Reflection - Questioning ourselves about Mission


Celebrating the feast of Joseph the Worker on May 1 evokes a memory and raises a few questions for Fr Patrick O'Shea:

The memory is of 1989 when I lived in the parish of St Joseph the Worker in Berkeley, California. It was a time of conflict in Central America and one of the major events that happened that year was the killing of six Jesuits and two women in El Salvador.

It led to various protests against American policy in Central America and during one such protest Fr Bill, who was the parish priest at St Joseph the Worker parish, was arrested for what I believe was the 100th time.

It might be hard for some to imagine that a priest could be arrested so many times but in my lifetime (I was born in 1950) there have been a great many social issues, local and international, that evoked protest and called for change especially from someone with a deep passion for justice, as Fr Bill obviously had. Here is a brief reminder of a few of the major ones.

The Civil Rights movement in the USA in the 60s generated protest marches, individual acts of resistance like that of Rosa Parks and a general struggle for racial equality. As the Vietnam War and the Cold War intensified in the 60s and 70s there were rallies for peace and against nuclear weapons.

In Latin America the struggle against oppression, injustice and poverty was to give rise to new ways of being church and a new way to do theology. This found echoes in the Philippines, Korea and other parts of the Columban world where social issues called forth a response from the churches that often resulted in protests, arrests and a number of deaths.

In the mid 80s the miners’ strike in England marked a turning point in the struggle of workers with Government and big business in the west. In New Zealand the Springboks’ tour in 1981 and the protests it generated are still alive in the memory of those who lived through those difficult times. It was one echo overseas of the struggles of the people of South Africa against Apartheid.

In the 90s when I arrived in Australia we were still trying to deal with inclusive language and other issues around gender equality. In more recent times it is environmental concerns that have drawn attention and energised people to protest against destructive practices as well as seek ways to better care for the earth.

While a primary response to these social issues was made by people on the ground working for change, the Church also responded to these issues in its social teaching.

The ground breaking work was 'Rerum Novarum' by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 which focused attention on the condition of the working class. Pope John XXIII wrote 'Pacem in Terris' in 1963 as a response the Cold War. Pope Paul VI’s 'Populorum Progressio' in 1967 addressed issues around inequality and integral human development. In 1981 Pope John Paul II wrote about the dignity of work and the rights of workers in his encyclical 'Laborem Exercens'. There have also been a number of documents published by various Bishop's Conferences addressing social and international issues.

In 1971 the Synod of Bishops issued a statement entitled 'Justice in the World' and the opening lines provide a good summary of the Church as it relates to social concerns: "Gathered from the whole world, in communion with all who believe in Christ and with the entire human family, and opening our hearts to the Spirit who is making the whole of creation new, we have questioned ourselves about the mission of the people of God to further justice in the world.

Scrutinizing the "signs of the times" and seeking to detect the meaning of emerging history… we have listened to the Word of God that we might be converted to the fulfilling of the divine plan for the salvation of the world… We have… been able to perceive the serious injustices which are building around the world of men and women a network of domination, oppression and abuses which stifle freedom and which keep the greater part of humanity from sharing in the building up and enjoyment of a more just and more fraternal world.  At the same time we have noted the inmost stirring moving the world in its depths."

Like the bishops I find I am questioning myself yet again about the mission of the people of God. The social teaching of the Church is sometimes talked about as "a well-kept secret". I wonder why this is so. It's clear that we have come a long way in the last 60 years and much has changed for the better due in some measure to people, like Fr Bill, who risked arrest, opposition and at times hatred so that this kind of change might happen.

Do we now believe that the major battles have been won and the time for protest is over or have we, as Church, largely surrendered our role as advocates for social change to others, many of whom have no connection to Church but a have strong sense of justice?  

Where does that leave us as Church with our rich tradition of concern for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation; a tradition that is found in the Scriptures, in the documents of the Church and in the witness of the people who put themselves on the line for the sake of "a more just and fraternal world."

Columban Fr Patrick O'Shea SSC lives at St Columbans, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

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