith tradition, is become a truly virtual ministerial community: Connecting with each other regularly by phone, by email, even snail mail. Encouraging each other in being ministers of the gospel where we've been planted. Practicing the limitless love Jesus exhibited unbounded by space, time, gender or creed. And leaving behind a trail of breadcrumbs through our Legacy Project, Notre Dame archives, musings or writings, or lives touched that we have been the Church we've envisioned.
As incredibly difficult as it may be, my sense is that we must help each other to move on.
Namasté,
Russ Ditzel
